Upper Klamath
Our FarOut guide has the Hells Corner section posted, and will include the six other sections by December, 2025.
Oregon, USA
Upper Klamath River Rafting Guide
The “New” Klamath
With the dams out on the Klamath river, there are many new sections to explore and map. We are going to first publish those changes here, on this page, and then publish them to FarOut shortly after.
Based in Southern Oregon, Indigo Creek Outfitters is our preferred partner for the Upper Klamath. In addition to the Upper Klamath they operate on the Lower Klamath and Rogue River. Learn more about Indigo Creek Outfitters.
Safety
The Upper Klamath is an intermediate to advanced river run. While there are sections that are mellow Class II and III, take into account numerous other challenges such as strainers, and sieves. As a private boater, make sure you join a party that has recent Upper Klamath experience. Please note that the Upper Klamath river has many rapids that are shallow, and the rocks are sharp, so having swimmers here can be very dangerous.
The New Klamath
With the dams out on the Klamath, the new sections of river that are now runnable are now being explored. While we have preliminary data, a full release will happen in December 2025 for the following sections:
- Keno
- Big Bend
- Beswick
- Kikacéki Valley
- Kikacéki Reach
- Iron Gate
Our Hells Corner informatin, the “Classic” Upper Klamath run, remains unchanged.
Please Note: Our FarOut guide has the Hells Corner section posted, and will include the six other sections by December, 2025.
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Keno – Class II & III
Keno is part of the new Upper Klamath with the draining of John C Boyle dam. This section is Class II and III but no specific information is known at this time. The Old Pioneer Park West takeout is temporarily closed.
Mile 0.00 – Keno Dam
Mile 0.00 – Old Wagon Road Put-In:
River Right.
Mile 0.1 – Class III- Rapid
Mile 0.1 – No name: Class III-.
Mile 0.2 thru mile 7.2 – Numerous Class II Rapids
Throughout this section, there are numerous Class II rapids.
Mile 5.00 – Meatball Rapid
Class III+.
Mile 5.## – Spencer’s
Class III.
Mile ## – Highway 66 bridge
Green Springs Highway / Highway 66, crosses the river here.
Mile 7.2 – Pioneer Park West:
River Right. Features a single lane paved boat ramp to the river.
Big Bend – Class IV+ & V
Historically this was significantly de-watered and wasn’t a viable run. After dam removal it’s now runnable. The name comes from the erratic horseshape the river makes towards the end of the run.
Mile 0.00 – Pioneer Park West:
River Right. Features a single lane paved boat ramp to the river.
Mile ## – Former John C Boyle DamSite
This location marks the former John C Boyle damsite
Mile 1.1 – Moonshine Falls Access:
River Right. This is a Boundary Creek style ramp, making it fine for put-ins but bad for takeouts.
Mile 1.9 – No Name Big Bend #1
Mile 1.90 – No name: Class III+
Mile 2.69 – Sidecast Spring
River Left. This spring adds approximately 150 – 175 CFS into the river.
Mile 2.## – Hog Rapid
#
Mile 3.1 – No Name Big Bend #3
Mile 3.1 – No name: Class IV+
Mile 3.9 – No Name Big Bend #4
Mile 3.9 – No name: Class IV
Mile 4.5 – No Name Big Bend #5
Mile 4.5 – No name: Class IV
Mile ## – Rapids
Mile 4.5 – Fairly continous whitewater from here until Spring Island.
Mile ## – John C Boyle Powerhouse
River Right. Former powerhouse where they would drop the water to generate power.
Mile 6.00 – Spring Island:
River Right. Takeout.
Hell’s Corner – Class II, III, & IV
Hell’s Corner was the standard UK run before the dams came out. This section is a Class II, III, & IV run from the Spring Island River Access Point to the Access 6 Take-Out.
Mile 0.00 – Spring Island Klamath River Access:
River Right. This large eddy marks the starting point. There are pit toilets here and day use parking. Learn more about Spring Island Klamath River Access.
Mile 0.00 – Spring Island Surf Wave
Cross the river to river left and then head up the eddy. There’s a decent surf wave located right here.
Mile 0.05 – Saddle Horn Rapid:
Mile 0.05 – Saddle Horn Rapid: Class III. Right out the gate, you come into a Class III rapid, Saddle Horn. Run this left of center and enjoy the waves.
Mile 0.89 – Osprey Rapid:
Mile 0.89 – Osprey Rapid: Class III. Read and run rapid, keep your eyes peeled for Osprey nests and Osprey. Look towards the tops of the trees on river left for your best chance.
Mile 1.83 – Gun Slinger Rapid:
Mile 1.83 – Gun Slinger Rapid: Class III. Read and run.
