Washington Rivers

The Pacific Northwest is one of the most unique and magnificent regions of the world and Washington has a wealth of unforgettable vacations for you to discover and enjoy. We are  your personal guides to a region that is still as beautiful today as it was when Lewis and Clark ventured into it a century ago. With us you'll see and appreciate the wild places as the native Northwest Indians did before them. Allow us to introduce you to the spirit of the Northwest and the magic of our free flowing rivers. With Chinook Expeditions you'll visit the best of our state, meet the friendliest people and experience the most rewarding outdoor adventures imaginable.

At Chinook Expeditions, we design and guide whitewater rafting trips and natural history float tours throughout the Pacific Northwest. Our crystal clear rivers flow year around, offering unparalleled variety trips and unspoiled scenic beauty to those who venture with us. There are many rivers in Washington State that offer adventurous travelers an opportunity to experience some of the finest wilderness rafting trips in North America. We specialize in conducting multi day expeditions and adventure vacations that focus on contact with the river valleys of the Olympic and Cascade Mountain Ranges. On these river trips you'll have time to chat with friends, learn some local history and legends from our guides, view wildlife and just relax among nature as you drift through seldom seen valleys.

Water Everywhere. Water isn't something you need to look for when you visit Washington.  It is something that is all around you.  From the crashing surf of the Pacific coast to the desert canyons of Eastern Washington, there's as much water as there are ways to enjoy it. Our legendary guides take you down rivers that are calm and serene, flowing quietly with very little or no rapids. We can also take you on some of the wildest and most challenging whitewater found any place in the world. Whichever type of trip you choose we guarantee you'll have one of the most rewarding journeys of your life and an adventure worth repeating.

In Washington, you can experience our mountains and valleys in a variety of ways.  By van, by foot, by horseback, sometimes by sheer nerve.  We find the single best motive force is by river.  Throughout history explorers and pioneers have used rivers as the most convenient and cost effective path to travel through the land. On our trips you'll learn about rural lifestyles, natural history and the geology of our diverse state.  Our river trips offer a broad perspective of flora and fauna within riparian zones as exotic as anywhere on earth.  There are commanding views of mountain peaks and scenery within canyons experienced only by river travel. Join us and discover for yourself the essence of adventure travel.

America's Alps  The Cascades were born of volcanic fire and glacial ice.  Some peaks stand as lofty symmetrical cones, like Mount Rainier and her sister volcanoes.  That is how Mount St. Helens appeared until she erupted in May 1980.  Today, she is quiet and you can visit her.  The Toutle River is a place where she tells an awe inspiring story of the forces which shape the earth.  In the North Cascades, you'll find rows of rugged steep walled mountains worn sharply by the glaciers they still carry and from which rivers flow year-round into the tributaries and lakes of the Skagit Valley.  To the South of Mt. Adams, remote alpine meadows  bloom in a blaze of color and underground springs fill the rivers that fall into the lava gorges of the Klickitat, Wind, and White Salmon.  The Olympics are something entirely different.  They rise 7,000 feet over ancient rainforests, wilderness beaches, and the Pacific Ocean.  On Hurricane Ridge, you can see them face to face or float under them through the valleys on the Hoh, Queets, and Quimalt Rivers.  Our mountains and rivers are for all seasons.  You can fish and play in them.  Hike and challenge them or just relax and admire them.  Above all you'll never forget how you saw them.

Old West Meets New  In the rain shadow of the Cascades, you find another Washington.  The land and air become drier and warmer.  Dense alpine forests give way to rolling farmlands and flowering deserts, brought to life be the rivers flowing through them.  Here you can still find the old West.  In places like the Methow Valley, the frontier is one of ranching heritage.  There are working ranches where cowboys still ride the range and Dude ranches where you can too. 

The rivers of Eastern Washington parallel the historic sites that echo a colorful Western past.  Cowboys and Indians are more than memories here.  They are still for real.  You'll also find the best of the new West in the Columbia Basin where the Wenatchee, Naches, and Tieton Rivers have turned what was once barren desert into blooming orchards and vineyards  which are some of the finest in the world.  Taste these rivers and you'll discover a unique combination of flowers.  The sweet scent of sage and pine on the breeze.  Some and see the Canyons and palisades where we ride, swim, pan for gold and just bask in the warmth of our river camps. 

Evergreen  Wherever you go in the Evergreen State, you're never far from our rivers or forests.  The eight different areas we visit in Washington have over ten million acres of forest wilderness making up three National parks and five National Forests.  On the west coast, in the Olympic National Park, you'll find lush rainforests unchanged for thousands of years.  Large herds of Roosevelt Elk swim across the river between ancient moss covered banks.  Everywhere you look, life grows in endless variety.  In the North Cascades National Park, tall fir and spruce stand beneath jagged snow covered peaks and alongside plunging waterfalls.  Here, you'll see bald eagles soaring above the river and black tail deer along the gravel bars.  East of the Cascade Mountains, Ponderosa pines form exotic high country meadows and border river camps against deep blue water and bright blue skies.

Chinook Expeditions is based on the banks of the Skykomish River where the towering peaks glow in the moonlight.  The valley is a mixture of forests, rivers and legend.  In the valley, you'll find one of the most legendary rivers of the Northwest.  There are still areas yet to be explored though it's only 1 1/2 hours from Seattle.