| Snoqualmie, Middle Fork — 4 - Concrete bridge to Tanner (Middle-Middle)™ © |
Class III (IV)
7Miles
Avg Gradient 43 fpm
Play Rating (1-10): 5
River Mapplet
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GPS/GIS |
Maps |
| Put In Longitude : |
-121.66199 |
Putin |
| Put In Latitude : |
47.476028 |
| Take Out Longitude : |
-121.73911 |
Take Out |
| Take Out Latitude : |
47.4781723 |
| County : |
King |
Shuttle
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Gauge Information (Professor Paddle updated levels from MIDDLE FORK SNOQUALMIE RIVER at 8/12/2024 7:02:21 AM)
| Gauge |
Forecast |
Height |
Current Flow |
Authority |
Physical Update |
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MIDDLE FORK SNOQUALMIE RIVER
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NWRFC | FC Page |
1.19 |
168 cfs
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USGS - NWIS |
08-12-2024 06:15:00 |
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Minimum Recomended Level: 1000 cfs Maximum Recomended Level: 6000 cfs
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AccessThe Middle Fork road has recently been fully re-paved, and is in excellent shape. There are only two remaining (short) sections of gravel. |
Putin DetailsTo get to the river (takeout) take exit 32 off I-90 and go north for 0.6 miles. At the T junction turn right onto North Bend Way and go 0.7 miles. At this point, past the spot where the river runs near the road, turn left onto SE Tanner Road. Take this road down 0.5 miles to a gravel pullout on the right hand side. Powerlines crossing the road and leading down to the river mark the access coridor to the river. There is a gate across the dirt access road that runs along the powerlines to the river (about a 50 yard hike). Do not park near the gate. |
Takeout DetailsTo get back to the put-in, go back out to North Bend Way and travel 0.2 miles past the boat/rv storage facility and turn left onto SE 140th. Take this 1.1 miles to the left hand turnoff for Middle Fork Rd. Follow this road 3.5 miles to Island Drop (also known as the old Mine Creek Campground) where a bend in the river comes up against the road. This is a good put-in that avoids some of the upstream reach that gets a little boney below 2000 cfs. If you have more time or the water is higher you can continue up to mile 5 where the concrete bridge crosses the river. A put-in is available on the river left side of the bridge. |
 River Alerts ( Add Alert ) |
Pinned Forum Threads |
 There is a small log crammed into the slot on the left of the take out boof. It''s visible at around 1100 cfs and dropping. This could be an issue at lower water or if someone swam right above it. - Posted by: megspk on 4/15/2017 11:43:00 AM -
[Remove Alert]
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Fun FactsVery popular after work run during April-July.
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Run Description [Season: Fall, Winter, Spring]LEVELS: The Middle Middle Fork Snoqualmie has been run at a very wide variety of flows, from as low as 263 to at least as high as 15,000. Here's how it basically breaks down.
263-750: Very Low, you can do it if you just need to get out, but you'll be banging rocks- watch for bow pins!
800-1000: Low, but clean enough to get down without too much banging, Basically a technical class 3 run.
1000-1500: Medium Low, This is a great level for kayakers stepping up to class 3. Nothing is really harder than 3+ at this level
1500-2500: Medium, Great fun for all. Rafters often like 1500 as a minimum level
2500-4000: Medium high, Lots of fun and getting big and pushy in places. House Rocks starts looking like legit class 4
4000-8000: High, Big water and fast. Consider the run half a class harder or more, especially at the higher end
8000-15,000: Really high, pushing flood stage, lots of the big baller local paddlers run it at these levels. As stated before... we don't recommend it, but some strong paddlers love it. Watch out for some huge holes and probably (moving) wood in the river
The Middle Middle is a classic White Water run that is nice and close to Seattle. Known for it's mellow winding bends, the Middle Middle is a great cool down after a hard day of work or near by climbing. The Middle Middle is a fairly straight forward run with several small rapids and a few larger ones.
Starting at the Concrete Bridge (Granite Creek) put-in, the run starts with a couple miles of easy warm-up. From here to the Island Drop access spot the river is mostly class 2. Intermediate boaters can do a mixed run, putting in at the Russian Butte put-in on the upper section (about 3 miles upstream from Concrete Bridge) and take-out at Island Drop for a easy class 2-3 run.
At Island Drop you put in at the tail end of what used to be a stout class 3 rapid "Island Drop 1", but floods several years ago broadened the channel and pretty much wiped out the rapid. There's not really an island there any more. Just below here is a ledge is on the river left which is fun to play in from 2k - 5k and a standing wave center with eddy service available from a mid-stream rock. Below Island drop the river braids out and winds around a few bends before reaching A-Frame which is identified by the A frame style cabin on the hill below the rapid. There is also a weird Soccer ball looking cabin next to it which stands out much more, which makes you wonder why the rapid is not called soccer ball.
Below A-Frame the river begins to pickup pace with several fun Class III rapids. The second rapid features houses on the river left with large Bronze Elk and Deer. They are very proud homeowners with decadent yard art. The third rapid "Surprise" offers a wonderful Van sized hole at the bottom which is fun to boof or plug as the river gets higher. There's a short straight section below here and as the river bends to the right, rapids start kicking in all the way through House Rocks.
After the first warm-up rapid, the approach into House Rocks starts with a big ledge on river right and a big hole on the left. More whitewater continues as the rapid builds towards the main drop at House Rocks which is marked my an enormous boulder on river left. After a brief pool a second drop appears with an equally big boulder center left "son of House Rock".
Below House Rocks the difficulty eases a bit but more great rapids continue, including Island Drop 2... Another island pretty well wiped out by floods. If you can find it, Here is the site of the infamous "poop chute"... a tight slot between 2 boulders. It used to go at lower water, but floods have filled it in and it's now only a clean chute at 3k +. Below is a nice surf wave and a fun class III rapid above the slalom gates. Wave to the kayak house on river right which is owned by some great paddlers and fun folk!
A few more fun rapids and play spots continue all the way to the take-out.
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