4 Must-See Wild & Scenic Rivers in the U.S.

In 1968, the U.S. government passed the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act, designating the first eight free-flowing rivers as protected — the Rio Grande, Rogue, Clearwater, St. Croix, Eleven Point, Idaho’s Salmon and Wolf Rivers.

Today, there are 226 wild and scenic rivers and streams covering more than 13,4000 miles in the national Wild and Scenic Rivers System. In partnership with the public, the U.S. Forest Service works to protect the water quality and free flowing nature of these waterways, as well as safeguard them from development, overuse and other destructive impacts.

Here are some of the country’s most spectacular wild and scenic rivers you might want to explore on your next outdoor adventure.

Snake River, Wyoming, Idaho & Washington

Designated as a Wild and Scenic River in 2009, the Snake River flows 1,078 miles through the mountains, valleys and grasslands of Washington, Idaho and Wyoming, where it originates. It flows through Yellowstone National Park, as well as the cities of Idaho Falls, Twin Falls, Boise, Jackson and Lewiston, with spectacular views from the Hells Canyon gorge.

“While cruising my motorcycle down through the Hell’s Canyon area of the Snake River on a hot summer day, I literally felt like I was being poured into one of the most memorable and vivid displays of nature’s beauty that I can remember. The canyon walls, steep elevation changes and the winding road itself made for a magnificent and memorable experience, and I remember thinking to myself as I roared down the road, ‘This is exactly why I ride,’” Harley rider and nature enthusiast Patrick Roat told EcoWatch.

The Snake River empties into the Columbia River — which forms the border of Oregon and Washington — and is its largest tributary. While it was once the spawning grounds of over two million wild steelhead and salmon, these species are now threatened or extinct in the Snake River and its tributaries. Their biggest threat are four dams — built in the 1960s and ’70s — upstream of the lower 48 states’ biggest freshwater salmon habitat.

A federal court-ordered review was done by the government in 2016 of whether to keep the outdated dams in place, and the decision was to keep them intact.

“As scientists, tribes, and fishermen all warned, these four dams decimated the Snake River’s salmon and steelhead. The four dams transformed the Lower Snake River into a series of warm, shallow lakes where predators, dam turbines, and hot water kill too many migrating salmon,” Columbia Riverkeeper wrote.

The lives of Snake River steelhead and salmon begin in the mountains of Washington, Oregon and Idaho, before the young fish head to the ocean. They spend several years there before traveling the more than 900 miles to the Salmon River’s headwaters in Idaho. There they spawn at the highest elevations of any steelhead or salmon on Earth.

“The Snake cuts through my hometown of Idaho Falls. I love that river and the falls — once natural but now a source of hydroelectricity. I remember Terry Tempest Williams saying something about how the kind of water we grow up around profoundly affects us, imprints itself upon us. She was talking about the Great Salt Lake, but I was thinking while she was talking about my Snake. I grew up admiring that river but also fearing her, like a wild and strong mother. She mesmerized me and terrified me. On the surface the Snake is so seemingly placid, but she’s also fast. And underneath, there is so much happening because of the rocky river bottom, the pull of the undertows,” writer and teacher Carissa Neff told EcoWatch.

When visiting the Snake River region, you can expect to see plenty of wildlife, including moose, elk, pronghorn, mountain goats, American beavers, North American river otters, marmots and coyotes. Approximately 300 bird species grace the skies of the area around the river, from eagles and osprey to the great gray owl, peregrine falcon, calliope hummingbird and trumpeter swan.

There are a variety of campgrounds along the river, including the Miracle and Banbury Hot Springs, which feature geothermal hot springs, a massage center and kayak rentals.

Rogue River, Oregon

^{Juliana Statius Muller rowing a purple whitewater cataraft on the Rogue River. John Jones}

At 215 miles long, the lower portion of Oregon’s Rogue River was one of the original Wild and Scenic Rivers Act designations of 1968. The wild and scenic Lower Rogue River runs 84 miles from the Applegate River mouth — about six miles from Grants Pass — to the Lobster Creek Bridge.

The Rogue originates in the Cascades on Mt. Mazama’s western slopes — not far from Crater Lake National Park — before emptying into the Pacific at Gold Beach. The river is famous for its whitewater rafting and salmon and steelhead runs.

A war between white settlers who had come to the region during the Gold Rush and members of the Takelma, Athabaskan and Oregon Shasta Native American Tribes resulted in Tribal members being forced from their land onto reservations in 1856. Their descendants are members of today’s Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde and Siletz.

In addition to Chinook and coho salmon, green sturgeon, steelhead and cutthroat trout, the Rogue is home to Roosevelt elk, black bears, otters, black-tailed deer, American beaver, ospreys, green herons, great blue herons, red-winged blackbirds, Steller’s jays, woodpeckers, Canada geese, kingfishers and bald eagles.

Among the many hiking options along the river, the 40-mile Rogue River National Recreation Trail will take you along its wild and scenic section from Grave Creek to Big Bend. Along the trail you will have opportunities to encounter spectacular waterfalls, wildlife, wildflowers and historical sites.

