California holds 26 federally designated Wild and Scenic Rivers totalling roughly 2,196 protected miles — second only to Alaska in total mileage and behind only Oregon in river count. The interactive California Wild and Scenic Rivers map below plots all 231 designated segments across 19 counties, from the Smith and Klamath in the far north to the Sespe and Sisquoc above Santa Barbara. Click any segment for its classification (Wild, Scenic, or Recreational), managing agency, county, and the outstanding values that justified its designation.

Wild and Scenic Rivers in California at a Glance

California’s first Wild and Scenic designations came in 1972 when the Tuolumne, Kings, and Kern were added by Congress. The biggest single expansion was the California Wilderness Act of 1984, which added the Trinity, Smith, and Eel; the California Desert Protection Act of 1994 added the Amargosa; and the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009 added the Black Butte and Cottonwood Creek. The most recent additions came in 2019 with the John D. Dingell Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act, which designated portions of the East Fork Carson and West Fork Carson plus the Mokelumne.

Classification Breakdown

California is unusual in having more Recreational miles than Wild or Scenic combined. That reflects the mix of designations: rivers like the Lower American (through Sacramento), the Lower Klamath (paralleled by Highway 96), and reaches of the Tuolumne and Merced where roads and infrastructure already exist. The Wild reaches concentrate in the higher elevations of the Sierra Nevada, the Klamath Mountains, and the Los Padres National Forest backcountry — the truly pathless parts of the state.

Managing Agencies

The NPS share is unusually high in California because of long protected reaches inside Yosemite (Merced and Tuolumne), Kings Canyon (Kings and South Fork Kings), Sequoia (North Fork Kern), and Redwood (Lower Klamath co-managed with the Klamath tribes). Joint USFS/NPS administration applies where a river crosses a National Forest into an adjacent National Park — common on the western Sierra slope.

Longest Designated Rivers in California

The Klamath dominates the table at 431 miles — that includes the full mainstem from the Oregon border to the Pacific plus its major designated tributaries (Salmon, Scott, Trinity, Wooley Creek). Removal of the four lower Klamath dams in 2024 has changed access patterns on the lower river, and steelhead and salmon counts have already begun rebounding. The Merced is striking because it runs from glacial headwaters above Tuolumne Meadows down through Yosemite Valley and the Merced River Canyon to the BLM-administered reach near Briceburg — one of the few rivers that touches glacier, granite, and oak woodland in a single designation.

Where to Run, Hike, or Fish California’s Wild and Scenic Rivers

For multi-day whitewater

The Tuolumne (Lumsden to Wards Ferry) is California’s classic 18-mile Class IV trip with overnight commercial and private permits run by Stanislaus National Forest. The Main Salmon-to-California-Salmon system in the Klamath country and the North Fork American are the harder, less-trafficked options. The Lower Kern through the Forks of the Kern run and the Upper Kings (Garlic Falls to Yucca Point) are the bucket-list expert runs — expert kayakers only, and only during a narrow spring window.

For hiking and access

The Smith River National Recreation Area protects the entire Smith and its major forks — one of the few major Pacific Coast rivers with no dams anywhere in its watershed. Hiking trails along the Middle and South Forks Smith are managed by Six Rivers National Forest. In the Sierra, the Mist Trail through Yosemite Valley follows the Merced past Vernal and Nevada Falls. The South Fork Kings has trail access from Cedar Grove and the John Muir Trail crosses headwaters reaches of designated rivers throughout the High Sierra.

For native fish

The Smith, Klamath (with Trinity and Salmon tributaries), and Eel hold California’s last sizeable wild runs of fall chinook, winter steelhead, and coastal cutthroat. The Lower American below Nimbus Dam, while highly urbanized, is one of the most accessible designated steelhead fisheries in the state. Sespe Creek and Big Sur River hold isolated populations of southern California steelhead — an endangered evolutionarily significant unit found nowhere else.

Maps for Neighboring States

If you’re planning a trip across state lines, our Wild and Scenic Rivers maps for adjoining states cover the wider Southwest and Great Basin region: Oregon (67 designated rivers, the highest in the country) and Arizona (the Verde, Fossil Creek, and the Salt). Nevada has no designated Wild and Scenic rivers. For the full national picture, see our US Wild and Scenic Rivers map covering all 249 rivers across 42 states and Puerto Rico.

Data Sources

River segment geometry, classification, mileage, and managing-agency attributes come from the US Forest Service Enterprise Data Warehouse, specifically the National Wild and Scenic River Segments dataset jointly maintained by the USFS, NPS, BLM, and US Fish and Wildlife Service. Source service: USFS EDW Wild Scenic River Segments. Authoritative national index: rivers.gov. State recreation, fish-management, and trail context: California Department of Fish and Wildlife, California State Parks, and the relevant National Forest and BLM Field Office.