Golf in Orofino

Orofino is Clearwater County's seat on the Clearwater River below Dworshak Dam, positioned in a deep canyon corridor carved through Columbia Plateau basalt in north-central Idaho. The name—'fine gold' in Spanish—recalls the Gold Rush prospecting that first brought significant non-Native settlement to this remote river canyon. Dworshak Reservoir, behind one of the highest straight-axis dams in the western hemisphere, stretches north into the mountains and draws boaters and anglers to a community that has rebuilt its identity around outdoor tourism as the timber economy declined. Orofino's canyon microclimate delivers noticeably warmer temperatures than the surrounding high country, extending the comfortable outdoor season and the recreational golf window considerably beyond what nearby higher-elevation communities enjoy.