Pistol River starts at an elevation of 3,179 feet (970 m) on the southern flank of Sugarloaf Mountain and drains a watershed of 67,200 acres (27,195 ha) in the Siskiyou National Forest while flowing generally southwest for 21 miles (34 km) to the Pacific Ocean near the community of Pistol River, about 17 miles (27 km) north-northwest of Brookings and 10 miles (16 km) south of Gold Beach, Oregon.