Grassy Knob Wilderness is a

wilderness area Wilderness or wildlands (usually in the plural), are natural environments on Earth that have not been significantly modified by human activity or any nonurbanized land not under extensive agricultural cultivation. The term has traditionally re ...

in the

Klamath Mountains The Klamath Mountains are a rugged and lightly populated mountain range in northwestern California and southwestern Oregon in the western United States. As a mountain system within both the greater Pacific Coast Ranges and the California Coast R ...

of southwestern

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

, within the

Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest A rogue is a person or entity that flouts accepted norms of behavior. Rogue or rogues may also refer to: Companies * Rogue Ales, a microbrewery in Newport, Oregon * Rogue Arts, a film production company * Rogue Entertainment, a software comp ...

. It was designated wilderness by the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...

in 1984 and now comprises a total of .Grassy Knob Wilderness
- Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest Like most wilderness areas in Oregon, Grassy Knob is managed by the Forest Service.

Topography

Elevations in Grassy Knob Wilderness range from near sea level to at the summit of Grassy Knob. Many small streams tumble for short distances over waterfalls and through ravines in the Wilderness. The primary drainage is Dry Creek, a tributary of the

Sixes River The Sixes River flows about through coastal forests in southwestern Oregon in the United States. It drains a rugged region of the Klamath Mountains along the Pacific north of Port Orford. It rises in the mountains of northern Curry County, so ...

, and marks the northern boundary of the Wilderness, while the Elk River marks the southern border.Grassy Knob Wilderness Area Trails
- Trails.com The Elk has

Wild and Scenic The National Wild and Scenic Rivers System was created by the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act of 1968 (Public Law 90-542), enacted by the U.S. Congress to preserve certain rivers with outstanding natural, cultural, and recreational values in a free- ...

designation.Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest
- Wild and Scenic Elk River

Vegetation

Grassy Knob Wilderness is home to the

Port Orford cedar ''Chamaecyparis lawsoniana'', known as Port Orford cedar or Lawson cypress, is a species of conifer in the genus '' Chamaecyparis'', family Cupressaceae. It is native to Oregon and northwestern California, and grows from sea level up to in th ...

, including some stands of

old growth An old-growth forestalso termed primary forest, virgin forest, late seral forest, primeval forest, or first-growth forestis a forest that has attained great age without significant disturbance (ecology), disturbance, and thereby exhibits un ...

with some trunks exceeding six feet in diameter. Old growth

Douglas fir The Douglas fir (''Pseudotsuga menziesii'') is an evergreen conifer species in the pine family, Pinaceae. It is native to western North America and is also known as Douglas-fir, Douglas spruce, Oregon pine, and Columbian pine. There are three va ...

exists in the Wilderness as well.Grassy Knob Wilderness, Oregon
- GORP

Fish

Both the Elk and Sixes Rivers are major

steelhead Steelhead, or occasionally steelhead trout, is the common name of the anadromous form of the coastal rainbow trout or redband trout (O. m. gairdneri). Steelhead are native to cold-water tributaries of the Pacific basin in Northeast Asia and N ...

and

salmon Salmon () is the common name for several list of commercially important fish species, commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the family (biology), family Salmonidae, which are native to tributary, tributaries of the ...

streams. Some claim that the Elk River is the most productive salmon stream of its size outside of Alaska. Wild native

cutthroat trout The cutthroat trout is a fish species of the family Salmonidae native to cold-water tributaries of the Pacific Ocean, Rocky Mountains, and Great Basin in North America. As a member of the genus '' Oncorhynchus'', it is one of the Pacific tro ...

can also be found here.

Recreation

Popular recreational activities in the Grassy Knob Wilderness include fishing, wildlife watching and hiking, though there are very few established trails. The Wilderness also offers extraordinary opportunities for solitude.

References

External links