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?

74Good out of 100 for your dates

Home sucks

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

Each day of your trip, out of 100

Wed 4 · 82 out of 100

Wind
4 kn
Gusts
11kn
Air
11°C
Rain
0 mm

Thu 5 · 79 out of 100

Wind
2 kn
Gusts
13kn
Air
10°C
Rain
0 mm

Fri 6 · 76 out of 100

Wind
1 kn
Gusts
6kn
Air
7°C
Rain
9 mm

Sat 7 · 79 out of 100

Wind
4 kn
Gusts
14kn
Air
11°C
Rain
0 mm

Sun 8 · 30 out of 100

Wind
4 kn
Gusts
16kntoo gusty
Air
9°C
Rain
6.6 mm

Mon 9 · 77 out of 100

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

Tue 10 · 64 out of 100

Wind
1 kn
Gusts
16kntoo gusty
Air
7°C
Rain
27 mm

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

Forecast: next 10 days

Full forecast
  1. Tue 382, good
  2. Wed 482, good
  3. Thu 579, good
  4. Fri 676, good
  5. Sat 779, good
  6. Sun 830, poor
  7. Mon 977, good
  8. Tue 1064, good
  9. Wed 1128, poor
  10. Thu 1279, 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
Tue 3Nov82, good3 kn11kn10°C0.1 mm
Wed 4Nov82, good4 kn11kn11°C0 mm
Thu 5Nov79, good2 kn13kn10°C0 mm
Fri 6Nov76, good1 kn6kn7°C9 mm
Sat 7Nov79, good4 kn14kn11°C0 mm
Sun 8Nov30, poor4 kn16kntoo gusty9°C6.6 mm
Mon 9Nov77, good3 kn10kn7°C0 mm
Tue 10Nov64, good1 kn16kntoo gusty7°C27 mm
Wed 11Nov28, poor4 kn15kntoo gusty8°C51 mm
Thu 12Nov79, good1 kn11kn6°C0.9 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.

Best time to go

No month stands out

Good kayaking days in a typical week, each month, for new paddlers, from 2016 on (ERA5 history scored the same way).

  1. Jan6of 7: a trip from Sat 2 Jan
  2. Feb5of 7: a trip from Sat 6 Feb
  3. Mar5of 7: a trip from Sat 6 Mar
  4. Apr6of 7: a trip from Sat 3 Apr
  5. May6of 7: a trip from Sat 1 May
  6. Jun7of 7: a trip from Sat 5 Jun
  7. Jul7of 7: a trip from Sat 3 Jul
  8. Aug7of 7: a trip from Sat 7 Aug
  9. Sep7of 7: a trip from Sat 4 Sept
  10. Oct7of 7: a trip from Sat 2 Oct
  11. Nov6of 7: a trip from Wed 4 Nov
  12. Dec6of 7: a trip from Sat 5 Dec

Tap a month to see this spot for a trip then.

Typical weather, not a forecast, and not the river's level: a month that is often good to be outside may still be low water.

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$2,370 each

about US$1,290–US$2,370 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 2 November 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$517
Hire car6 days, sharedabout US$154–US$255
Stay6 nights, a mid-range double, sharedabout US$349–US$584
Food7 days eating outabout US$342–US$637
Kayak hire5 days, or about US$114 to fly your ownabout US$201–US$376
Totalabout US$1,290–US$2,370

Prices from public sources, checked in 2026.

Where to stay: Cle Elum

Ad Links marked Ad may pay us if you book. You pay the same, and they never change a score. How we earn

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 2 November 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

Saved: this link opens the same trip

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The link holds the trip itself: nothing about you is kept. Check the forecast again before you book.