02. Moonshine Falls Access to Spring Island

With the removal of J.C. Boyle Dam in 2024, the Big Bend Run has been transformed from a dewatered river that flowed only during large winter storms to a river that flows year-round with seasonal variations. As a result, there are now more whitewater boating opportunities on Big Bend, the most challenging run on the Upper Klamath. The Big Bend Run can be boated on its own, as downriver extention to the Keno Run, or as a great upriver extension to the Hells Corner Run. Big Bend is a five-mile run with challenging whitewater and dramatic scenery that is similar to the Hells Corner Run downstream but in a narrower, deeper canyon. Most of the canyon is public land managed by the Bureau of Land Management. There are at least nine distinct Class IV rapids in this section, some of which are as much as a half mile in length. It is low but boatable by kayaks and small craft such as IKs at flows of 700 cfs but this is too low for rafts. At flows of 1,300 and 1,600 cfs the rapids are well padded, lines are wider, and there are numerous play features to catch on the fly as well as several play spots with eddy service. The run transforms into one of the best big water runs in the region at flows of 2,000 cfs. The long rapids with steep horizon lines provide plenty of entertainment for river runners. Scenically, this reach is characterized by its narrow basalt canyon and ponderosa pines. While it was still dewatered by the hydropower project, American Whitewater worked with PacifiCorp, local boaters, and outfitters to coordinate a flow release study on this reach during summer 2002 and again in 2020, seeking information on the nature of this reach and its whitewater potential and necessary access points. The newly built river access facility just downstream of the J.C. Boyle Dam site is a product of these studies and American Whitewater's advocacy. The Moonshine Falls River Access opened to the public on August 1, 2025, provides put-in access to the this run via steps and a steep raft slide. The site is open year-round, but the access road is not maintained in winter and may be impassable or temporarily closed due to weather. Nature ultimately dictates access—please use good judgment and avoid attempting the access road drive in unsafe conditions. When snow makes Moonshine unreachable, the Pioneer Park West River Access on Highway 66 is a reliable alternative and adds a 1.5-mile warm-up to the run. With the removal of J.C. Boyle Dam, the river now offers outstanding boating opportunities and greatly improved habitat for native fish. Remarkably, just weeks after the final remnants of the Klamath's lowermost dam, Iron Gate, were removed in September 2024, many salmon swam upstream from the Pacific Ocean to Spencer Creek, passing the former site of J.C. Boyle Dam along the way.