Salt Creek Falls has reopened along Highway 58 after months of construction. New safety railings, a rebuilt restroom, and other improvements give travelers and hikers a safer, more reliable way to experience Oregon’s second-highest single-drop waterfall.

Albacore fishing is strong out of Gold Beach and Brookings, while Lost Creek, Applegate, and Howard Prairie remain productive inland. This week’s report also covers Klamath redband restrictions, low water access, algae concerns, and wildlife viewing.

Oregon health officials issued a recreational use advisory for Odell Lake after water samples found cyanotoxins above safe recreation levels. Visitors should avoid swimming and other activities that could lead to swallowing or inhaling water near visible algae blooms.

Jackson County Search and Rescue volunteers assisted about 25 hikers during a Fourth of July preventative patrol on Mount McLoughlin, including a 39-year-old man who became weak, dehydrated and unable to continue descending on his own.

Oregon State Parks and the State Library of Oregon are offering free day-use parking permits through public libraries, helping families and residents on tight budgets access parks without paying day-use parking fees.

Federal funding has cleared for the Mariposa Wildlife Crossing, a planned $37 million wildlife bridge over Interstate 5 south of Ashland. The project would reconnect habitat in the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument, reduce wildlife crashes and give SOU students years of research work.

ODFW will require catch-and-release fishing for native redband trout from June 15 through Oct. 31 on Upper Klamath Lake and several spring-fed creeks that feed into it. The temporary rule also limits anglers to flies and artificial lures only for all species in the affected waters.

A political action committee seeking to repeal Oregon’s non-motorized watercraft permit requirement is making a final push for signatures. Let Us Paddle says it needs support from Oregonians across the state to qualify a proposed November ballot measure aimed at ending the permit requirement for kayaks, canoes, rafts and stand-up paddleboards.

An unofficial gravel pullout along U.S. 101 north of Brookings will close to parking beginning June 22. ODOT and Oregon Parks officials say the area, often used to access Secret Beach and the Oregon Coast Trail, was never designed or maintained as a trailhead and has created safety and environmental concerns.

Free fishing, waived paddling permits, free Oregon State Parks parking and free day-use access on national forests all line up this weekend, giving families across Southern Oregon and Northern California an easy excuse to get outside.

A new wildlife overcrossing on U.S. 97 near Grass Lake in Siskiyou County is already being used by deer, Caltrans District 2 says. The project was built to reduce wildlife-vehicle collisions and improve habitat connectivity in a corridor where more than 50 deer and 16 elk fatalities were recorded between 2015 and 2020.

Klamath Hatchery has reopened to the public after a long rebuild following the 2020 Two Four Two Fire in Klamath County. The new Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife facility includes fish-viewing areas, restrooms, picnic spots and a modern hatchery building designed to be safer and more resilient.

A fireworks show is tentatively planned for Lake of the Woods on July 4, 2026, after the Lake of the Woods Homeowners Association signed a contract with a vendor for the event. Organizers say the show remains dependent on fire conditions, weather and Forest Service guidance.

Nearly five years after the Lava Fire burned across the northern slopes of Mount Shasta, the Shasta-Trinity National Forest says crews have planted more than 1.47 million seedlings across 2,769 acres as part of a long-term reforestation effort.

Oregon’s expanded Waterway Access Permit requirement is now in effect for all nonmotorized boats, including kayaks, paddleboards, rafts, canoes and inflatable versions regardless of length. State officials say the fees help fund waterway access and aquatic invasive species prevention, while opponents argue the law places an unfair burden on low-risk paddlers.

A spring wildflower bloom is spreading across the former Iron Gate and Copco reservoir footprints, where the Yurok Tribe says crews have planted millions of native seeds since the removal of four Klamath River dams in 2024. The returning plants are helping stabilize soil, support wildlife and rebuild habitat along the river.

Oregon Health Authority has issued a recreational use advisory for Upper Klamath National Wildlife Refuge after cyanotoxins were detected above recreational use values. Visitors are urged to avoid swimming, high-speed boating and water spray in areas where blooms are present.

An imperiled newt found only in and around Crater Lake may soon receive protection under the federal Endangered Species Act after a settlement between the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Center for Biological Diversity.

A new used outdoor goods and consignment store is now open in Klamath Falls, offering a place for residents to sell, donate and shop for gently used outdoor gear. The store was created to make outdoor recreation more affordable while keeping usable equipment, clothing and bikes in circulation.

Oregon State Parks visitors now have a digital option for 12-month parking permits ahead of Memorial Day weekend. The new permits allow visitors to register up to two license plates, making the plate itself the proof of permit at state park day-use parking lots where fees are required.