It will come as no surprise to any paddler in the Pacific Northwest that I didn't make it halfway through my first day living in Portland, Oregon without hearing someone utter the words “Canyon Creek.” In the years prior to relocating here, I'd filled my brain with images of the Little White, the Green Truss, and Eagle Creek, but once I arrived, a much more frequent topic of conversation was this 4.4-mile Lewis River tributary in the small town of Chelatchie, Washington. It took me longer than I'd like to admit to take my first strokes through Canyon's cathedral walls, but by the end of my inaugural descent, I had joined the ranks of the many who sing its praises.
A few years and countless laps later, I find myself in the midst of another spring season checking flows at least four times a day, every time checking the Canyon Creek gauge first. My commute to this river might have doubled since moving from Portland to White Salmon, but I never doubt that the juice will be worth the squeeze. On any given day you'll find paddlers from all over the world here, and there's a simple reason why. Canyon Creek is the embodiment of pool drop perfection—pure paddling bliss.
Along the 46th parallel on the western slope of the Cascade
