Staying Home Sucks, home
Oakes Avenue and 1st Street intersection in Cle Elum, WA (2024) - 2
Cle Elum, the nearest town, 8 km away. Photo: Roc0ast3r, CC0, Wikimedia Commons

Yakima River

Kayak spot · United States

Flat water: a lake, canal or slow river

Is it worth the trip?

83Good out of 100 for your dates

Home sucks

Best on Wed 4: Wind 3 kn gusting 11, Air 12 °C

Each day of your trip, out of 100

Tue 3 · 84 out of 100

Wind
3 kn
Gusts
10kn
Air
10°C
Rain
0 mm

Wed 4 · 85 out of 100

Wind
3 kn
Gusts
11kn
Air
12°C
Rain
0 mm

Thu 5 · 81 out of 100

Wind
4 kn
Gusts
22kn
Air
10°C
Rain
0 mm

Fri 6 · 77 out of 100

Wind
5 kn
Gusts
16kntoo gusty
Air
7°C
Rain
3 mm

Sat 7 · 80 out of 100

Wind
5 kn
Gusts
17kn
Air
7°C
Rain
0 mm

Sun 8 · 83 out of 100

Wind
4 kn
Gusts
14kn
Air
9°C
Rain
0 mm

Mon 9 · 84 out of 100

Wind
3 kn
Gusts
7kn
Air
10°C
Rain
0 mm

Tap a day for wind, gusts, air and rain. Full forecast

Forecast: next 10 days

Full forecast
  1. Mon 282, good
  2. Tue 384, good
  3. Wed 485, good
  4. Thu 581, good
  5. Fri 677, good
  6. Sat 780, good
  7. Sun 883, good
  8. Mon 984, good
  9. Tue 1085, good
  10. Wed 1177, good

The spot in two facts

  • Flat waterthe water
  • 2.2 kmthe section

Full forecast

every day, every number

The score doesn't know the river level, weirs or your skill.

Wind and weather forecast and score for each day at Yakima River
DayScoreWindGustsAirRain
Mon 2Nov82, good7 kn19kn10°C0 mm
Tue 3Nov84, good3 kn10kn10°C0 mm
Wed 4Nov85, good3 kn11kn12°C0 mm
Thu 5Nov81, good4 kn22kn10°C0 mm
Fri 6Nov77, good5 kn16kntoo gusty7°C3 mm
Sat 7Nov80, good5 kn17kn7°C0 mm
Sun 8Nov83, good4 kn14kn9°C0 mm
Mon 9Nov84, good3 kn7kn10°C0 mm
Tue 10Nov85, good5 kn14kn10°C0 mm
Wed 11Nov77, good2 kn14kn7°C5.7 mm

Wind and gusts are in knots, rain in mm. River levels: no free forecast gives them, so check a gauge before you go. More

Forecast updated . It refreshes every three hours. Forecast data: ECMWF, DWD, Météo-France and NOAA, served by Open-Meteo.com (CC BY 4.0). Changed by us. Generated using E.U. Copernicus Marine Service Information.

Map

put-in, take-out, its town

Each place wears its best day on these dates: green good, amber fair, pale red poor, as the key says.

The map needs JavaScript. Every place on it is listed on this page, and each place's page links to Google Maps.

One finger scrolls the page; two fingers move the map. Pins are our own positions. Map OpenFreeMap, © OpenMapTiles, data © OpenStreetMap contributors.

More kayaking near here

3 places

About

the place in full, sources, credits

About Yakima River

A river section on the Yakima River, from a put-in down to a take-out. It runs 2.2 km along the river. No grade stated: ask locally before you paddle. No paddling school, club or hire within 50 km on the map. The town to stay in is Cle Elum.

  • River Yakima River
  • Grade No grade is stated.
  • Length 2.2 km along the river.
  • Who it suits No grade stated: ask locally before you paddle.
  • Access No source states the access rules: check locally.
  • Schools, hire No paddling school, club or hire within 50 km on the map.

Spots and rivers: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL). Whitewater sections © Rivermap (rivermap.org), Riverzone and Jonathan Riddell, ODbL.

The score is the conditions only: the journey, the price and the partners never change it (how we score, how we earn).

Rough cost (estimate): about US$1,290–US$2,360 each

about US$1,290–US$2,360 each · 6 nights, 2 sharing: flights, hire car, stay, food, kayak hire.

Our estimate from typical public prices, not a quote: check the real prices before you book (where they come from). Prices are about, in US Dollar (USD): our pound figures at the European Central Bank's rate of 30 October 2026.

How we worked it out 
Rough cost per person for this trip
WhatHow we worked it outEach
Flightsreturn MDW to SEA, estimated from distance and season, 1 airline on the route, with a hold bagabout US$248–US$516
Hire car6 days, sharedabout US$154–US$255
Stay6 nights, a mid-range double, sharedabout US$348–US$583
Food7 days eating outabout US$342–US$636
Kayak hire5 days, or about US$114 to fly your ownabout US$201–US$375
Totalabout US$1,290–US$2,360

Prices from public sources, checked in 2026.

Where to stay: Cle Elum

Closest

Cle Elum

about 15 min by car · 20 places to stay

about US$134/nightcountry average

See 20 places to stay in Cle Elum · Booking.com

About Cle Elum its beds, food and every spot near it

About US$134 a night is our estimate of the country's average 2-star double room that month: not each town's price, and not a quote. Drives are estimates. Prices are about, in US Dollar (USD): our pound figures at the European Central Bank's rate of 30 October 2026.

Getting there: about 8h 15m

About 8h 15m door to door from Chicago

Fly MDW → SEA, direct, then 2h 10m by road

An estimate, one way; the journey never changes the score.

On the water

Paddling schools, clubs and hire nearby

No paddling school, club or hire mapped within 50 km.

Schools, clubs and hire: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL). Credits