Notice of boating hazard
Cedar River

One-mile of the Cedar River remains closed to the public from the Union 76 Station on State Route 169 to the Cavanaugh Pond Natural Area. Extensive flooding in January 2011 resulted in a river-spanning log jam at the Ricardi Reach, also known as Cedar Rapids, which poses an extreme hazard to river users.

It is a criminal misdemeanor to violate the closure order, which will be enforced by the Sheriff's Office Marine Unit. Warning signs alerting the public of this closure have been posted along the river.

There are several publicly owned take out locations accessible from SR 169 upstream of the river closure. The last two public take outs before the river closure are the Cedar Grove Road Natural Area on the left bank of the river just downstream of the Cedar Grove Road bridge at River Mile 11.5 and the Belmondo Reach Natural Area at River Mile 9.7, accessible from Cedar Mountain Place Southeast and upstream of the Jones Road bridge crossing.

The first publicly owned put in location after the river closure is at the end of a footpath at the Cavanaugh Pond Natural Area. River conditions downstream of this area have changed after the last flood event and continue to change during high flows. Boaters are responsible for scouting ahead to make sure there are no new hazards downstream of this put in when planning a float.

Click to enlarge map.

The Ricardi Reach log jam poses a threat to boaters. The log jam is located upriver from the River Bend Mobile Home Park at 17410 SE Maple Valley Highway (SR 169). Here the river changed course during January 2011 flooding, taking down many standing trees and piling up a large log jam. The entire river flows over, under, around and through the logs. Kayakers or other persons floating the river could easily be pulled under the logs by the currents and drown or their floats could get hung-up in the logs, necessitating a very hazardous rescue.

The one-mile long section of the river will remain closed by the King County Sheriff's Office until further notice.

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Cedar River - Lake Washington Watershed