Mile1.90 – Mild Pools
After Gun Slinger, the next 3.75 miles are mild with long calm pools and Class II rapids until you arrive at Caldera Rapid.
Mile 2.86 – Klamath River Camp:
Mile 2.86 – Klamath River Camp: River Right. With 4×4 road access, this camp can be popular.
Mile 4.97 – Frain Ranch Put-In:
River Left. Another put-in comes in on river left. This is also a very rough road, and is only passable by high clearance 4WD vehicles
Mile5.76 – Caldera Rapid
Class IV. Scouting can be done on river left. Be mindful of a very large pourover/hole on river left called “The Mushroom”. After the Mushroom, work left again to avoid some shallow rocks on river right. At this point, the rapid is full of rocking waves so stay on your toes. Boaters can go either left or right of the Mushroom Rock. Learn more about Caldera Rapid.
Mile 6.26 – Rock Creek Confluence:
River Left. Rock Creek enters the Upper Klamath River from the left. Just downstream lies Bermuda Triangle Rapid.
Mile 6.38 – Bermuda Triangle Rapid:
Class III. Enter Bermuda left of center (lots of rocks to the right). There’s a big wave on the bottom left and right of this rapid.
Mile 6.61 – Branding Iron Rapid:
Class III. Like many rapids on the Upper Klamath, Branding Iron is a big wave train. However, about 2/3 of the way down is a large wave, that you’ll definitely want to hit straight.
Mile 6.94 – Satan’s Gate Rapid:
Class IV. The river bends to the right in this 500 yard long rapid. Rocks force a down the middle entrance. Work right to avoid a large sieve on river left roughly halfway through this rapid. There is a nice eddy to catch on river right after this rapid, which you should catch, as Hell’s Corner is just around the bend. Learn more about Satan’s Gate Rapid.
Mile 7.16 – Hell’s Corner Rapid
Class IV. Scout right (length of rapid makes scout hard). Enter center, watch out for a pourover on the far right. In general, you’ll want to stay to the right, especially towards the middle of this rapid, as the current will push you left into shallow, impassable rocks. At the bottom of this rapid, catch the eddy on river right. Learn more about Hell’s Corner Rapid.
Mile 7.42 – Fluffy Bunny:
Class IV. Known by some as “The Dragon”, just downstream of the Hell’s Corner eddy, there’s a large pour over on river right, keep left of this, then enjoy some fun waves for this splashy Class III+. Watch out for 2 submerged boulders at the bottom right of this rapid.
Mile 7.61 – Jackass Rapid:
Class III. Enter right for this read-and-run rapid to stay clear of boulders on river left.
Mile 7.81 – Scarface Rapid:
Class III. Enter left of center for a fun large drop. Watch out for some boulders in center channel.
Mile 8.02 – Dance Hall Rapid:
Class III. The river bends to the right and splits into 2 channels going around an island,.Stay in the left channel, but keep inside on this turn. Lots of fun waves at the bottom of this rapid.
Mile 8.15 – Ambush Rapid:
Class III. Rocks at the top right of Ambush force a left entrance. Stay left and hit the big waves straight.
Mile 8.24 – Ol’ Bushwhacker:
Class III. This rapid has a large wave train down the middle with a massive standing wave halfway down, which is clean to run. Learn more about Ol’ Bushwhacker Rapid.
Mile 8.43 – Salt Caves:
River Left. On river left, you’ll see some beautiful caves with salt that has precipitated out of the walls. This is a native sacred site, so there is no stopping allowed. This location was a proposed dam site, which was stopped by the 1997 Wild and Scenic designation of the Klamath.
Mile 8.66 – Rainbow Rock Rapid:
Class II. The channel takes you far right. Watch the entrance guard rocks and then move left, so you don’t hit the right wall.
Mile 9.21 – Captain Jack Rapid:
Class III. Captain Jack is a read-and-run rapid as the river bends to the right.
Mile 9.74 – Snag Island Rapid:
Class IV. The river splits around an island. Take the right channel and stay to the inside left. As the water makes its way towards the end of the island, it will make a sharp turn to the left. Work hard to stay to the inside of this turn or you’ll get swung into a bunch of rocks.
Mile 10.46 – Wells Fargo Rapid:
Class III. The river again splits into 2 channels around an island in the middle of the river. Stay to the right channel at most flows, then work to the left.
Mile 10.77 – No Look Falls Rapid:
Class II. Read-and-run rapid.
Mile 10.85 – Don’t Kill The Piano Player Rapid:
Class II. Read-and-run rapid.
