Just when the newly undammed Klamath River is ready to welcome boaters for its first full winter season—with five brand-new river access facilities now in place—three of these access areas are being closed to the public.

The Klamath River Renewal Corporation, together with the Oregon and California departments of fish and wildlife, announced the seasonal closures of Pioneer Park, Moonshine Falls, and K’utárawáx·u river accesses from November 20, 2025 through March 31, 2026, citing “safety and weather conditions.”

For river-runners in Southern Oregon and Northern California, this news lands hard. These access sites are the result of years of work by American Whitewater and our partners to ensure that, as the reservoirs drained and the river returned, boaters would have safe, reliable ways to explore the newly revealed reaches and witness the river’s revival. Built specifically to support boating on the restored river, these access sites are already being used regularly as boaters get out on the new whitewater runs they serve.

With their closure, long stretches of river become difficult to access during the very season when the Klamath offers some of its best flows and river running. The closures run counter to the project’s purpose and to the public’s expectations for how these new facilities were intended to serve the community.

American Whitewater is urging the agencies involved to reconsider these closures—and we need your help to make clear how essential winter and early-spring access is to the whitewater community.

Take Action: Call Today

If you care about public access to the restored Klamath—or about protecting year-round access to whitewater rivers—please take a moment to call:

Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife: 541-883-5734

California Department of Fish & Wildlife: 530-225-2300

Emphasize why winter and early-spring access matters: these seasons provide some of the Klamath’s best boating flows, and these new access sites were intended to serve the public year-round.

Site-by-Site Details

Oregon – Pioneer Park River Access

A key connector for two popular whitewater runs on the newly restored river.

• Function: Take-out for the Keno Run (III) and an alternate upriver put-in for the Big Bend Run (IV).

• Design Intent: Designed specifically so the boat launch remains open year-round, with only non-essential amenities gated seasonally.

• Why It Matters: This is the only formal take-out for the Keno Run.

• Effect of Closure: Forces boaters to use the dangerous Highway 66 right-of-way as alternate access. Conflicts with the ODFW management contract requiring year-round public access (weather permitting).

Oregon – Moonshine Falls River Access

Serves the previously dewatered Big Bend Run that now has perfect flows in winter/spring.

• Function: Primary put-in for the Big Bend Run (IV).

• Design Intent: Direct put-in access with stairs and raft slide to river.

• Why It Matters: Big Bend has optimal boating flows only in winter and spring.

• Effect of Closure: Effectively eliminates access to this run during its primary season and forces boaters to use the dangerous Highway 66 right-of-way as alternate access. Also conflicts with the ODFW management contract requiring year-round public access (weather permitting).

California – K’utárawáx·u River Access

A popular access that serves critical boater safety and cultural resource protection functions.

• Function: Take-out for the K’íka·c’é·ki Valley Run (I/II) and put-in for the K’íka·c’é·ki Canyon Run (IV).

• Background: Newly constructed after dam removal; now the most-used access site on the restored river.

• Why It Matters: Provides the only take-out before the Class IV canyon and routes users away from sensitive cultural resource areas.

• Effect of Closure: Creates a safety hazard by removing the exit before advanced whitewater and undermines cultural protection goals by closing the one access route that avoids sensitive areas.

Image by Nicole Smedegaard.