Jordan Creek would be a great place for intermediates to develop creek boating skills if it were clean of wood, but it isn't. This is an area of active logging, heavy rainfall and intense erosion. With that said, advanced paddlers who are confident that they can avoid the abundant wood hazards will also find fun moves, great surfing and boofs. Intermediate paddlers who would like to explore this creek are be well advised to seek local guidance. It is only runnable during and immediately after a significant rainfall in the area.
The bottom 5 miles of this run contain almost entirely class III or III+ rapids with short pools between them. There is one class IV, located under a bridge alongside the shuttle road.
The obvious takeout is where Jordan Creek Road meets Highway 6 and the main Wilson, or you can take out two rapids downstream on the Wilson, where there is access on river right downstream of the Cedar Butte Road bridge. There is good signage for Jordan Creek ORV area to help you find the put-in road.
Driving up Jordan Creek Road from the Jordan/Wilson confluence you will initially be peeking into the final gorge which always looks full. At 0.9 miles you reach a bridge crossing where you can visually assess the flow. This is the 3rd bridge when you're going downstream. There was a landslide from river left upstream of the bridge changing the channel here, so historical landmarks are no longer relevant, including the 'Butcher's Block' rock.
Upstream from 3rd bridge you will be driving up river right. Watch for wood and scout when indicated. Somehow it usually looks class II on the drive up but then feels class III after you launch.
The biggest rapid on the lower run ((2nd) Bridge Rapid), is 1.3 miles upstream from 3rd Bridge mentioned above (or 2.2 miles from the highway). This scout is easy and well worth doing. Remember to look UNDER the bridge as wood has hung up there too. This rapid is characterized by a diagonal riverwide ledge hole at the top and then a few central boulders splitting the rapid into the more conservative right line, or the left line by the cliff. Portaging is difficult, but possible, from the last eddy on the left above the rapid.
There are several possible launches, but basically the farther up you go (past ~5 miles) the harder the run gets. Above mile 6.5 the run steepens. The farthest upstream roadside launch is 7.9 miles from the confluence, where the road leaves the creek. It is also possible to carry your boat upstream past a gate if you want more.
If you launch where the road leaves the creek you get a brief warmup before the first of two ledges. Both are blind, catch wood, and form nasty pocket holes on the right. These are worth scouting on the way up but you will not see them without getting out of your cars. The first ledge curves around a left wall so that people coming downstream cannot see what happened to the person who just went. This one is tricky to scout or portage. Sometimes there is a 1-2 boat eddy immediately above the ledge on the right. Sometimes there is not. It's very nice to have someone on the right bank here to clear the wood, signal, and pull people out of the hole. A similar second ledge hole a short distance downstream also causes more than its share of swims. Both ledges are best run far left, against the wall to avoid the holes, but scout to be sure.
It is possible to launch from Campsite #10 downstream from both of these ledges. When you're driving up it's the second campsite on the right after the road splits (and you go right to scout or left to launch). There's a steep trail to the water, and also a place where you can lower your boat off a cliff to a cobble bar, then walk a few feet upstream to climb down a fisherman's trail to your boat. This launch is downstream from the troublesome ledges, but immediately above a short gorge with a series of fun drops.
The short gorge has several class III's in a row. The first one is steep enough to be blind but not that hard, like the rest. A few rapids into the series you pass under a bridge that you could have scouted from. The drop downstream from the (1st) bridge has a narrow strong hole that can be punched near the left wall. The topography opens up a little after this point but the rapids keep coming. Be on guard for wood, as always.
Craig's Hole is a significant pourover (at higher flows) where the river narrows down between bluffs. There's an easy tongue past it on the right, then a good eddy on the left. The very next drop below Craig's is trickiest at low water. On downstream is an S-turn with play waves in the right bend, and some troublesome wood problems after the left bend. Below that the rapids get easier but longer and strainers still require full attention.
The (2nd) Bridge Rapid (the only solid class IV) comes up after a class II section. You can't see the bridge until you are in the rapid. It's after the gravel yard on river right, and begins in a left bend after the river heads straight for the mountain on river right. The last good eddy above the horizon is on river left. Beyond that you are committed. Hopefully you took a look on the way up, because it's blind and wood does catch in here.
In the easy rapid immediately below the 2nd bridge there is a rock that looks like it would be an incredible boof when covered but it is a volcanic boat shredder: you have been warned.
The next (3rd) bridge signals the beginning of the final gorge. This section develops some nice playspots at higher flows. After a few more II's a rock outcrop blocks the right half of the river, this is your welcome to the final gorge, which is prettier than it is difficult, and usually less woody. The first memorable drop in the gorge involves a large pillow rock in the middle of a narrow channel--either side goes but the left is more sporting. There are more horizons to come and the pools are short. About 3 rapids from the end a lovely waterfall comes in from the right, if you can spare a moment to look up from the rapid. The very last rapid before the Wilson can have eddy service surfing waves.
A final 3' ledge drops paddlers into the most likely swollen Wilson, which is like an ocean after Jordan Creek. It is sometimes possible to take out on river left above this ledge, or you can run it and take out on the left after the confluence, or play your way down the Wilson a short distance to the next bridge (Cedar Butte Road) where there is a takeout trail on river right downstream from the bridge.
Flows vary relative to the Tillamook gauge reading because Jordan creek rises and falls faster than the main Wilson. In general you can expect Jordan to be pushy when the Wilson gauge is over 8 feet, and Jordan is likely to be scrapy when the Wilson is under 6 feet. This creek is horrible when the water is too low; it does not channelize.
There is a history of landslides in the area and sometimes the shuttle road is blocked. Two slides in 2017 occurred 3.5 miles from highway 6. This blockage, if it occurs again, can be circumvented by taking a left after the level-checking (3rd) Bridge about 1 mile up the road and taking the windy road up to the ridge for about 7 miles then down again.