Mile 11.05 – Stateline Falls Rapid:
Class III. Straddling the Oregon-California border is Class III Stateline Falls. The river bends to the left, with a large shelf drop extending across the river. Stay far left here.
Mile 11.12 – California Beach Boys Surf Wave:
This is a fun surf wave just downstream of Stateline Falls. There are eddies on both river right and left. It’s worth hitting this wave. Learn more about California Beach Boys Surf Wave.
Mile 11.23 – Stateline Access:
River Left. This is the most upstream takeout available.
Mile 11.87 – Arden’s Folly Rapid:
Mile 11.87 – Arden’s Folly Rapid: Class II. Read and run rapid (stay alert though, it is possible to wrap a boat here, which would be an unfortunate end to your day.)
Mile 11.96 – Swim-to-takeout:
With takeout insight, this is a good place for your paddlers to jump out and float to takeout if they’re looking to cool off.
Mile 12.15 – Access 6
River Left. Take out on river left at Access 6. You’ll stay on Ager Beswick Road for quite some time. It winds in tandem with the Upper Klamath, and is quite scenic. Learn more about Access 6 Take-out.
Beswick – Class I & II
Description coming.
Mile ## – Class II
Class II
Mile 1.65 – historic town of Beswick
River Left.
Mile 2.28 – Log Chute
River Right.
Mile 2.37 – Indian Cave
River Right.
Mile # – Bridge
Mile ## – Class II
Class II
Mile 4.6 – Access 1
River Left. Takeout
Kikacéki Valley (Copco Valley) – Class I & II
Mile 0.00 – Access 1
River Left.
Mile 0.50 – Copco Road Bridge
Mile 1.69 – Dead Tree Forest
Mile 2.00 – scenic Area
Mile 2.20 – No Name 1 Class I
Mile 2.20– No Name: Class I.
Mile 2.70 – No Name 2 Class I
Mile 2.70– No Name: Class I.
Mile 3.00 – No Name 3 Class I
Mile 3.00– No Name: Class I.
Mile 4.55 – Beaver Creek
River Right.
Mile 4.90 – Anchor
Mile 6.10 – K’utárawáx·u (Grizzly Hill)
River Right. Temporarily closed.
Kikacéki Reach (Ward’s Canyon) – Class IV+
Description coming.
Mile 0.00 – K’utárawáx·u (Grizzly Hill)
River Right.
Mile 0.25 – Entrance to Ward’s Canyon
Mile 0.30 – Ìk·wì·k Rapid
Class III – V. Large, fun wave in the center of the rapid.
Mile # – Former COPCO 1 Damsite
Mile 0.5 – Ghost Dance
Class III. Continuous Class II and III rapids from the former Copco 1 dam site until you are below the former Copco 2 dam site.
Mile 0.92 – Forgotten Forest
Class IV. The long straight-away rapid with the tricky entrance due to inconvenient wood.
Mile 1.10 – Bogus Bend Feature IV-
Class IV-. Bogus Bend is the right turn at the bottom of Forgotten Forest (aka Wild Horse). It is a continuation of Forgotten Forest (aka Wild Horse) and is a named feature of the rapid. Name Context: Named after Isabelle Smith and her husband, “Bogus Tom” Smith.
Mile 1.57 – Boyles Boil
Class IV.
Mile 1.77 – Columnar Basalt
Mile 1.89 – Wards Corner
Class IV.
Mile 2.10 – Middle School
Class III+
Mile 2.3 – Kikacéki Falls
Class IV+.
Mile ## – Daggett Road Bridge
Mile 3.00 – K’účasčas (Fall Creek)
River Right.
Iron Gate – Class I & II
Description coming.
Mile 0.00 – K’účasčas (Fall Creek)
River Right. Temporarily closed.
Mile 0.25 – Fall Creek Rapid
Class II.
Mile 3.73 – Hallie’s Point AKA The Pinch
Mile 4.00 – Hallie’s Point – Columnar Basalt
Mile 5.10 – View of Pilot Rock
Mile 6.67 – Class I Riffle
Class I.
Mile 7.00 – Scenery
Mile 7.18 – Camp Creek
River Right.
Mile 9.15 – Class I Riffle
Class I.
Mile 9.25 – Location of Iron Gate Dam
This is the location of the former Iron Gate Dam that was taken down in 2024.
Mile 9.60 – Lakeview Road Bridge
Lakeview Road crosses the Klamath here.
Mile 9.65 – Iron Gate Bush Creek Boat Ramp
River Right. Immediately past the bridge and you’re at takeout.
Mile 9.75 – USGS flow gauge
River Left. The USGS has a flow gauge just below the takeout. This gauge is unit #11516530.