Rising along the Calapooya Divide near the border between Lane and Douglas counties, it flows generally west-northwest to meet the Big River.

The combined Big and Little rivers form the Coast Fork near Black Butte.

[3] However, in 1988 the United States Board on Geographic Names renamed the lower reach of Garoutte Creek so that it became part of Little River.

The Environmental Protection Agency is concerned about methylmercury contamination of streams including Garoutte Creek, the Little River, and the Coast Fork, as well as the Cottage Grove Reservoir on the Coast Fork.

[5] From 1900 to 1957, it yielded a total of 16,904 flasks of elemental mercury; equivalent to about 13 million pounds (5,900,000 kg).