Oregon Whitewater

Oregon Whitewater
All right, I admit it up front; I'm not much of a swimmer and going down the Splash Mountain ride at Disneyland is the most dangerous whitewater I'll ever do. That said, a lot of people come to Oregon to enjoy the outdoors and especially the rapids of the Deschutes, Rogue, Klamath, and McKenzie Rivers. Be prepared to spend about $75 for each adult. Many of the operators have a variety of full and half-day trips with a nice lunch provided for most of the full day trips.


Deschutes River
The Deschutes is the lifeblood of Central Oregon. It is fed by Cascade mountain snow runoff and when I was baptized in the Deschutes one hot mid-August day, the water was still only about 40F degrees. It's difficult to breathe when it is that cold! The Deschutes, in turn feeds the agricultural irrigation canals. By the time the river gets to our house, there are spots where the river is wide and shallow. Just down from the house is a "swimming hole" just like that. People, mostly kids, come floating by on inner tubes and then they stop off at the swimming hole to splash around before continuing on downstream.

If you want whitewater on the Deschutes, here are some companies that lead rafting trips:

Jim's Oregon Whitewater and Adventures in Fishing

Oregon Whitewater Adventures

Rapid River Rafters


Rogue River

The Rogue is aptly named as this southern Oregon river runs wild! The nearby towns are Medford, Ashland, Gold Beach, Jacksonville, and Grants Pass. The Rogue passes through a beautiful wilderness and the whitewater beckons. It begins at Crater Lake, (which was Mount Mazama until it blew its wild top 7,000 years ago) and flows all the way to the Pacific.

If you are looking for a place to stay, check out my article on Flery Manor, located in Grants Pass. It is just minutes from the rapids.

If you want whitewater on the Rogue, here are some companies that lead rafting trips:


Rogue Klamath River Adventures

Whitewater Warehouse

Although not rafting per se, they do a whitewater adventure, so also check out Jerry's Rogue River Jet Boats


Klamath River
The Klamath River begins at Klamath Lake, flows south, keeping to the east of most towns, then after it cuts across the California border, heads south and west past Yreka and then twists its way on to the Pacific.

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