Latest:	3 Jul 2026 (12 days ago)

Reported by:	Nhskijumper8 (3 reports)
Location:	Big Creek (South Cascades)
Quality:	Amazing
Waterflow:	Moderate
Wetsuit:	Full wetsuit
Water temperature:
Difficulty:	Special challenges
Time:	4 hours

Team: 4 people with experience level Beginner to Advanced

Trip report URL:

Comments: Fun day out in my favorite canyon. The scenery is top notch and has some fun technical aspects to work through. Love the bonus slide at the very end!

All condition reports

Date	Quality	Waterflow	Wetsuit	Difficulty	Time	Team	Reported by
11 Jul 2026	Amazing	Moderate High	Full wetsuit		5 hours	6 people Beginner to Advanced	RFontaine (391 reports)
Comment: Totally epic canyon! The highlight of my PNW trip! Very grandiose feel with a ton of memorable features and high quality rappels!! We found R5’s sleeve bolts to be very loose in their holes. I was able to wiggle both sleeve bolts back and forth, these should be replaced ASAP. We backed up the rap anchor on the traverse anchor and it held fine this time. 5/4 wetsuit with splash jacket was comfy for me. Exit is definitely long but enjoyable. Tons of delicious Salmon Berries to snack on throughout. At the confluence, we crossed the river, removed wetsuits, and took the “speed trail” through the woods above the river before crossing again (waist deep) and finding the established trail on the other side through old growth forest. These trails were heavily cut in with no bushwhack and very pretty! Awesome route all around! Cant wait to do this one again!
3 Jul 2026	Amazing	Moderate	Full wetsuit	Special challenges	4 hours	4 people Beginner to Advanced	Nhskijumper8 (3 reports)
Comment: Fun day out in my favorite canyon. The scenery is top notch and has some fun technical aspects to work through. Love the bonus slide at the very end!
2 Jul 2026	Amazing	Moderate	Full wetsuit	Normal	5 hours	5 people Beginner to Intermediate	Hendbc (31 reports)
Comment: Higher moderate but not quite mod high flow. Sporty pools and on rope movement but nothing problematic. Finding the right path up this time around for the sneak exit made for a delightfully devils club free hike out.
12 Jun 2026	Great	Moderate High	Full wetsuit	Special challenges	4 hours	6 people Intermediate to Advanced	Hangtime TexasLorenzo (4 reports)
Comment: Pretty normal descent considering the high flow it saw this winter. Some new logs in R3, R4, and R6, but none are currently problematic. Replaced webbing at R1 that was jerry rigged. Bolts at the lip are still there and unnecessary. R5 traverse bolts in good shape but rappel anchors are very loose and need to be replaced as they won't tighten, we used as is with caution. R6 jump goes. R7b, the last pitch of cave falls, currently has 3 bolts, only one of which had a hanger. Added a SS hanger and quicklink to the upper one to use as a back up for the single bolt and connecting the rope from 7a but they are too far apart to rig as unlinked. Wasn't planning to rebolt anything but R5 and cave falls could use some anchor work before more groups go through this year.
13 Sep 2025	Good	Low	Drysuit	Advanced		2 people Advanced to Expert	Rernst86 (99 reports)
Comment: New wood at R3 and R4. Bridge wrench for last bolt station
16 Aug 2025	Amazing	Moderate	Full wetsuit	Normal	5 hours	6 people Beginner to Advanced	K arc (412 reports),EricAbseil (9 reports)
Comment: Great time today. Flow was "loud." Start to R2 we were plenty warm, but after dropping into the rain room overheating was no longer a problem. We knew the recent rain would increase flow, but we did not anticipate just how much. Nonetheless, most of the creek was not more difficult than in lower flow. Only the keeper at the bottom of R4 presented additional challenge, and it did not feel dangerous. Pissed off a nest of wasps in the middle of the trail on the new exit (DCL, following the cliff line) but managed to avoid any stings. All anchors were safely rigged; However, recommend replacing R6 with a wrap 3 / pull 1 higher up the log for ease of use.
10 Aug 2025	Amazing	Moderate	Full wetsuit	Normal	5 hours	3 people	Nclegg (483 reports)
Comment: R1 webbing was repaired as the water knot was showing excessive wear. Great flow for our first time through. Beautiful canyon. Route took 5.5h car-to-car using the speed exit and moving at a casual pace.
13 Jul 2025	Great	Moderate	Thin wetsuit	Normal	2 hours	1 people Intermediate	TexasLorenzo (64 reports)
Comment: Big already in moderate flow. Still beautiful but if you have run this before there are no surprises. R2 was rappelled on the DCR side to explore some other options…Ascending rope on this side puts you right in the flow and is great fun! Different perspectives from this side; however the classic rain room rap is still a better exp. Snakes were spotted on the rock fin! The rest of the canyon was pretty much unchanged, the logs in the last sequence of raps are still around.
28 Sep 2024		Moderate Low	Full wetsuit	Normal			Thegazelle (59 reports)
Comment: Great time in Big with some gentle flow conditions. Delinked the bolts on R4. A couple of the hangers spun but doesn't seem critical at the moment. The speed trail could use some TCL, tread was fairly good lower down with vegetation taking over some parts of the upper section. Then theirs about single day worth of log out (generally under 12" in diameter).
23 Sep 2024	Amazing	Moderate Low	Full wetsuit	Normal	4 hours	4 people Beginner to Advanced	Feroz (36 reports),Boof (34 reports)
Comment: Fantastic trip to Big Creek. No special obstacles, and we enjoyed the scenery.
13 Sep 2024	Amazing	Moderate	Full wetsuit	Normal		3 people Beginner to Advanced	Triggerfish (106 reports)
Comment: WOW! We came in from out of town, new to PNW Class C, and did a progression meant to build in both challenge and payoff. It went Duncan (just me and a couple first-time canyoneers), then my experienced friends came and we did Davis, Hager, Eagle, Big. This order was perfect, and Big was a spectacular finale to an outstanding week. As with everything else up here, beta was dead on, and anchors in great shape. We were prepared gear and skills wise for everything, but it was still a nerve check to commit to the dark, cold core of this canyon. Going through it was AWESOME!
1 Sep 2024	Amazing	Moderate Low	Full wetsuit	Normal	5 hours	2 people Beginner to Intermediate	Sbrown (17 reports)
Comment: Great day in Big - flows were super relaxed and easy, could have used a little more water ;-) But it made for a quick visit.
17 Aug 2024	Great	Moderate	Full wetsuit	Normal		6 people Beginner to Advanced	Fil (43 reports)
Comment: Big never disappoints. Great day in the creek. We were surprised to see a large audience of hikers at the bottom of cave falls.
11 Aug 2024	Great	Moderate Low	Full wetsuit	Normal		6 people	K arc (412 reports)
Comment: Awesome as always. Watch for a sharp edge on R1: padding the edge and/or rope-creeping strongly recommended from the DCL anchor. Couple of bolts could use tightening. Spent a bunch of time playing in the Rain Room.
3 Aug 2024	Great	Moderate	Thin wetsuit			3 people Beginner to Advanced	Tommy23 (16 reports)
Comment: Beautiful relaxed run, took our time and still just 3:10 in creek time. Picked up some trash along the exit - seeing signs of more people hiking down to cave falls. Second time in two weeks there's been people camping in the old parking lot when I've run Big as well, boulders have been rolled out of the way and it appears to be getting a lot of use lately.