The Salmon River estuary is located on the Oregon coast at Otis. The estuary is approximately 438 acres in area and has a watershed of approximately 75 square miles.

The Salmon River estuary is designated as a Natural estuary under the Oregon Estuary Classification system. The geomorphology of the area is that of a Bar Built estuary.

The Salmon River estuary is located in Lincoln County. Principal industries of the county are lumber, fishing, agriculture and tourism. The county seat is in Newport which is also Oregon's oceanography research center with Oregon State University's Marine Science Center, the Oregon Coast Aquarium and their fleets of ocean-going vessels all calling the city home. The 1900 census measured Lincoln county's population at 3,575. By 1997, it had grown to 42,500 representing an increase of 9.3% over 1990.

More than 10,000 people a year hike up through the meadows on Cascade Head to marvel at the ocean panorama and the green meanders of the Salmon River's pristine estuary. Surprisingly few people, however, realize how easy it is to get in a canoe to explore that little-traveled and beautiful coastal estuary up close.