Oak Bottom River Access is a free Klamath National Forest access point on the Salmon River, a federally designated Wild and Scenic River, about a mile east of Somes Bar in Siskiyou County. It sits directly across Salmon River Road from Oak Bottom Campground, which is run by the Ukonom Ranger District of Six Rivers National Forest. The Karuk name for the place is Vunxarak. The two sites work as a pair: campers walk across the road to the water, and day visitors park on the river bar without paying anything.

From Orleans, drive about 8 miles north on Highway 96 to Somes Bar, then turn east onto Salmon River Road (County Road 2B01) and go roughly 2.2 miles to a gravel road on the right. That graded gravel ramp drops to a parking area on an open cobble bar. From there it is a short walk over rocks to the water. Coming from the campground, it is a walk across the road and down the ramp. The campground itself takes trailers up to 35 feet.

The river here runs through a steep canyon of Douglas fir and hardwoods. The bar is cobble and gravel, so water shoes help. Just downstream of the parking area the current is squeezed against a boulder bar and forms the Oak Bottom rapid, a Class II set of standing waves that kayakers surf. Swimmers should stay in the slower water along the bar and well upstream of that wave. The Salmon is cold and pushy during spring snowmelt and settles into much lower, warmer summer flows; the USGS gauge at Somes Bar, about a mile downstream, is the best way to check conditions before you go. There are no lifeguards, no posted swim area and no water temperature reporting.

Day use of the river access is free, and the Forest Service lists no fee and no set hours. Overnight camping is not allowed on the bar, and there is no drinking water or listed restroom there. Oak Bottom Campground across the road has 25 sites at $10 per night including one vehicle, plus $5 for each additional vehicle, paid in cash (exact change) or check to USDA. Sites can be reserved on Recreation.gov, some are first come, first served, and the campground is open from mid-May through mid-October. It has vault toilets, drinking water (the Forest Service notes the system is sometimes under repair), bear lockers, tables and fire rings.

Wildfire closures and seasonal fire restrictions are common along the Salmon in late summer, so check the forest alerts pages before you go. Oak Bottom Campground is a designated fire safe site under Six Rivers fire restriction orders, while on the river bar the Klamath National Forest requires a California Campfire Permit for any stove or fire and local restrictions take precedence. This stretch of river is Karuk ancestral territory; nearby George Geary River Access is closed at times each summer for tribal ceremonies, and visitors are asked to respect those closures.

Other public accesses on the lower Salmon include Blue Hole, about two miles upriver from Highway 96, and George Geary, a day-use bar popular with local families. Somes Bar has a small store with groceries, propane and tackle. Spring brings rafters and kayakers for the Class III to V whitewater upstream, and fall brings salmon and steelhead anglers to the Klamath River, about 15 minutes away.