About this place
This stretch of river offers a lot. Off-trail backpacking above all, at every level of difficulty.
The river corridor is the main route through, for walkers and backpackers.
Cross-country travel here is for experienced people only.
The river has cool, clear, secluded pools shut in by sheer rock walls. Erosion and weathering have made those walls colorful and strange, over an enormous stretch of time.
Between the pools are stretches that run as riffles or rapids when the water is high. In the drier summer months they turn to dry sand and gravel.
There is solitude here, and no obvious sign of people. That makes the stark beauty of the canyon sharper.
From the rim the views are something. The river and its history show in the rock layers, laid down by ancient volcanoes.
You can reach the river by vehicle at the primitive Three Forks Recreation Site, or at the undeveloped Anderson Crossing Recreation Site.
Getting help out here is extremely difficult, and there is no cell phone coverage inside the canyon.
Leave no trace.
One thing here is unusual. You travel by swimming as well as walking.
In late summer, pools bounded by high basalt cliffs have to be crossed by anyone going the length of the canyon.
The canyon turns abruptly, so you cannot see how long a pool is until you are in it. That makes them a real challenge.
The facts
- Cost
- Camping fee not confirmed
- Roads around it
- Hard to reach. Bring high clearance four-wheel drive
- Phone signal
- None inside the canyon
- Type
- Open area. Camp anywhere within it
- Managed by
- Bureau of Land Management
Getting there
This one is hard to get to. Bring high-clearance four-wheel drive.
Start on U.S. 95 near Danner, about 16 miles west of Jordan Valley. Look for a sign marking the Soldier Creek Loop Road, the Owyhee Canyon Overlook and Three Forks. Turn south onto that dirt road and follow it 36 miles to the rim of the canyon.
Coordinates 42.13085, -117.31558
Open in Google Maps Agency page
What is near here
There is another spot of ours within reach, and some better-known places further out.
- Red Canyon Wild and Scenic River Directions
- McDermitt Caldera 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
- Fort McDermitt, NV Directions
- Owyhee, NV Directions
Owyhee 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.
Thank you. A person will read it before it goes on the page.
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.