by Courtney Murphy | August 2020
Paddlers should be aware of spanning logs along the Nisqually. This log, located a couple of river miles upstream of the Centralia Diversion Dam, spans half of the river.
As the end of summer approaches, you may be thinking of doing some boating or floating on the Nisqually River. With its relatively undeveloped shoreline and impressive natural landscape, the Nisqually is a popular river for kayakers and rafters. However, some of those natural features that make the Nisqually desirable for recreation can also lead to dangerous situations.
Earlier blog posts described some of the shoreline changes that happened along the Nisqually during the February 2020 flood flows. Over the last few months, we’ve received several reports of spanning logs that are across the river along the same reach of the river – the 6 mile stretch above the Centralia Diversion Dam – starting a bit upstream of river mile 26 and extending upstream to river mile 32 (just above the confluence of the river and Tanwax Creek).
Before your next trip on the Nisqually, be sure to research these potential hazards and talk with experienced paddlers who have been on the river recently.
We also urge you to follow boater safety guidelines – like the ones listed on the Nisqually River Water Trail website.
Stay safe, and enjoy the river!