English: The Eel River represents California's third largest watershed. The mainstem flows more than two hundred air miles and travels over 800 river miles from the headwaters above Lake Pillsbury in Lake County to the ocean. The Eel River has received both state (1972) and federal (1981) wild and scenic river designation, which protects the river from dams and ensure that environmental concerns rank equally with preservation.

The three forks of the Eel illustrate several river types, originating in high mountain pine forests; flowing through steep canyons and coastal redwood forests; and emptying into the Pacific in a gently sloping valley with virgin redwood stands.

Dos Rios, located at the confluence of the Middle Fork of the Eel River and the mainstem, is the put-in for a popular four-day trip through the Eel River Canyon to Alderpoint. A number of trails access the river, and the highest public use is by summer swimmers downstream near the Eel River Work Center and Eel River Campground.

Photo by Bob Wick, BLM.

The Wild and Scenic Rivers Act provides three levels of river classification: wild, scenic, and recreational free from industrialization.

Wild rivers are free of dams, generally inaccessible except by trail, and represent vestiges of primitive America.

Scenic rivers are free of dams, with shorelines or watersheds that are still largely primitive and shorelines that are largely undeveloped, but accessible in places by roads.

Recreational rivers are readily accessible by road or railroad, may have some development along their shorelines, and may have been dammed in the past.