For our anniversary, we decided to take a longer camping trip to some places we had never been before. So our first stop was where the Deschutes River terminates at the Columbia River, at the Deschutes River State Recreation Area.
We had reserved a campsite right by the river. The campground is nice enough. Vault toilets, and there were showers available. We could not have a fire, but that was understandable. There are some hiking trails. Trains run nearby both along the Columbia and Deschutes.
Unfortunately, we were not allowed to put our kayaks in the river on this side. We had to go to Heritage Landing on the West bank. There is a ramp for boats, and one for rafts, since it is the end of a popular rafting section. When we were there mid week, there was almost nobody around. There is a permit ($1) to access the river, and another permit to access the small island nearby.
The weather was perfect. Lots of wildlife, including pelicans. The river here is pretty slow and wide. The Columbia River is just on the other side of the bridges, and we decided we didn't want to deal with that. The water there was super choppy, and we were worried about the wind, so we didn't go past the bridges.
This means we headed upstream, which was fine. Our pedals could deal with the slow current. However, after only about 1/2 mile or so, you come to whitewater that you can't navigate. We went up this little channel until it ended at a small waterfall, then turned around, entered the main current, and floated back downstream. We did this twice.
We had gone kayaking in the morning. The afternoon we spend next to our campsite, using a floaty and relaxing. This section of river is nice, but short, and unless you plan to access the Columbia, you run out of river very soon.
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