Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest

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.

Recreational opportunities abound on the Forest, from white water rafting to wilderness camping, from lake and stream fishing to winter snowmobiling. Hundreds of miles of trails welcome users of all types and abilities - wheelchairs, horses, bicycles, motorcycles, snow-mobiles, cross-country and downhill skiers, and hikers. Camping facilities, boat ramps, picnic areas, and cabin and fire look-out rentals are available seasonally, some under rental or use fees.

The Rogue River National Forest (until 1932 called the Crater National Forest) was established by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1908. The name Rogue River commemorates the Takelma Indians, whose defense of their homeland let early day French-Canadian trappers to call them les Coquins, "the Rogues". The Siskiyou Forest Reserve was established by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1905, and the Reserve was designated as the Siskiyou National Forest in 1907. The name Siskiyou is a Cree Indian word for bob-tailed horse (bestoyed in 1828 by French Canadians working for the Hudson Bay Company).

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 324,000 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, and Grassy Knob. National Wild and Scenic Rivers include: Upper Rogue, Illinois, North Fork Smith, Chetco, Elk, and Rogue.