The Klickitat River is a tributary of the Columbia River, approximately 75 mi (120 km), in south-central Washington in the United States. The river was designated as Wild and Scenic in 1986. It drains a rugged plateau area on the eastern side of the Cascade Range northeast of Portland, Oregon.

It rises in the high Cascades near Tieton Peak, in northwestern Yakima County, in a remote corner of the Yakama Indian Reservation. It flows southeast, then generally south across the Lincoln Plateau. It enters northern Klickitat County, and meanders south through steep canyons. It enters the Columbia from the north at Lyle, approximately 10 mi (16 km) NNW of The Dalles, Oregon. Washington State Highway 142 follows the lower 15 mi (24 km) of the river. The river is bridged by Washington State Highway 14 at its mouth.

Other activities on the Klickitat River

The Klickitat Trail follows the river on an abandoned railroad grade from near Goldendale, Washington to the Columbia River just west of The Dalles, Oregon, nearly 30 miles.

Klickitat River Fishing Tips

Wait for late July, August and September, pick a cool night when the Klickitat River has a medium flow and fish this popular Klickitat County river hard the next morning. That's the key to taking big summer steelhead from this oft-colored stream. Fed by snowmelt off Mt. Adams, a warm summer day normally clouds the river past the fishable point by 10 am. A chilly night might permit angling to 1 pm. the next day.
Tremendous catches of the late 1960s, ranging past 6,000 steelhead, are only memories now, but 1971 and 1981 fishermen hoisted more than 4,000 sunburnt steelies from this big river and most years deliver 1,500 to 2,000 fish. The Klickitat fish often are large, and always arc tough battlers. They fight strong current, steep runs and frothing falls to reach spawning areas far upstream and conic into their natal stream packed with ocean energy for the struggle.
Access to the Klickitat is off Highway 14 at Lyle, where Highway 142 closely twines with the stream to the mouth of the Little Klickitat River, 11 miles west of Goldendale. Anglers from the east side of the Cascades can drop south on U.S. 97 from Yakima through Toppenish to reach Goldendale.

contact 10 or more guides at once - with one click & get fast responses!   this service is free

Email The Klickitat River

Fisherman's Marine & Outdoor Fishing - Hunting - Camping Marine - Clothing - Electronics Oregon City

There are five widely-spaced boat launches on the Klickitat. Leidl Campground, reached via the GoIdendale Glenwood Road, has a developed access and permits a fine short day's trip to Soda Springs Campground, about eight miles downstream. Soda Spri Campground is reached by taking the Soda Springs Road through the upper center of the Klickitat Wildlife Recreation Area off the Goldendale/Glenwood Road. Another maintained launch is at Wahkiacus Campground at the mouth of Swale Creek on Highway 142. Turkey Farm Campground has a ramp which should be used as a take-out point for drift boats coming downriver. No one in his right mind would consider the canyon between Fisher Hill Bridge and the river mouth at Lyle passable. Only experienced boat handlers should tackle drifting the Klickitat, and then after having floated it with a guide or local boater to discover its moods and danger spots. The Klickitat River charges down through lonely, wild country where deer and wild turkey look at you as invaders of their realm. My first view of the Klickitat was at dusk, after having wedged my way through a small group of deer while I was enroute to the Leidl Campground. That same weekend, a flock of more than 30 wild turkeys shook me out of a year's growth by thundering over my head to land and feed on the opposite side of the 'Chaim! There are rattlesnakes to avoid, too. Bait, bobber and yarn singly or used together all produce Klickitat River catches. Grasshoppers are a local secret weapon for strikes from bright, strong steelhead. I personally favor long and slender, but heavy, spoons, such as the Martin Ottogator or Luhr Jensen Krocodile. Bright patterns have beet/ best in the lower section of the river. Nickel and brass spinners will take a good number of fish too, as well as some fine trout.

How To Catch Fish On The Klickitat River

The Klickitat River is open from the mouth to Fisher Hill Bridge April 1-Nov. 3010 take trout 12 inches and or and hatchery steelhead. All wild steelhead must be released. Then. from 400 feet above the No 5 fishway at the hatchery. the river is open upstream to its source for 12-inch Pout and planted godhead only. There is a Dec. 1-Mar. 31 whitefish-only season on the Klickitat. Salmon fishermen may take six fish daily. over 10 inches but not more than two adults, downstream from the Fisher Hill Bridge to the mouth except that they may fish only from noon Thursday through noon Monday between April I-May 31 (see regs). Spin-N-Glo hoes, bobber/bait/yarn rigs, spoons, spinners. and plugs will draw storks from Klickitat salmon. Expect half the eon. to be jacks of Coho and Chinook species, up to several hundred adult Chinook, and less than 100 adult coho salmon each year.
There are good campgrounds on the lower river, but floods have changed their locations a couple times the past 15 years. Klickitat County Park is a few miles northeast of Lyle on Highway 142, and two Turkey Farm Campgrounds are 5, and 7 miles from Loll The Klickitat is an excellent river to fish hard for the first or three hours of the morning. On one trip I saw a fisherman beat the heat by plunking from a lawn chair submerged to sitting level ... and he caught a dandy six-pound steelhead on a grasshopper bait!

The Klickitat River is a tributary of the Columbia River, approximately 75 mi in south-central Washington. It drains a on the eastern side of the Cascade Range northeast of Portland, Oregon. 10 miles of the river were designated Wild and Scenic from the confluence with Wheeler Creek, near the town of Pitt, to the confluence with the Columbia River.
The Klickitat River rises in the high Cascades near Tieton Peak, in northwestern Yakima County, in a remote corner of the Yakama Indian Reservation. It flows southeast, then generally south across the Lincoln Plateau. It enters northern Klickitat County, and meanders south through steep canyons. It enters the Columbia from the north at Lyle, approximately 10 mi north-northwest of The Dalles, Oregon. State Route 142 follows the lower 15 mi of the river. The river is bridged by State Route 14 at its mouth.

View Larger Map