Boulder Creek (South Cascades)

A classic canyon located in the upper headwaters of the Lewis River. There are a number of deep pools. This canyon likely sees much higher flow earlier in the season, but subsides around mid-late July and becomes beginner-friendly. Trickiest bit is finding your way to the upper trailhead.

From Portland, take I-5 north to exit 21 (Woodland/Cougar). Turn right off the exit onto WA-503 east. Follow WA-503 (eventually becomes FR 90) for 46.5mi - passing through the town of Cougar. Just past the Pine Creek Information Center, turn off right to stay on FR 90 (may be signed for the Eagle Cliff campground & store). Follow FR 90 (Lewis River Rd) a further 28mi to the bridge over Boulder Creek (signed). Drive with caution. As of summer 2017 this section of FR 90 is in somewhat poor condition riddled with numerous potholes and short sections of gravel (2WD okay). Drive-time from Portland is about 2.5-3hrs. Just past the bridge on the left is a small parking area. On summer weekends you may find people camping here. The bridge is a good place to check flow on the creek. Getting to the upper trailhead probably requires high clearance or a 2WD car that you don't love too much. Drive-time: 30-40min. From the parking area at the end of the road, head southwest into the forest. The area is a little overgrown, but not that bad. After a minute or two you'll encounter a tributary stream on your right. Make your way down the bank wherever is easiest to drop into the creek and head downstream. After 5min of walking, reach a 15ft drop just before the confluence of Boulder Creek. Rappel or climb out of the tributary DCL and make your way down a steep embankment to reach the main creek. This is a good place to suit up.

Boulder has a good bit of stream-walking, but for 1.5mi it seems to pass very quickly. In some areas are nice stretches of bedrock that make for good walking. After a short walk down the creek, a tributary enters DCR. A short 20ft falls is visible just upstream. Short distance downstream, make your way through a boulder jam to the top of the next falls. Continue downstream through some nice canyon to a strange area of striking yellow-orange bedrock. Makes for easy walking. Below are some other short downclimbs. One passes through a nice short narrows. Eventually a tributary enters DCR. A 35ft ramped waterfall is visible just upstream. Further downstream is another short drop that's downclimbable carefully DCR. This marks the end of serious obstacles on the creek.