About this place
The Klamath River begins in Oregon’s Klamath Basin. It cuts through the Cascades and the Klamath Mountains, then reaches the Pacific Ocean in northern California.
The season on the Upper Klamath is long. Water is released steadily from the Boyle Dam and Powerhouse. PacifiCorp operates it.
The Upper Klamath is known as an outstanding whitewater boating river. The water is warm and there are many class III to IV+ rapids.
On the rafting scale of one to six, that is advanced to expert.
If you have not run rivers before, guides and outfitters offer safe, professional trips of one to three days.
There is camping, fishing, hunting and scenic touring along the river too.
The Bureau of Land Management runs four recreation sites here: the Spring Island Day Use Site, Klamath River Campground, Turtle Primitive Camp and Stateline Campground.
You can reach the far side of the river off the Topsy Road. That road is sometimes in very rough shape.
Check the local fire restrictions before you build any campfire.
At the primitive campsites nothing is laid on. Nobody collects trash here, so take everything home with you.
The Upper Klamath is one of only three rivers that cut right through the Cascade Mountain Range. That makes for a wide range of habitats, and a lot of fish and wildlife.
The facts
- Cost
- Free to camp
- Roads around it
- Topsy Road reaches the far bank and can be in very rough shape
- Stay limit
- 14 days
- Toilet
- No developed facilities at the primitive campsites
- Type
- Open area. Camp anywhere within it
- Managed by
- Bureau of Land Management
Getting there
For the Spring Island Day-Use Site from Ashland, travel east on State Highway 66 for about 43 miles. Turn right onto the J.C. Boyle Powerhouse Road and follow it about 4 miles.
From Klamath Falls, travel west on State Highway 66 for about 30 miles. Then turn left onto that same road and follow it about 4 miles.
Past Spring Island, the Upper Klamath Campground turnoff is 3 miles on and the Turtle Campground turnoff 3.5 miles on. The road is narrow and rough.
Coordinates 42.08951, -122.07277
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What is near here
There is another spot of ours within reach, and some better-known places further out.
- Upper Klamath Lake Directions
- Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument Directions
- Mount McLoughlin Directions
- Lava Beds National Monument Directions
Every distance on this page is the driving distance. A short distance can still take a long time. The road may be closed for the season, covered in snow, or washed out. Many of these roads are dirt. Plan your route before you leave home. Out here there is often no phone signal to look it up on the way.
Nearest town and supplies
- Keno, OR Directions
Keno is big enough that you’d normally expect fuel and somewhere to buy food. Nobody from here has been to check, so don’t count on it if you’re running low.
Have you been here?
Fees and access change, and the records do not always keep up. If you have been, tell us what you found.
Thank you, that is recorded. It helps the next person.
Add road notes for this site
The thing we cannot get from any government record is what the drive in is actually like. If you have done it, this is the most useful thing you can leave behind. We read everything before it appears, and we print a first name with it if you give one.
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Where this information comes from
The description on this page is ours. The facts in it, and the fee and facility details below it, come from the Bureau of Land Management’s own records, read in August 2026; opened and read by a person on 2026-08-27.