The Siltcoos River is a stream on the central coast of the U.S. state of

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

. It begins at

Siltcoos Lake Siltcoos Lake (silt’-koos), at , is the largest lake on the Oregon Coast of the United States. Fed by runoff from a basin of about in Douglas and Lane counties, it is about south of Florence and east of U.S. Route 101. Its name comes from a L ...

, which straddles the border between

Douglas Douglas may refer to: People * Douglas (given name) * Douglas (surname) Animals * Douglas (parrot), macaw that starred as the parrot ''Rosalinda'' in Pippi Longstocking * Douglas the camel, a camel in the Confederate Army in the American Civil ...

and

Lane In road transport, a lane is part of a roadway that is designated to be used by a single line of vehicles to control and guide drivers and reduce traffic conflicts. Most public roads (highways) have at least two lanes, one for traffic in eac ...

counties. The river meanders generally west to the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

. It is located about south of

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

and north of Reedsport. The river, losing little elevation between source and mouth, passes through the Westlake section of Dunes City, under

U.S. Route 101 U.S. Route 101, or U.S. Highway 101 (US 101), is a major north–south highway that traverses the states of California, Oregon, and Washington on the West Coast of the United States. It is part of the United States Numbered Highway Syst ...

, and through a marshy area and sand dunes of

Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area The Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area is located on the Oregon Coast, stretching approximately north of the Coos River in North Bend to the Siuslaw River in Florence, and adjoining Honeyman State Park on the west. It is part of Siuslaw Na ...

, which is within

Siuslaw National Forest The Siuslaw National Forest ( ) is a national forest in western Oregon in the United States. Established in 1908, the Siuslaw is made up of a wide variety of ecosystems, ranging from coastal forests to sand dunes. Geography The Siuslaw Nat ...

Recreation

The river's relative flatness makes it suitable for canoeing in either direction, although the lower end has no boat launch and the beach nearby is closed between March 15 and September 15 to protect

snowy plover The snowy plover (''Anarhynchus nivosus'') is a small shorebird found in the Americas. It is a member of the bird family Charadriidae, which includes the plovers, dotterels, and lapwings. The snowy plover was originally described by John Cassin ...

nesting areas. Campgrounds along or near the river include Tyee, on the east side of U.S. Route 101, as well as Waxmyrtle, Lagoon, and Driftwood on the west side. Tyee and the Lodgepole picnic area near the lake have canoe launch points; a small dam just west of Route 101 requires a

portage Portage or portaging ( CA: ; ) is the practice of carrying water craft or cargo over land, either around an obstacle in a river, or between two bodies of water. A path where items are regularly carried between bodies of water is also called a '' ...

. Trails wind through areas near the river. A self-guided nature trail follows an oxbow bend in the river near Lagoon campground. A trail meanders along the river from Waxmyrtle campground to the beach, and a loop trail connects primitive campgrounds near Siltcoos Lake. The Siltcoos Lake Trail, with a trailhead east of U.S. Route 101 about south of Florence, is frequented by mountain bikers. Fishing for

coho salmon The coho salmon (''Oncorhynchus kisutch;'' Karuk: achvuun) is a species of anadromous fish in the salmon family (biology), family and one of the five Pacific salmon species. Coho salmon are also known as silver salmon (or "silvers") and is often ...

coastal cutthroat trout The coastal cutthroat trout (''Oncorhynchus clarkii'', sometimes referred as ''Oncorhynchus clarkii clarkii''), also known as the sea-run cutthroat trout, blue-back trout or harvest trout, is one of the four speciesTrotter, Patrick; Bisson, Pete ...

, and

largemouth bass The largemouth bass (''Micropterus nigricans'') is a carnivorous, freshwater fish, freshwater, ray-finned fish in the Centrarchidae (sunfish) family, native to the eastern United States, eastern and central United States, southeastern Canada an ...

is allowed in the upstream stretch of the river between the lake and U.S. Route 101. Anglers fish from stream banks or from boats. There is a public boat ramp north of Westlake.

References

External links

* {{authority control Rivers of Oregon Rivers of Lane County, Oregon Rivers of Douglas County, Oregon Oregon placenames of Native American origin

Recreation

See also

References

External links