The 83-mile Clackamas River drains 940 square miles in northwestern Oregon and is part of the lower portion of the Willamette River Watershed. The river starts at 6,000-feet on the slopes of  Olallie Butte. It flows through forested areas for two-thirds of it's length, and converges with the Willamette River near the urban centers of Gladstone and Oregon City. The upper and middle regions of the river run through rugged mountainous terrain while the lower reaches flow through agricultural and urban lands. 

The Clackamas is a popular destination for area fishers and nature lovers as it still supports viable runs of Coho, Spring and Fall Chinook, and Summer and Winter Steelhead. Forty-seven miles of the mainstem Clackamas River are designated as federally “wild and scenic”. Fourteen miles of the Roaring River-a Clackamas tributary, have also been declared “wild and scenic”. The Clackamas and Roaring Rivers have received such designation for their “outstandingly remarkable values” which include superb fishery, scenery, and recreation. In addition to being of great recreational value, the Clackamas River also supplies approximately 175,000 residents in the Portland metropolitan area with drinking water.