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Rogue River – Siskiyou National Forest

Rogue River – Siskiyou National Forest, Oregon USA

Independent

“home to world-class rivers & biological diversity”

Located in southwestern Oregon and extending into California, the Forest ranges from the crest of the Cascades Mountains west into the Siskiyou Mountains, nearly to the Pacific Ocean. The Forest covers almost 1.8 million acres; portions of the Applegate and Illinois River drainage's extend into northern California. The Rogue River drains over 75 percent of the Forest's land area. The previously separate Rogue River and Siskiyou National Forests and their nine ranger district offices were administratively combined in 2004. The Supervisor's Office is located in Medford, OR. In 2007 the nine ranger districts were consolidated to form five: High Cascades, Siskiyou Mountains, Wild Rivers, Gold Beach, and Powers. Field offices remain in the communities of Prospect, Butte Falls, Ashland, Ruch, Grants Pass, Cave Junction, Brookings, Gold Beach, and Powers. The Forest also is home of the J. Herbert Stone Nursery located near Central Point. Your Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest embraces a treasure of botanical diversity, and is home to incredible wild and scenic rivers, isolated wilderness, outstanding fisheries and wildlife resources, and breath-taking landscapes of mountains, meadows, streams, and lakes. The forest itself is composed of two distinct geological provinces: The Cascade Range and the Siskiyou Mountains. The Cascade Range is dominated by snow capped volcanic peaks such as 9,495 foot Mt. McLoughlin located within the Sky Lakes Wilderness on the High Cascades Ranger District. The Siskiyou area embodies the most complex soils, geology, landscape, and plant communities in the Pacific Northwest. World-class wild rivers, biological diversity, remarkable fisheries resources, and complex watersheds define the Siskiyou. The Rogue River-Siskiyou is the most floristically diverse National Forest in the country with some extraordinary botanical resources. The unique character of the landscape has led to the designation of over 340,000 acres of the Forest as wilderness, and over 200 miles of streams as National Wild and Scenic Rivers. Wilderness areas managed all or in part by the Forest include: Sky Lakes, Rogue-Umpqua Divide, Red Buttes, Kalmiopsis, Siskiyou, Wild Rogue, Grassy Knob and Copper Salmon. National Wild and Scenic Rivers include: Upper Rogue, Illinois, North Fork Smith, Chetco, Elk, and Rogue.

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Reviewed by
Travel Oregon

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5,384 Reviews
2,207 Helpful

June 17, 2015

Encompassing portions of the Klamath Mountains, the Coast Ranges and the Siskiyou Mountains, the Siskiyou National Forest embodies the most complex soils, geology, landscape, and plant communities in the Pacific Northwest. World-class rivers, biological diversity, fisheries, and complex watersheds rank the Siskiyou high in the Nation as an outstanding resource. The Siskiyou National Forest hosts some of the world's finest rivers for whitewater sports. The rivers are also renowned for their salmon, trout and steelhead fishing. Cutting across the Coast Range and the Siskiyou National Forest, the Wild and Scenic Rogue River begins near Crater Lake in the Cascade Mountains and splashes its way to the Pacific Ocean. The Wild and Scenic Illinois River runs from the southeast portion of the Forest, across the Coast Range in a northwestern direction to its confluence with the Rogue River close to the Pacific Ocean. The Wild Section of the Illinois River runs for 29 miles through forests and steep canyons. Around one-fifth of the Siskiyou National Forest is designated wilderness. The 180,000 acre Kalmiopsis Wilderness is characterized by deep rough canyons, sharp rock ridges, and clear rushing streams and rivers. Elevations in the Kalmiopsis range from 400 to 5,100 feet. In the 36,500 acre Wild Rogue Wilderness, look for diverse flora and fauna among the near vertical cliffs, razor-sharp ridges and cascading waters of numerous mountain creeks of the Rogue River watershed. The 17,200 acre Grassy Knob Wilderness is located in the Coast Range and consists of very steep, rugged terrain and dense vegetation. The Red Buttes Wilderness is located within the Siskiyou Mountains. The area is characterized by steep ridges and mountains, and is dominated by Red Buttes (6,739 feet) and Kangaroo Mountain (6,694 feet), the highest peaks in the area. The Siskiyou Wilderness is located in the highest portion of the Siskiyou Mountains in Northern California and is shared by three National Forests: the Klamath, the Six Rivers and the Siskiyou. The area is characterized by high craggy peaks, small glacial cirque lakes and soft mountain meadows. Accessible Facilities: The Siskiyou National Forest offers a wide variety of recreation opportunities for people with disabilities and limited abilities. From camping, fishing, hiking, rafting or just enjoying a nice picnic in the woods, the Siskiyou has barrier-free sites to enjoy!

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