Big Bend - Klamath

Big Bend – Klamath

Price: $250/person
Overview: Class IV+ | 9 Hours (w/transport) | Lunch Included
Meet Time: 9:00 a.m. at our Rafting Center
2025 Season: June 1 – July 31
Restrictions:
– Minimum age (14 years old)
– Maximum weight (250 pounds)
– Maximum participants per raft (4)

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With John C. Boyle dam removed, the Big Bend section now flows consistently and offers the best whitewater on the entire Klamath River. Historically, this section was “bypassed” and water was transported in a canal for miles, leaving the river with inadequate flows for rafting. In 2025, we are excited to offer the first commercial trips on this outstanding section of river.

Our Big Bend trip features two laps on this 6 mile section of river. On our first lap, we launch from Pioneer Park West and float through the former John C. Boyle reservoir footprint, historic dam site, and Moonshine Falls. Then the whitewater picks up and the river turns to a continuous Class IV and IV+ (at some flows, Class V-). At the end of our first lap, we lunch at Spring Island before transporting to the Moonshine Falls boat slide. After the second lap, we load boats and begin our drive back to Phoenix, Oregon.

Along the way, we’ll share the stories of the area – the triumphs, heartbreaks, and perspectives – that write the history of the people, dams, and dam removal on the Klamath River. There is no better way to grasp the scale of the changes to the Klamath River and the historical implications of dam removal than to float the river and see it with your own eyes.

8:00 a.m. – Meet at Indigo Creek Outfitters in Phoenix, Oregon
8:30 a.m. – Begin transport to the river
10:00 a.m. – Arrive at Pioneer Park West
10:30 a.m. – On the river
12:15 p.m. – Lunch at Spring Island
12:45 p.m. Transport to Moonshine Falls
1:15 p.m. Back on the river
3:00 p.m. Arrive at Spring Island
3:15 p.m. Transport back to Phoenix
5:00 p.m. Arrive back in Phoenix

• American Whitewater has been a leader in whitewater recreation on the post-dam Klamath River. They recently published their own map and rapid descriptions, which can be found here.
• This article offers a personal perspective of navigating the Klamath Dam removal project within the scope of whitewater recreation as a commercial operator on the Hell’s Corner section of the Klamath.
• Indigo Creek Outfitters is now offering a variety of new and amazing trips on the New Klamath.
• Listen to our Explore Oregon podcast with Zach Urness.
• Geology of Kikacéki Reach (Ward’s Canyon) by Dan Thurber.
• View live flow data from three USGS stations on the New Klamath.