North Fork of the Sprague River

Oregon

Fremont National Forest
1300 South G Street
HC 10, Box 337
Lakeview, Oregon 97630

Designated Reach: October 28, 1988. From the head of River Spring in the southwest 1/4 Section 15, T35S, R16E to the northwest 1/4 of southwest Section 11, T35S, R15E.

Classification/Mileage: Scenic — 15.0 miles; Total — 15.0 miles.

The North Fork of the Sprague flows out of the Gearhart Mountain Wilderness through broad, high-elevation meadows, before dropping into a steep basalt canyon. Its outstandingly remarkable values are scenery and geology. The river canyon offers views of a variety of vegetative patterns within a steep, narrow basaltic canyon. Vegetation color ranges from the generally green riparian areas, to the grey green of the sagebrush covered slopes to the darker green of the forested areas, with considerable seasonal variation. The river canyon below Sandhill Crossing Campground is a steep V-shaped canyon with talus slopes and high-volume springs.