The Kilchis River is a stream, about 14 miles (22.5 km) long, near the coast of northwest Oregon

Oregon

Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...

 in the United States. It drains a mountainous timbered region of about 65 mi2 in the Northern Oregon Coast Range

Northern Oregon Coast Range

The Northern Oregon Coast Range is the northern section of the Oregon Coast Range, in the Pacific Coast Ranges physiographic region, located in the northwest portion of the state of Oregon, United States. This section of the mountain range, part of the Pacific Coast Ranges, contains peaks as high...

 west of Portland

Portland, Oregon

Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...

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The Kilchis River begins at the confluence of its North Fork and South Fork in northern Tillamook County

Tillamook County, Oregon

Tillamook County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oregon. The county is named for the Tillamook, a Native American tribe who were living in the area in the early 19th century at the time of European American settlement. In 2010, the county's population was 25,250...

 in the Tillamook State Forest

Tillamook State Forest

The Tillamook State Forest is a publicly owned forest in the U.S. state of Oregon. Managed by the Oregon Department of Forestry, it is located west of Portland in the Northern Oregon Coast Range, and spans Washington, Tillamook, Yamhill, and Clatsop counties. The forest receives large amounts of...

 northeast of Bay City

Bay City, Oregon

Bay City is a city in Tillamook County, Oregon, United States. The population was 1,286 at the 2010 census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which, of it is land and of it is water....

. It flows southwest, entering the southeast end of Tillamook Bay

Tillamook Bay

Tillamook Bay is a small inlet of the Pacific Ocean, approximately 6 mi long and 2 mi wide, on the northwest coast of the U.S. state of Oregon...

 approximately 4 miles (6.4 km) northwest of the city of Tillamook

Tillamook, Oregon

The city of Tillamook is the county seat of Tillamook County, Oregon, United States. The city is located on the southeast end of Tillamook Bay on the Pacific Ocean. The population was 4,352 at the 2000 census...

. The mouth of the river is about 1 miles (1.6 km) north of the mouth of the Wilson River

Wilson River (Oregon)

The Wilson River is a stream, about long, that flows from the Northern Oregon Coast Range to Tillamook Bay in the U.S. state of Oregon. Formed by the confluence of its Devil's Lake Fork and its South Fork, it runs generally west through the Tillamook State Forest to its mouth near the city of...

 and about 2 miles (3.2 km) north of the mouth of the Trask River

Trask River

The Trask River is in northwestern Oregon in the United States. It drains a mountainous timber-producing area of the Northern Oregon Coast Range west of Portland into Tillamook Bay and the Pacific Ocean...

. It is one of five rivers—the Tillamook

Tillamook River

The Tillamook River is a stream, about long, near the coast of northwest Oregon in the United States. It drains an oceanside valley in the foothills of the Northern Oregon Coast Range west of Portland and empties into the Pacific Ocean via Tillamook Bay...

, the Trask, the Wilson, the Kilchis, and the Miami

Miami River (Oregon)

The Miami River is a stream, approximately long, on the coast of northwest Oregon in the United States. It drains a mountainous timbered region of the Northern Oregon Coast Range west of Portland, into Pacific Ocean....

—that flow into the bay.

The river has good runs of steelhead

Rainbow trout

The rainbow trout is a species of salmonid native to tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in Asia and North America. The steelhead is a sea run rainbow trout usually returning to freshwater to spawn after 2 to 3 years at sea. In other words, rainbow trout and steelhead trout are the same species....

 and fall Chinook salmon

Chinook salmon

The Chinook salmon, Oncorhynchus tshawytscha, is the largest species in the pacific salmon family. Other commonly used names for the species include King salmon, Quinnat salmon, Spring salmon and Tyee salmon...

. Because much of the land along the lower stretches is private, fishing is often done by drift boat

McKenzie River dory

The McKenzie dory or Rogue River dory also called by many a Drift Boat is an evolution of the open-water dory, converted for use in rivers. The design is characterized by a wide, flat bottom, flared sides, a narrow, flat bow, and a pointed stern. The sole identifying characteristic of the McKenzie...

 launched from boat ramps at Kilchis County Park, County Park, and Mapes Creek. Angler

Fisherman

A fisherman or fisher is someone who captures fish and other animals from a body of water, or gathers shellfish. Worldwide, there are about 38 million commercial and subsistence fishermen and fish farmers. The term can also be applied to recreational fishermen and may be used to describe both men...

s may also fish from stream banks on public land in the Tillamook State Forest.

Course

Starting at the confluence of the North Fork Kilchis River and the South Fork Kilchis River, the river flows generally southwest through the Tillamook State Forest near Kilchis River Road. Sharp Creek enters from the right at about 9 miles (14.5 km) from the mouth and just upstream of Kilchis River County Park, which is on the right. Shortly thereafter, School Creek and Washout Creek enter from the right and Little South Fork Kilchis River from the left. Below this, the river receives Clear Creek from the left at about river mile

River mile

In the United States, a River mile is a measure of distance in miles along a river from its mouth. River mile numbers begin at zero and increase further upstream. The corresponding metric unit using kilometers is the River kilometer...

 (RM) 6 or river kilometer (RK) 9.7. Thereafter, Myrtle Creek and Murphy Creek enter from the right, and the river passes under U.S. Route 101

U.S. Route 101 in Oregon

In the U.S. state of Oregon, U.S. Route 101, a major north–south U.S. Highway, runs through the state along the coastline near the Pacific Ocean. In Oregon, it runs from the Oregon–California border, south of Brookings, to the Oregon–Washington border on the Columbia River, between Astoria,...

 before entering Tillamook Bay near Idaville

Idaville, Oregon

Idaville is an unincorporated community in Tillamook County, Oregon, United States. It was founded around the year 1870 by Warren N. Vaughn and named for his daughter Ida. The post office was established in 1922 and closed five years later, in 1927....

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