Located about 30 miles north of Cle Elum is the Teanaway River drainage. The river consists of three forks, the West, the Middle and the North which join in to create the main stem northeast of town. Most of the quality camping lies on the North Fork.
All three forks offer several miles of fishing access. Additionally, there is Camp Lake for float tubing. This lake used to be accessible by vehicle but the road has since closed requiring a hike of a couple miles. The area is filled with numerous small streams which allows for exploration and the possible discovery of unknown hot fishing spots. A road follows each fork but beyond that is an impressive network of trails. A majority of them permit mountain biking. The ridges and canyons can create as challenging a ride or hike as desired. The terrain is typical of the Cascades' leeward side, drier and forests that are sparser than their counterparts on the west side. Between the fishing, exploration and trekking, the Teanaway River and its tributaries is a quality camping destination. This is undoubtedly aided by the fact that getting here requires a traveling through a forest restoration area containing no shortage of signs discouraging recreation (complete with video surveillance no less!). This probably keeps people from discovering its true potential and there's nothing wrong with that. |