The Smith River (Tolowa: xaa-wvn’-taa-ghii~-li~’, nii~-li~’ [5]) flows from the Klamath Mountains to the Pacific Ocean in Del Norte County in extreme northwestern California, on the West Coast of the United States.

The North Fork Smith River, 28.1 miles (45.2 km) long,[2] rises in Oregon on the northeast slope of Chetco Peak.

It drains a rugged area of the western Klamath Mountains and Northern Outer California Coast Ranges, west of the Siskiyou Mountains, barely across the Oregon border, and north of the watershed of the Klamath River.

By average discharge, the Smith is the largest river system in California that flows freely along its entire course.

[9] The free-flowing nature of the river—without a single dam along its entire length—makes it especially prized among conservationists and is considered one of the crown jewels of the National Wild and Scenic River program.

[11] It was the first cantilever truss type designed by the California Division of Highways Bridge Department engineers in 1928.