Rogue River Overview

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BLM Recreation Sites and Facilities

WILD SECTION - Grave Creek to Mule Creek

  • 64 Primitive Campsites, 16 toilets
  • Rogue River National Recreation Trail: 23.5 miles
  • Rainie Falls Trail: 2 miles
  • 1 Developed non-fee Campground - Tucker Flat, accessible by auto;
  • 2 sites listed on the National Register of Historic Places - Rogue River Ranch and Whisky Creek Cabin
  • 2 Archeological dig sites

HELLGATE RECREATION SECTION - Applegate River to Grave Creek

  • 1 Visitor Center - Smullin Visitor Center at Rand
  • 7 Boat Launch Sites on BLM administered land with toilets and parking (Grave Creek, Argo, Rand, Ennis, Hog Creek, Griffin, and Whitehorse), 4 of which have BLM maintained toilets and 5 of which have BLM maintained parking areas
  • 2 Viewpoint/Parking Areas
  • 9 Recreation/River vehicle access sites, 5 with toilets, 3 of which have permanent BLM toilet structures - Chair, Rocky Bar, Carpenters Island, Rainbow, Hellgate, Robertson Bridge, Griffin, Finley Bend, Whitehorse
  • 41 Primitive Campsites, 1 with toilet
  • 42 Primitive Day Use Areas
  • 1 Float-In Campsite with toilet - Robert Dean
  • 1 site listed on the National Register of Historic Places - Rand Ranger Station
  • 2 Archeological dig sites

BLM Fee Collections and Expenditures for the Rogue National Wild and Scenic River

Under the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act (REA) it is mandatory to post the fees collected and the expenditures.

BLM Collections -- FY 10

Special Recreation Permit fees for Commercial Boaters: $213,170
Special Recreation Permit fees for Commercial/Competitive Events: $752
Recreation Use Permit Fees for Noncommercial Boaters: $58,958
Lottery Application Fees for Noncommercial Boaters: $33,180
Total: $306,060

BLM Expenditures -- FY 10 

Labor: $240,856
Travel/Transportation: $4,899
Rent/Communication/Utilities: $3,702
Printing/Reproduction: $3,444
Contract Services: $24,704
Supplies/Materials: $9,161
Total: $286,766

Acquisitions

Acquisitions in Fee Title - 100 Acquisitions - 2,448.05 acres at $4,522,195
Scenic Easement Acquisitions - 168 Scenic Easements - 1,914 acres at $3, 248,0641* (*1972)

Cooperative River Management Agencies

Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Forest Service, Josephine County Parks Department, Josephine County Sheriff's Department, Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, Oregon State Scenic Waterways, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, Oregon Department of Forestry, Oregon Division of State Lands, Oregon State Police, Oregon State Marine Board, Oregon Water Resources Department, National Marine Fisheries Service, U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Fish and Wildlife

Management Plans and National Designations

1968 - Designation as a National Wild and Scenic River
1969 - BLM/USFS River Management Plans
1972 - Joint Management Plan
1973 - Rogue River Ranch listed on the National Register of Historic Places
1973 - Whisky Creek Cabin listed on the National Register of Historic Places
1978 - BLM - Hellgate Recreation Section Activity Plan
1981 - Designation of the Rogue River National Recreation Trail
1983 - Wild Section Activity Plan
1987 - USFS Forest Plan
1989 - BLM Hellgate Recreation Area Resource Management Plan Initiated
1998 - Rogue River becomes pilot project for National Fee Demonstration Program
1999 - Rand listed on the National Register of Historic Places
2002 - Rogue River Hazardous Fuel Reduction Project
2003 - Hellgate Recreation Area Management Plan - Final Environmental Impact Statement
2004 - Hellgate Recreation Area Management Plan and Record of Decision

Mileage and Acreage

River Mileage

Hellgate Recreation Section - Applegate River to Grave Creek (BLM) - 27 miles
Wild Section - Grave Creek to Mule Creek (BLM) - 19.5 miles
Wild Section - Mule Creek to Watson Creek (USFS) - 12.9 miles
Recreation Section - Watson Creek to Blue Jay Creek (USFS) - 10.5 miles
Scenic Section - Blue Jay Creek to Slide Creek (USFS) - 7.5 miles
Recreation Section - Slide Creek to Lobster Creek (USFS) - 6.6 miles
Rogue National Wild and Scenic River Total Length - 84 miles

Trail Mileage

Rogue River National Recreation Trail - Grave Creek to Mule Creek (BLM) - 23.5 miles
Rogue River National Recreation Trail - Mule Creek to Big Bend (USFS) - 16 miles
Rogue River National Recreation Trail Total Length - 39.5 miles

River Corridor Total Acreage

The total acres shown here correspond with 46.5 miles of the Rogue River between the mouth of the Applegate River and Mule Creek. The river corridor includes land within a quarter mile of the river. Total acreage includes Bureau of Land Management land, Oregon State land, Josephine County land, and private land with scenic easements.
Hellgate Recreation Section - 7,777.72 acres
Wild Section - 6,522.12 acres
River Corridor Total Acreage - 14,299.84

Visitor Use

Wild Section

  • Off-season Private use - 942 (Jan - May 14 & Oct 16 - Dec)
  • Private Floaters - 4,683 (May 15 - Oct 15: regulated use season)
  • Commercial Float Passengers - 4,251 (Entire Year: Jan 1 - Dec 31) 
  • Total Floaters - 9,876

Total visitor capacity is 18,480 during the 154 day regulated use season, May 15 - October 15, with an allocated 50/50-private/commercial split, at 120 people per day allowed to put-in. This means 48% of all possible spaces were used in 2013.

*16,140 people is the actual maximum number that could float the Wild Rogue in the 2013 regulated use season due to the 12 day Fire River Closure and the 15 day government shutdown.

Hellgate Recreation Section

Commercial Motorized Tour Boat Passengers - 64,814
Commercial Floating and/or Fishing Passengers - 4,812
Total Commercial Floaters - 69,626
 
A conservative estimate of 48,500 private individuals boated the 27 mile Hellgate Recreation Section in 2013.

Commercial Recreation Permits and Fees in 2013

  • 44 Commercial Permits for the Wild Section
  • 75 Commercial Permits for the Hellgate Recreation Area
  • Commercial Fees Collected $213,817

Visual Resource Management Classes

  • VRM Class I within the 1/2 mile river corridor
  • VRM Class II within the remaining river view shed

Artist in Residence

Apply for the Rogue River Ranch Artist in Residence

Quick Links

Contacts

Bureau of Land Management
Grants Pass Interagency Office
2164 Spalding Ave
Grants Pass, Oregon 97526
Phone: 541-471-6500
Fax: 541-471-6514
blm_or_md_mail@blm.gov

Rogue River Permit Information
Bureau of Land Management
Smullin Visitor Center at Rand
14335 Galice Road
Merlin, Oregon 97532
Phone: 541-479-3735
Fax: 541-479-0535
blm_or_md_rogue_river_mail@blm.gov

Partners

Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest
Gold Beach Ranger District
29279 Ellensburg Ave.
Gold Beach, Oregon 97444
Phone: 541-247-3600
www.fs.fed.us/r6/rogue-siskiyou/

National WSR River System Official Site