Print it. Bag it. Bring it.Phones die, screens crack, and most of this water has no signal. Print this map, fold it into a zip-top bag or dry bag with your license, and you have a backup your electronics can’t give you. Every marker is numbered so you can say exactly where you are.
| # | Point | Type | Lat, Lon | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Barrier Dam Tacoma Power | Dam / hazard | 46.51217, -122.63379 | Upstream limit of the tailwater. The salmon-and-steelhead barrier below Mayfield Dam; boats stay below it. |
| 2 | Barrier Dam Boat Launch Ramp immediately below the barrier | Access / boat ramp | 46.51599, -122.63810 | Top launch on the tailwater, a few hundred metres below the dam face. |
| 3 | Cowlitz Trout Hatchery WDFW / Tacoma Power - Blue Creek | Agency / conservation office | 46.49214, -122.72241 | Hatchery and visitor area at Blue Creek; the reach's information point. |
| 4 | Cowlitz Trout Hatchery boat ramp Blue Creek | Access / boat ramp | 46.48381, -122.73049 | Ramp at the hatchery. A second unnamed ramp is mapped about 400 m upstream and was left off rather than guessed at. |
| 5 | Front Street Boat Launch Toledo - Cowlitz River Park | Access / boat ramp | 46.43812, -122.84521 | Toledo's in-town launch, on the park bank at the head of the lower river. |
| 6 | South County Park Lewis County - ramp and swimming beach | Access / boat ramp | 46.43318, -122.84505 | County park just below Toledo; an unnamed boat ramp and a swimming beach are mapped inside it. |
| 7 | Kemp Olson Memorial Park Toledo | Park / conservation area | 46.43678, -122.85305 | Riverside city park on the north bank below the Front Street launch. |
| 8 | RiversEdge Lodge & RV Park Vader - boat ramp on site | Campsite | 46.41594, -122.88888 | Private riverside RV park; an unnamed ramp is mapped 50 m from it. |
| 9 | River Oaks RV Park Vader | Campsite | 46.41471, -122.89691 | Private RV park on the west bank. |
| 10 | Paradise Resort & RV Park Above the Toutle confluence | Campsite | 46.32297, -122.90983 | |
| 11 | Toutle River RV Resort At the Toutle River mouth | Campsite | 46.31838, -122.91640 | |
| 12 | Mouth of Toutle Water Access WDFW | Access / boat ramp | 46.30910, -122.91696 | Access at the Toutle confluence, the reach's best-known bank fishery. |
| 13 | Al Helenberg Memorial Boat Launch Castle Rock - Harry S. Truman Park | Access / boat ramp | 46.27809, -122.91166 | Castle Rock's ramp, in the riverside park; two OSM nodes 20 m apart merged to one point. |
| 14 | USGS gauge 14243000 - Cowlitz River at Castle Rock Live stage and discharge | USGS gauge | 46.27483, -122.91456 | The gauge this water page reads from. |
| 15 | Riverside County Park Cowlitz County - Lexington | Park / conservation area | 46.19197, -122.90325 | County park on the east bank above the Lexington bridge. |
| 16 | Lexington Bridge | Bridge crossing | 46.18448, -122.90035 | Road crossing at Lexington, a common float landmark. |
| 17 | Sportsman's Warehouse Kelso - tackle and licences | Bait, tackle & fly shop | 46.13987, -122.89952 | The mapped tackle source on the lower river; OSM lists no dedicated bait or fly shop on this reach. |
| 18 | Boat ramp at Gerhart Gardens Park Kelso - unnamed in OpenStreetMap | Access / boat ramp | 46.11131, -122.89513 | Ramp 210 m from Gerhart Gardens Park, the lowest mapped launch before the Columbia. |
Gauge: USGS 14243000 — COWLITZ RIVER AT CASTLE ROCK, WA. Live flow on the web page.
Species: Chinook Salmon, Coastal Cutthroat Trout, Coho Salmon, Rainbow Trout, Steelhead
Regulations: wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/regulations
Emergency: call 911 and give the number of the nearest point on this map plus its coordinates.
Barrier Dam: the top of the anadromous river, bank fishery and boat launch.
Blue Creek and the Cowlitz Salmon Hatchery: the most popular access on the river.
Massey Bar and Mission Bar: upper river ramps below the hatchery.
Toledo and Kiser Road: middle river launches and long float options.
Castle Rock: access near the gauge, ramp and town park.
Longview and the Columbia confluence: the bottom of the river.
Seasons here change by emergency rule; check current regulations before every trip.
Year-round; something is open on this river in nearly every month.
December through April: winter steelhead, the signature fishery.
May through September: summer steelhead, spring chinook and sea-run cutthroat late in the season.
September through November: fall chinook and a heavy coho run, the busiest boat traffic of the year.