Skookum Canyon

Klickitat County is a wonderful place to sit back and feel the freedom of the open range. You’ll get that and more at Skookum Canyon. Be aware: while Skookum can be exciting and fun in the early season with higher flows, it runs dry by late summer or fall. Not recommended to run in the summer. Expect a fair amount of bushwhacking in the creek which would be even harder if the vegetation was leafed out... so this one is best visited early in the year. There are some nice sections of bedrock occasionally along the descent.

Park at a pullout just east of Skookum Creek on Hwy 142 east (~3min out of Klickitat Town). Note the berm blocking an access road on the north side. Climb over and hike up short trail to the Company Road (closed logging road). Walk west for 2min to a junction and turn left on old jeep trail straight up the ridge on the east/north side of the creek all the way to the powerlines. Follow the powerline track east and break off down meadowed slopes to the top of R1. The first falls is located just downstream of where the powerline crosses the creek.

R1- Keyhole Falls 120’ from boulder DCL. This rappel is potentially hazardous and does require a careful DCR to DCL step or jump very close to the lip of the waterfall to rappel down safely. In higher flow, it may be wiser for most groups to avoid. There is ample area at the top to assess. This is the crux of Skookum. R2- Chutes and Ladders Falls 200’ from bolt station DCR. More rope is required to reach the pool at the bottom, but the pull will suck, particularly in high flow. It may be best not to rappel the final tier and instead pull from a dry platform DCL. You can bypass the last drop by scrambling over a mini-ridge DCL. Below R2, the creek becomes a thrashfest for some distance. Continue downstream wherever is easiest, crossing the creek when needed. Eventually locate a game trail DCR that runs along steep slopes which is easy walking, then just cut down to the top of R3. There's an interesting looking chute not too far above R3. R3- Skookum Falls From R3, walk down stream 150 feet until the canyon opens. You have an option to bail out of the canyon here. Game trails will take you up and out of the creek DCL back to the ridge. Other game trails DCR will take you to the top of a plateau area (very thrashy) which then opens and leads to a fast exit. There are 2-3 shorter drops (10-12ft range) below R3 but they are down-climbable. There may also be some short slides. These have not yet been explored. Creek may be very thrashy in sections. There's also some fairly nice sections of bedrock closer to the Company Road.