Hunter Creek is situated entirely within Curry County and is among the smaller watersheds on the southern Oregon coast. Flowing in a westerly direction Hunter Creek crosses Highway 101 and drains into the Pacific Ocean just south of the community of Gold Beach. Elevations in the watershed range from sea level to approximately 3,558 feet on Sugarloaf Mountain. Major tributaries include the North Fork and Big South Fork. The upper portion of the basin is characterized by steeply sloped forested areas with narrow valleys and tributary streams that have moderately steep to very steep gradient. Grazing, rural residential development and other agricultural uses are dominant in the lower portion of the basin.
Hunter Creek
Hunter Creek
Watershed Facts
Land Ownership & Use
38% public ownership, 62% private ownership (50% industrial ownership)
Vegetation
94% forest/shrub, <1% impervious, 1% wetland
Watershed Size
44.4 square miles/ 28,405 acres
Hydrology/Flow
- mean annual precipitation – 120 inches
- 2 yr peak flow – 5,000 cfs
- 10 yr peak flow – 8,770 cfs
- 50 yr peak flow – 12,200 cfs
- 100 yr peak flow – 13,700 cfs
- Average Flow Range (5% – 95% flow durations): 1,200 cfs – 6 cfs
Fish Use
Chinook salmon, coho salmon, cutthroat trout, steelhead, sculpin, Pacific lamprey
Did you know?
Near the headwaters of Hunter Creek, you will find Hunter Creek Bog. You will find yourself surrounded by California pitcherplant, pleated and Mendocino gentians, Labrador tea, western tofieldia, California bog asphodel, sedges, Columbia and Vollmer’s lilies, and Pacific reed grass. Outside of this watery jungle, you would see dry, bare, red rocky slopes and a scattering of Port Orford cedar and Jeffrey pine.
Restoration and Education Efforts

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Assessments, Action Plans & Formal Reports
- Downloadable Document
- Downloadable Document
- Downloadable Document