About this place
Congress designated Oregon’s Wild Rogue Wilderness in 1978. It now runs to 35,806 acres.
About 27,111 of those are Forest Service land and 8,600 are Bureau of Land Management land. The legislation put the Forest Service in charge of the whole wilderness.
The Wild and Scenic Rogue River runs through the middle of it. The rugged canyon landscape around the river protects the watershed of the wild section.
The terrain is steep. Near-vertical cliffs, sharp ridges and mountain creeks coming down.
Along the river you may see deer and otters, or a black bear after a salmon.
Bears here have got used to easy pickings from boaters, and they are a nuisance at a good many campsites.
Birds are everywhere. Osprey fish the river, great blue heron stand in it, and lizards run over the dry slopes above the water.
Ticks and rattlesnakes are common.
So is poison oak, and the corridor suits it well. Its stems and shiny three-part leaves are a problem all year round.
Mosquitoes are about for much of the season. Yellow jackets are a nuisance through the hot, rainless summer days.
Plan properly and arrive prepared, and you help protect a fragile place.
Knowing the area, the weather and the ground, and using common sense, is what makes a trip safe and worth remembering.
Trail junctions are generally unsigned. Carry a map and a compass.
And bring your ten essentials.
The facts
- Cost
- Camping fee not confirmed
- Type
- Specific campsite
- Managed by
- Bureau of Land Management
Getting there
About 15 miles of the 40 mile Rogue River Trail #1160 are open all year. That stretch runs from Graves Creek down to Big Bend near Illahe. It is a National Recreation Trail, and it is for walkers only.
The Panther Ridge Trail #1253 runs along Panther Ridge from Clay Hill to Buck Point, high up along the northern wilderness border. A side trail leads to Hanging Rock, a large outcrop on a sheer cliff, with long views into Eden Valley and the Rogue River Canyon.
The Mt. Bolivar Trail #1259 climbs to the summit of Mt. Bolivar, at 4,319 feet.
The Mule Creek Trail #1159 is on the Bureau of Land Management part of the wilderness. It is a steep old mining trail between the river and Panther Ridge.
Do not plan to travel across country here. The slopes are steep and the vegetation heavy. The Forest Service runs the whole wilderness, the Bureau of Land Management part included, so Forest Service rules apply everywhere in it.
Coordinates 42.4299, -123.4484
Open in Google Maps Agency page
What is near here
There are some well-known places within reach of this site.
- Pearsoll Peak Directions
- Agate Desert Directions
- Oregon Caves National Monument and Preserve Directions
Every distance on this page is the driving distance. A short distance can still take a long time. The road may be closed for the season, covered in snow, or washed out. Many of these roads are dirt. Plan your route before you leave home. Out here there is often no phone signal to look it up on the way.
Nearest town and supplies
- Redwood, OR Directions
Redwood is big enough that you’d normally expect fuel and somewhere to buy food. Nobody from here has been to check, so don’t count on it if you’re running low.
Have you been here?
Fees and access change, and the records do not always keep up. If you have been, tell us what you found.
Thank you, that is recorded. It helps the next person.
Add road notes for this site
The thing we cannot get from any government record is what the drive in is actually like. If you have done it, this is the most useful thing you can leave behind. We read everything before it appears, and we print a first name with it if you give one.
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Where this information comes from
The description on this page is ours. The facts in it, and the fee and facility details below it, come from the Bureau of Land Management’s own records, read in August 2026; opened and read by a person on 2026-08-27.