The Port of Brookings Harbor, constructed as a deep-water port by the Brookings Lumber and Box Company in 1912 to facilitate logging, is situated at the Chetco River’s mouth. Renowned as the busiest recreational maritime port on the Oregon coast, generating over 100 daily boat departures year-round and over 95,000 visitors. The port’s strategic location with a south-facing bar and the protection offered by Chetco Point makes the Chetco bar more navigable than other Oregon bars, contributing to its reputation for having the safest bar on the west coast. This combination of features renders the area as premier destination for chinook salmon fishing, attracting anglers globally.

Over its 55.5-mile length, the Chetco drops from 3,700 feet to sea-level as it empties into the Pacific Ocean between the towns of Brookings and Harbor, about five miles north of the California border. In the upper section, the river floor is fairly narrow and boulder-strewn with numerous falls and rapids. As the river leaves the wilderness, its character gradually changes. The terrain becomes less dissected, the river gradient gradually becomes less steep, the river bottom widens, and the surrounding hills become more densely forested. The upper 45 miles of the river have been designated Wild and Scenic since 1988.

July 12th of 2017 marks the beginning of the Chetco Bar Fire(by lightning strike), a blaze that remained quiet for almost a month before exploding into the nation’s most dangerous wildfire. As of July 28, fire officials believed that Chetco Bar fire would ultimately burn itself out. However, on August 15th, things went bad. The local winds, known as the “Chetco Effect,” showed up for the first time. The winds of 45 mph created a blast-furnace. On August 17th the fire jumped to the Chetco River’s south bank and reached 8,500 acres. Over the next few days, the fire would rip across 18 miles in 80 hours.

The Chetco Bar, a top 10 fire in Oregon history, would torch 190,000 acres, burn six houses, force 5,000 people to evacuate their homes.

Up until the early 1970s there was a fire lookout atop Mt Emily. It is from there that the Japanese float plane was spotted. “One plane, type unknown, flying low, seen east, 2 miles, circling…” Howard Gardner, Aircraft Warning Service observer radioed those words to the Forest Service’s Gold Beach ranger station at 6:25 a.m. on September 9th, 1942.

Preston Peak is a massive peak buried deep in the mountains of the rugged and remote northwest corner of California. It is the highpoint and reigning monarch of the Siskiyou Wilderness, and bar none the most rugged and spectacular peak in the entire Siskiyou Range. Its summit commands attention from far away, and is easily recognizable from many other peaks in the Klamath Mountains and Southern Cascades. The peak is rugged on all sides, rising 4000 feet in less than 2 miles from Clear Creek Canyon on its west side, and nearly 6000 feet on its east from Indian Creek Canyon. Its north face is most dramatic, an imposing 2000 foot wall of dark vertical granite. Nearly a dozen lakes and tarns are tucked into the peaks numerous cirques, the largest of which is Raspberry Lake, the deepest lake in the Siskiyou Wilderness.

Wheeler Creek is one of the only protected redwood groves in Oregon. More than 45 percent of the trees in the 600-acre preserve are old-growth redwoods. The Research Area was established in 1972 to study undisturbed redwoods at the northern limits of their range.

About 25 percent of the redwood grove was severely burned in the Chetco Bar Fire. Many of the largest redwoods in the grove were already scarred from previous fires. Further, old-growth redwoods have exceptionally thick bark, which makes them highly fire resistant.

The Wheeler Ridge Japanese Aerial Bombing Site is the location of the first bombardment by enemy aircraft in the United States. It is one of only two such aerial incidents ever to occur on mainland American soil–both of which occurred during World War II. On September 9, 1942, two incendiary bombs were dropped from a Japanese floatplane that had been catapulted from a submarine with the intent of starting a wildfire. The bombing was an act to take revenge for the American bombing of Tokyo the previous April. Fortunately, due to damp weather, the fire did little damage and was easily extinguished. This well constructed 1.5 mile round trip hike, with excellent informational kiosks, is a must do!

Near the end of the ride, there is small sign pointing towards the harbor and a display of Chetco Indian history. We recommend that you go and spend a few minutes. “In 1856, the U.S. Army forcibly removed the Chetco people to the Siletz Reservation. The Chetco had to travel two hundred miles north over rough terrain and swim the rivers with their children and elderly in tow. Some were abused by soldiers, and many died on the long, grueling march. Families were not allowed to stop to bury their loved ones and were forced to keep moving. The journey brought heartbreak and trauma to those who survived. [On-site kiosk]