White Salmon

The vertical log reported by Teresa on Aug 12, 2025 is still there as of November 8, 2025. It is leaning on the left side of the canyon directly after the righthand corner below Steelhead Falls. At 4.3 ft @ Underwood gauge it was passable on the right by a 13ft raft. There is not a lot of time to avoid it once you come around the blind corner at these flows but it is possible. I believe you can see the log if you walk as far as you can down the left bank below the falls but I did not try this as there were Salmon in the pool down there I didn't want to disturb.

This dangerous log is located after the blind right bend in the gorge below Steelhead Falls, on the left side of the river. It is in play, that is to say, you have to do something to avoid it. You have a little time after the bend to note where the log is--it is a spiky thing that leans on the left wall, blocking the left half of the riverbed. The current slams into it head on. To avoid it you must tangle with the rocks on the right. When we were there at about 1.6 there was a clean channel for kayaks & canoes all the way right, against the wall. It was also possible to go over the rocks, or to make a dicy left to right move in the same channel with the log.

A rotary screw trap is being installed on the lower White Salmon River to monitor juvenile salmon and steelhead. Boaters should use extreme caution near the trap. The trap is located on river left, at river mile 1.4 near the White Salmon ponds, which are old, cement, fish-rearing raceways. The site is about 0.6 miles downstream of the Powerhouse and Old Skamania/Burnt Bridge. Warning signs have been installed upstream of the trap location. The plan is for the trap to be installed on March 24, 2016.
The rotary screw trap is part of a study by the U.S. Geological Survey and Mid-Columbia Fisheries Enhancement Group to monitor juvenile salmon and steelhead in the White Salmon River after the historic removal of Condit Dam. The river is now home to Chinook salmon, coho salmon, steelhead, bull trout, lamprey and other fish species. The trap is part of a larger effort by scientists from several agencies and the Yakama Tribe to assess fish recolonization of the White Salmon River.

From Todd Collins: WARNING, There is a river wide log jammed in the narrows, immediately below Steelhead Falls. At todays level, about 3.75 ft, it is super hazardous. It's big and right at river level. If you ran Steelhead without scouting, you would be in serious trouble. At the water level we saw it, it was impassable. Just a few feet too far downstream to get past on land. While I would not say that it is impossible to get a boat past the log, it would definitely put you and your gear at risk to make the move. We had a very strong team of paddlers, and decided as a group that it was too hazardous to get past. We ended up hiking out. We all felt that, in its current state, this log makes the Lower Lower unrunnable. I'm not sure how a change in water levels will affect the situtaion. I think we hit pretty much the perfect water level to make it as bad as possible. Higher or lower water might actually be better. However, I wouldn't recommend being in there at higher water right now. Missing the eddies above Steelhead would be very bad.

Please note there is potentially dangerous wood throughout this section. Wood conditions will continue to evolve as the river keeps changing in response to the dam removal. As of November 18, 2012, there is a nearly river-wide log just upstream of the powerhouse. The log is in a relatively straightforward section, but don't let it take you by surprise. It can be easily passed on the far left or far right. It's position could very likely change after high flows.