The Raging River is a tributary of the

Snoqualmie River The Snoqualmie River is a long river in King County and Snohomish County in the U.S. state of Washington. The river's three main tributaries are the North, Middle, and South Forks, which drain the west side of the Cascade Mountains near the town ...

in western

Washington state Washington (), officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. Named for George Washington—the first U.S. president—the state was formed from the western part of the Washington ...

in the United States. It is located in the western foothills of the

Cascade Mountains The Cascade Range or Cascades is a major mountain range of western North America, extending from southern British Columbia through Washington and Oregon to Northern California. It includes both non-volcanic mountains, such as the North Cascades, ...

in east central

King County, Washington King County is located in the U.S. state of Washington. The population was 2,269,675 in the 2020 census, making it the most populous county in Washington, and the 13th-most populous in the United States. The county seat is Seattle, also the st ...

. It gets its name from the large amount of water it sometimes carries. The record discharge at the gaging station is over per second. The Raging is a salmon-bearing river and supports one-fifth of the Snoqualmie River's chinook runs. The river begins in the valley formed by

Rattlesnake Ridge Rattlesnake Ridge, known as daʔšədabš to the Snoqualmie people, is the ridge of Rattlesnake Mountain located south of North Bend, Washington, United States. The western end is near the intersection of State Route 18 and I-90 in Snoqualmie, W ...

to the east and Taylor Mountain to the west in the Raging River State Forest, managed by the

Washington Department of Natural Resources The Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR) manages over of forest, range, agricultural, and commercial lands in the U.S. state of Washington. The DNR also manages of aquatic areas which include shorelines, tidelands, lands und ...

. It flows northwest, crossing State Route 18, and then continues north past Tiger Mountain, crossing

Interstate 90 Interstate 90 (I-90) is an east–west transcontinental freeway and the longest Interstate Highway in the United States at . It begins in Seattle, Washington, and travels through the Pacific Northwest, Mountain West, Great Plains, Midwest, and ...

near

Preston, Washington Preston is an unincorporated and exurban community in the northwest United States, located east of Seattle in King County, Washington. It was named after railway official William T. Preston. Preston is a historic mill town on the northeast ...

, and joining the

near

Fall City, Washington Fall City is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in King County, Washington, United States, east of Seattle. The community lies along the Snoqualmie River and Raging River. The population was 1,993 at the 2010 census. ...

. The Raging River watershed is part of the larger

Puget Sound Puget Sound ( ) is a sound of the Pacific Northwest, an inlet of the Pacific Ocean, and part of the Salish Sea. It is located along the northwestern coast of the U.S. state of Washington. It is a complex estuarine system of interconnected ma ...

drainage basin A drainage basin is an area of land where all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, t ...

. The average annual flow in the river is per second and the drainage area is 32 square miles.

History

Until 2009, almost half of the Raging River basin was privately owned. In the spring of that year, the

and King County partnered to purchase , filling a large gap in the

Mountains to Sound Greenway The Mountains to Sound Greenway is a 1.5 million-acre landscape situated in the Pacific Northwest. On March 12, 2019, it was designated a National Heritage Area, to be managed by the Mountains to Sound Greenway Trust, as part of the John D. Dinge ...

Hiking and biking

The Preston-Snoqualmie Trail follows along the Raging River and Preston-Fall City Road for a 3½ mile stretch and continues toward

Snoqualmie Falls Snoqualmie Falls is a waterfall in the northwest United States, located east of Seattle on the Snoqualmie River between Snoqualmie and Fall City, Washington. It is one of Washington's most popular scenic attractions and is known internationall ...

. The trail is bike and dog friendly. In the winter of 2012 the

began a public planning activity to guide the development of recreation opportunities in the Snoqualmie Corridor, including specifically the Raging River State Forest.

Kayaking

The lower half of the Raging River from Preston to Fall City is long and has been rated as a class III+ (difficult) section for

kayaking Kayaking is the use of a kayak for moving over water. It is distinguished from canoeing by the sitting position of the paddler and the number of blades on the paddle. A kayak is a low-to-the-water, canoe-like boat in which the paddler sits fac ...

References

External links

* * * {{authority control Rivers of Washington (state) Rivers of King County, Washington

History

Hiking and biking

Kayaking

See also

References

External links