Training Info

We occasionally offer free or nominal Slalom Clinics throughout the year. Keep watch on our slalom events and info for updates.

Attached is a handout summarizing drills from last year’s clinics.

The British Canoe Union has produced a series of instructional videos focusing on slalom skills. There are videos starting with basic forward stroke to more advanced upstream gates and using waves and stoppers. You can find them here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zgWrFzHBtD8&list=PLkPLpXtu24vs-KLXSl5Tk3ljHpQB-Ey_B&index=6

Training Sites

Cedar River Gates

Located where the Issaquah-Hobart Road crosses the Cedar River at Landsburg, Washington 40 minutes east of Seattle. Take I-90 to Front Street exit in Issaquah. Continue through the town of Issaquah. Street becomes the Issaquah-Hobart Road. Continue east of Highway 18.

Class II+ water. Can circulate gates easily on the bottom half of the course.

The course is open to all paddlers for practice. Always raise the poles before you leave as the Cedar rises and falls quickly and poles left low during high flows will destroy the course. The Cedar rises and falls quite quickly. Flows tend to match rainfall but are regulated somewhat by the City of Seattle (upstream is drinking water system). The course is good from 250 cfs-2,000 cfs. For flow information, look for the Cedar River Below the Diversion at the NOAA website.

Whatcom Creek Gates - Bellingham, WA

The Whatcom Creek Gates are located at Whatcom Falls Park. 

As of October 8, 2023, the old railroad trestle has been removed and the slalom gates were added back. 

This is basically a flatwater course that is paddled to from a pond you can walk to from the parking lot.

When there is flow in the creek you can attain to the dam for an extra workout and it creates some moving water through the gates. 

Bellingham now has a website that includes flow in the creek shown in a graph halfway down the page: 

Bend, Oregon

In Bend we meet twice a week for slalom drills and practice. The site is at First Street Rapids Park.



First Street Rapids Park

We have permission for the Bend Parks and Recreation District to put up the gates and must take them down each time. Generally our sessions are on Sunday and Thursday. From Memorial Day to Labor Day we have to be finished by 10:00 a.m. After Labor Day we must be done by noon. After Oct 1 we can go any time. We try to meet about 30 minutes before the session is to start to set up the course.

For more information, contact Bert Hinkley at bwhinkley@gmail.com

British Columbia

Excellent slalom training site in British Columbia - about 2.5 hours north of Seattle. Located at Tamihi Rapids on the Chilliwack River near the town of Chiliwack. http://ccekayak.com/