Clackamas River - Wild and Scenic

Wild and Scenic

Forty-seven miles (76 km) of the Clackamas River, from Big Springs to Big Cliff, are federally protected as part of the NWSRS. Of these, 20 miles (32 km) are designated as "scenic" and 27 miles (43 km) as "recreational". The protected portion of the Clackamas features five categories of resources that are considered to be "outstandingly remarkable", defined by the NWSRS as having "importance to the region or nation".

The five are opportunities for recreation such as white water rafting near the Portland metropolitan area; anadromous fish habitat supporting wild late winter coho, spring chinook, and winter steelhead; habitat for the federally threatened Bald Eagle and Northern Spotted Owl and potential habitat for the threatened Peregrine Falcon; the forests of old-growth Douglas-fir along its banks; and historic importance. Fourteen miles (23 km) of a tributary, the Roaring River, from its headwaters to its confluence with the Clackamas River, are designated as the Roaring River Wilderness.Another 4.2 miles (6.8 km) of the South Fork Clackamas River were designated as the Clackamas Wilderness in 2009.