Owyhee River

Rome to Birch Creek and Leslie Gulch · Class II–III · OR

Self-issued

—no reading

No reading

Snapshot from Oct 22, 2026. Live reading loading.

Runnable range 1,000 to 8,000 cfs. This is a draft estimate that paddlers have not reviewed yet.

Season: Short spring snowmelt season
Character: A remote desert canyon in southeast Oregon, part of the Owyhee Wild and Scenic River system.
Watch for: A permit is required for all river sections, and groups are limited to 20 people below Rome.
Gauge: USGS 13181000
Owyhee River near Rome
No reading in the Oct 22, 2026 snapshot.
Permit: Self-issued
Self-issue permit at the launch site. Group limits of 15 above Rome and 20 below.
Official page
Fees and rules
The BLM form does not list a permit fee.
A permit is required for entry into all river sections. Groups are limited to 15 people above the Rome launch site and 20 people below it. Motorized watercraft are prohibited above river mile 55. Follow all seasonal fire restrictions. Contacts: Boise BLM District Office 208-384-3300, Vale BLM District Office 541-473-3144, Rome launch site 541-586-2612.
Source: BLM Owyhee Wild and Scenic River permit form. The form does not state permit seasons.
Snowpack: No snowpack basin is linked to this run. Flows here are mostly set by dam releases, so snowpack is a poor guide.

Trip reports

Wavetrain is an early build. Flow readings are USGS provisional data and may be revised. Runnable ranges and run details are drafts for paddlers to review. Permit dates and rules come from the agency pages linked on each permit and can change. Snowpack figures come from NRCS SNOTEL stations, are provisional, and are grouped into basins by watershed, so they may differ from official NRCS basin reports. Nothing here replaces scouting, local knowledge or a conversation with a nearby outfitter.