Methow

Site visit to access sites.

Photos of access at low water. Good flow for tubing short stretches.

After taking a few laps through Winthrop on the Chewuch, I decided to cross the bridge and see what the confluence of the Methow had to offer. I put in at the Red Barn in Winthrop and I took out at Heckendorn Park. The float was short and pretty tame, especially after running the Chewuch. Directly after putting in there is a fun rapid where the river pours over some good rocks on the river left but this is really the only action on this whole run besides little riffles here and there.

From the confluence with the Chewuch there are little waves here and there but nothing significant. Cool to see the brown and blue/green waters mix at the confluence. Takeout at Heckendorn Park on the river left side, if you pass the concrete structure on the right bank you've gone too far.

Sunday July 26, 2020 (550 cfs at Winthrop) we floated from The Barn to the take-out near the Methow Valley school (approx the first half of the Winthrop to Twisp section). And 'float' is the correct word for this section at this time of year... lots of people in tubes, pool toys and other random crafts. Super mellow. My husband and I were in packrafts (his with an open deck, mine with a WW deck except I left the spray skirt at home). I towed my kid behind my packraft in a tube. She brought a super soaker and kept me cool. It was a blast. Great family day on the river! This section is a lot less woody than the upper reaches of the Methow, and as such there were no logjams or portages at all. Just a mellow float.

On Tuesday July 28 (500 cfs at Winthrop), my husband and I paddled the Methow from the Weeman Bridge down to Winthrop. We actually took out just before Winthrop, at a pull-out along the highway. We did this to skip the diversion dam just before Winthrop... although I've heard that it's an easy portage.
Speaking of portages, the section from Weeman Bridge to Winthrop currently has a couple logjams that require portaging. The water is moving slow enough that a moderately experienced paddler has plenty of time to eddy out and walk around. Currently, the biggest and only riverwide logjam is approx 1 mile before take-out, and the best portage route is on river right. There is also a logjam about 1 mile after put-in. It's probably possible to paddle around it, but immediately after the logjam the river branches right into a narrow woody channel and we couldn't see what was beyond that. When my husband and I adventure together we tend to be really conservative (attempting not to orphan our child 😬), so we walked the dry riverbed on river left rather than paddling down the narrow channel on river right.

Sunday Aug 2, 2020, we walked in to the Tawlks-Foster bridge and paddled from there down to the Weeman Bridge. This is a short 3 mile section, but we only had a couple hours of kid-free time, so it was the perfect distance for us. The water had dropped even more, to 425 cfs. It was very bony at this level, and we scraped bottom frequently. The first mile was relatively clear, but between 1-2 miles we were forced to do a couple of portages due to river-wide logs. At this water level, there was always plenty of time to eddy out and walk around. None of the portages were difficult.

Rafts and kayaks from the Winthrop Red Barn put-in down to the Twisp Town Park.

Fun trip with Boo Turner down the Methow River from the Lost River to Mazama. We put in at the Lost River Bridge, starting on the short stretch of the Lost river that feeds into the Methow. It was a fun run down to Mazama but with some wood in play. Not a run recommended for beginners but fun way to see the valley for experienced boaters with scenic views of Goat Wall.

Late summer flows offer some tubing opportunities but pick your access points carefully. Float times are much longer, the water is always cold, and wood hazards are present.

Trip on the Methow River

Trip from Mazama down to Twisp with the kids.

Methow River just downstream of Winthrop.

Too low for river running but a few images of the Methow River in early fall.