Print it. Bag it. Bring it.Phones die, screens crack, and most of this water has no signal. Print this map, fold it into a zip-top bag or dry bag with your license, and you have a backup your electronics can’t give you. Every marker is numbered so you can say exactly where you are.
| # | Point | Type | Lat, Lon | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Blue Mountain Ranger Station Malheur National Forest · John Day | Agency / conservation office | 44.41600, -118.94311 | |
| 2 | Grant County Fairgrounds RV Park RV park on the river in John Day | Campsite | 44.42094, -118.95200 | |
| 3 | Clyde Holliday State Recreation Site Oregon State Parks · Hwy 26 at Mount Vernon | Park / conservation area | 44.41592, -119.09049 | Day use and campground on the upper main stem; the campground node sits 60 m away and is merged here. |
| 4 | Fish House Inn and RV Park Lodging and RV sites · Hwy 26 at Dayville | Campsite | 44.46748, -119.53569 | |
| 5 | Spray Riverfront Park Town park and river frontage at Spray | Park / conservation area | 44.82514, -119.79500 | |
| 6 | Muleshoe Recreation Site BLM recreation site above Service Creek | Campsite | 44.80763, -119.96655 | |
| 7 | Service Creek Recreation Site BLM launch and campground · Hwy 19 / Hwy 207 | Access / boat ramp | 44.79369, -120.00094 | The standard put-in for the Service Creek to Clarno float. |
| 8 | Service Creek Resort Store, lodging and shuttles at the put-in | Outfitter / canoe rental | 44.79731, -120.00824 | |
| 9 | Shoofly Rapids Named rapid below Service Creek | Dam / hazard | 44.76327, -120.09114 | |
| 10 | Twickenham Boat Launch River launch at the Twickenham bridge | Access / boat ramp | 44.73681, -120.16551 | |
| 11 | Priest Hole Boat Launch BLM launch · primitive camping at the same site | Access / boat ramp | 44.74001, -120.27129 | The BLM Priest Hole recreation-site node 90 m away is merged here. |
| 12 | Lower Burnt Ranch Campground BLM campground at Burnt Ranch | Campsite | 44.74620, -120.36454 | |
| 13 | Pine Creek Conservation Area Conservation property above Clarno | Park / conservation area | 44.91031, -120.43941 | |
| 14 | Clarno Locality at the Hwy 218 river crossing | Point of interest | 44.91474, -120.47338 | The BLM Clarno launch is not separately mapped in OpenStreetMap; this is the crossing it sits at. |
| 15 | Clarno Rapids Named rapid below the Hwy 218 crossing | Dam / hazard | 44.96543, -120.47942 | The rapid the Clarno reach is named for; the upper and lower nodes 12 m apart are merged here. |
| 16 | Lower Clarno Rapids Second drop below Clarno | Dam / hazard | 44.97235, -120.47937 | |
| 17 | Basalt Rapid Named rapid in the lower canyon | Dam / hazard | 45.10285, -120.50341 | |
| 18 | Thirtymile Boat Launch River launch in the lower canyon | Access / boat ramp | 45.16020, -120.47063 | |
| 19 | J.S. Burres Boat Ramp State wayside ramp at the Hwy 206 bridge | Access / boat ramp | 45.47704, -120.46882 | The J.S. Burres wayside and trailhead nodes within 50 m are merged here. |
| 20 | Lone Tree Campground Campground at the Hwy 206 crossing | Campsite | 45.48388, -120.45855 | Cottonwood Canyon State Park itself is not named in OpenStreetMap; this is its campground. |
| 21 | Rock Creek Recreation Site BLM site on the lower river | Park / conservation area | 45.56862, -120.40218 | |
| 22 | USGS 14048000 — John Day River at McDonald Ferry USGS streamgage | USGS gauge | 45.58763, -120.40949 | The flow reference for the whole lower river. |
| 23 | Tumwater Falls Falls near the mouth | Dam / hazard | 45.65720, -120.50075 | The last drop above the Columbia backwater; two nodes 130 m apart merged here. |
Gauge: USGS 14048000 — JOHN DAY RIVER AT MCDONALD FERRY, OR. Live flow on the web page.
Species: Channel Catfish, Chinook Salmon, Mountain Whitefish, Rainbow Trout, Smallmouth Bass, Steelhead
Regulations: myodfw.com/fishing/regulations
Emergency: call 911 and give the number of the nearest point on this map plus its coordinates.
Service Creek - the standard put-in for multi-day canyon floats.
Twickenham - upper access and an alternate launch.
Clarno - a major access point and the head of the lower canyon run.
Cottonwood Canyon State Park at the Highway 206 bridge - the main lower takeout with camping and trails.
McDonald Ferry near the gauge - the flow and temperature reference for the lower river.
Kimberly and the North Fork confluence - upper river access and cooler tributary water.
The mouth at the Columbia near Rufus - the very bottom of the system.
Spring: snowmelt runoff early, then the best rafting flows and the beginning of superb smallmouth fishing.
Summer: hot, low and warm-watered; the river is largely left alone through July and August.
Fall: wild summer steelhead arrive and become the focus from October onward.
Winter: cold and quiet, with steelhead still present and very few people on the water.