Other trails along the Rogue River include the 1.1-mile Redwood Nature Trail loop that begins near Brookings, Oregon; the 9.5-mile Wagner Butte Trail — an out-and-back hike near Ashland; and the moderately difficult 0.8-mile out-and-back National Falls Creek Trail near Prospect, Oregon.

The Wild Rogue Wilderness canyon that surrounds the river gives watershed protection for its wild and scenic portion, which features vertical cliffs with sharp-edged ridges. Here you’ll find striking geological formations, old-growth forests and pristine meadows with wildflowers like redwood sorrel, wild ginger, mock orange and red flowering currant.

Large cedar, Shasta red fir and white fir trees hug the upper portion of the river, while broadleaf evergreens, a variety of conifers and deciduous trees grow further downstream. The whole Rogue River canyon is populated by enormous Douglas fir, ponderosa pine, Jeffrey pine, oak, manzanita and madrone trees.

Another of the many wonderful things about the wild and scenic section of the Rogue River is that — in addition to many unmarked, established campsites — camping is allowed anywhere along the river that is “physically suitable for your group,” according to the Bureau of Land Management.

“Around the second half of October each year, the Wild and Scenic section of the Rogue River might include some fun Halloween surprises – in the form of cute miniature pumpkins. The pumpkins start appearing on mid-channel rocks on both sides of the river between Alameda campground and Foster Bar. I have yet to see who places the pumpkins, but it is really fun to see a little pumpkin on a rock in the middle of a rapid, right where you need to make a move with your oars,” adventurer Sarah Strock told EcoWatch.

McKenzie River, Oregon

My favorite river in Oregon, the stunning McKenzie River was given wild and scenic status in 1988. It originates in the Central Cascade Mountains at Clear Lake, flowing southwest through Willamette National Forest.

The cool, clear McKenzie runs beneath cedar, pine and maple trees. And on sunny days, the dappled river flows over the millennia of cobbles and hardened lava of the ancient riverbed.

The upper portion of the McKenzie River Basin was shaped by volcanic activity and lava flows that formed waterfalls, pools and whitewater. Clear Lake was carved out by a basaltic lava flow, and lava flows also created the river’s Koosah and Sahalie waterfalls. These aspects of the river provide magnificent views for hiking and kayaking, as well as extraordinary whitewater rafting.

The McKenzie is home to a host of fish species, including wild spring Chinook salmon and native rainbow, cutthroat and bull trout.

The McKenzie River National Recreation Trail offers 26 miles of spectacular “easy” level hiking for all ages and recreational opportunities along the river, including 11 trailheads, campgrounds and views of Tamolitch, Koosah and Sahalie Falls.

Close to the McKenzie River National Recreation Trail is the McKenzie Bridge Campground, which offers 20 campsites tucked beneath western red cedar and Douglas-fir trees, all with river access.

Klamath River, Oregon & California

Another magical Western U.S. waterway — added to the National Wild & Scenic Rivers System in 1981 — is the Klamath River. The 257-mile blue-green river originates on a plateau in South-Central Oregon, east of the Cascades. Underground springs swell from cracks in the volcanic rock, feeding the river. Other sources include the Williamson, Sprague, Wood and Sycan rivers, Upper Klamath Lake and the region’s wetlands and marshes.

The Klamath River Basin stretches through parts of six Oregon and California counties and has been the territory of several Native American Tribes — including the Shasta, Hupa, Klamath, Yurok and Karuk — for thousands of years. The river’s once-plentiful salmon were harvested by the Tribes sustainably using weirs.

There are currently dams on the Klamath River that block salmon habitat and create water quality issues, but they are scheduled to be removed, and one has already been taken down. In addition to coho and Chinook salmon, the glittering river supports populations of steelhead trout whose populations have been cut by approximately 95 percent.

“Four dams along the Klamath River, which runs from Oregon into northwestern California, are scheduled to be removed in 2023 and 2024 – Copco No. 1, Copco No. 2, Iron Gate, and JC Boyle. These dams total 400 vertical feet and choke fish passage along hundreds of miles of waterways, making this a historic opportunity and one of the largest dam removal projects to date. And construction has started!” the American Rivers said.

Some of the more than 430 species of wildlife — including 263 types of birds — who call the Klamath River Basin home include elk, antelope, pronghorn, black bears, cougars, mule deer and river otters. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, as well as the states of California and Oregon, have designated dozens of these species “at risk” or “of concern” due to shrinking populations and habitat loss. As the largest freshwater wetlands found west of the Mississippi, the basin is essential for the region’s fish and wildlife.

The Klamath River rushes through several wilderness areas and national forests on its journey west and south, including Klamath National Forest in Oregon and Six Rivers National Forest in California.

This wild and scenic river has hundreds of trail miles to hike — including the nine-mile Klamath River Trail loop and the Pacific Crest Trail, which crosses the river near the town of Seiad Valley, California — as well as five wilderness areas nearby.