Skokomish River (South Fork)

This is an all day river hike and swim on the Olympic Peninsula. The original beta on Canyoneering Northwest described an 11mi tour, with about half of it passing through two deep scenic gorges. The route is nontechnical and requires no equipment beyond a wet suit. This adventure should not be undertaken lightly, however. There is lots of swimming and potentially strong current. During high water, the Skykomish is a class five kayak run. The river should be running at under 80 cubic feet per second (cfs) before going through it on foot.

To get there from Hwy 101, turn off onto the Skokomish Valley Rd for 4.4mi where you'll see the river on your right. Leave a shuttle vehicle here. Continue west on Skokomish Valley Road for 1.2mi and veer right onto Govey Rd (eventually becomes FR 23). Follow for 7mi to park in a pullout on the right. There used to be a road here (now gated) that leads down ~1mi to an old campground next to the river. Follow the old road down to the river and head south. Total distance to the mouth of the upper gorge is about 1.9mi. If you only want to do half the trip, it's also possible to access the river at a point in the middle. From the lower parking, continue west on Skykomish Valley Road for 1.2mi, then veer right onto Govey Rd (FR 23) for 2.3mi. Turn right on FR 2340 for 1.8mi to an unmarked junction. From the original beta: "You will encounter three forks. Turn right at each one The road goes downhill through a lage clear cut. Continue to the end and pick up a faint trail which goes to the lower end of the clearcut then turns right going downhill thorugh the forest to the river. the trail is very good once you're in the woods." While you're in the are, definitely follow FR 2340 to High Bridge. This steel span is over 400 feet above the Skykomish River and provides some great views of the canyon.

At the entrance of the first gorge, the river quickly entrenches itself and the swimming begins. There are six small waterfalls on the DCR canyon walls. In another 1.25mi, Rock Creek comes in on the right. (It's also possible to combine Rock Creek and S. Fork Skykomish in one trip. See the Rock Creek page for more details. About a half mile past Rock Creek, the first canyon ends. The next mile is in a broad valley walking on the cobblestone banks. You can easily leave the river at this point if you don’t want to do the lower gorge. Shortly after the river turns sharply right, look for a steep gravel embankment on the right. It is about 25ft and maybe 300ft long. On top of the embankment there is (was?) a tree with a blue tarp wrapped around it. From the tree, you can easily pick up the aforementioned trail which goes up to the clear cut and the dirt road leading back to FR 2340. If you continue downstream, you soon enter the second gorge which starts out with a swim through a narrows. In a little over 0.5mi, you pass beneath High Bridge which is 410ft above. This is an area of great beauty which has been marred by trash thrown off the bridge above. Olympic Mountain Rescue has rappelled into the canyon to clean up the debris. Just before High Bridge, Vincent Falls spills into the canyon on the right side. This has been rappelled as a means of accessing the canyon bottom. The canyon continues another 2mi downstream of High Bridge.