KLAMATH RIVER
OVERVIEW
The Klamath River is a unique and diverse river located in Southern Oregn and flows into Northern California. The Klamath River watershed covers quite a large area gathering its flows from the south and eastern sides of Crater Lake National Park.
KLAMATH RIVER ORIGIN
Water coming down the eastern side of the Cascade Range as well as groundwater from this area collects in the shallow Upper Klamath Lake, creating the beginning of the Klamath River. Near Klamath Falls, Oregon the river leaves the lake and heads downstream through agricultural land then crosses the Oregon/California border and begins heading southwest towards the Pacific Ocean. The Klamath River cuts its way through the Cascade Range's volcanic rock. As the river is traveling through the Cascades it begins to churn the water into foam in the Upper Klamath section.
Just a quick note to say that we had a perfect trip with you down the Klamath last week. The high spots were the IK, the hike and the brownies! Many thanks.
-Bob and Claire Miller.Truckee, CA
THE UPPER KLAMATH RIVER
Just like Upper Klamath lake, the Klamath River is shallow. The Upper Klamath section which is a class 3-4+ section of river is known to boaters as having extremely sharp rocks in the river bottom. Boaters sometimes will wear wetsuits in the summer to prevent abrasions in an event of a swim. The Klamath River water is dark in color due to the organic matter coming off of Klamath Lake. This makes for tough navigation around the rocks in some sections of the river.
The Upper Klamath was was only known as a private river run until 1979 when Dean Munroe, head of Wilderness Adventures discovered this section of river was floatable. He named it "Hell's Corner" referring to the level of difficulty of this run. The Upper Klamath of today is run daily throughout the summer through local Ashland, Oregon river guide outfitter as well as occasionally run by California outfitters.
THE MIDDLE KLAMATH RIVER
Downstream from the Upper Klamath is the Middle and Lower Klamath sections of river. Both are lower in difficulty than the Upper Klamath but are equally as scenic and are the home to countless species of water fowl, deer, elk, and bear.
The Middle Klamath section is a Class 1-2+ section with the majority of rafting and kayaking done on the "Tree of Heaven" section which launches from Tree of Heaven campground taking out at Gottville, California. This seven mile stretch of river is a popular day river trip for local rafters and kayakers from Southern Oregon and Northern California. This section of river was heavily mined for gold during the late 1800's. The river today shows the scars from the gold dredges that were used to dig up the river bottom during the Gold Rush.
"I'm still thinking about the trip - it was so awesome meeting you all. I agree, it definitely felt like we were leaving old friends at the end."
-Mariah, Will, and Denali- San Diego, CA
-Lower Klamath 3 day trip
THE LOWER KLAMATH RIVER
The Lower Klamath is widely known as being a classic multi day family river trip. The Lower Klamath includes rapids that range from Class 2-4. Most of the boating in this section covers wild class 3 rapids to long flat pools that are perfect for swimming and relaxing. The most well known and feared rapid on this stretch of river is "Dragon's Tooth". This rapid is rated a Class 4 not because of the volume of water traveling through this section, but because the lack of it. At later summer water flows, Dragon's Tooth rapid is a shallow boulder garden and can flip even the most experienced guides sending them and their passengers for a short swim.
Although the Lower Klamath stretch of river is followed by Highway 96, a rural highway, you can hardly tell it's there since it's hidden by the forest most of the trip. The further you travel down the Klamath River towards the coast, the river corridor changes from desert like canyons to lush green forests. Wildlife abounds and you could possibly see bald eagles, black bears, osprey, and otters.
