S5. Rafting #1 - Upper Rogue River at Shady Cove

S5. Rafting #1 - Upper Rogue River at Shady Cove

Starting Location: Office of Rapid Pleasure Rafting in Shady Cove, Oregon - we drove to McGregor Park Boat Ramp to put in. 

Point of Interest : Upper Rogue River, wilderness, wildlife, class 2 and 3 rapids

Distance: about 10 river miles.

Time on float: Just under 3 hours

Bathrooms: Yes, at rental office and portapotties at boat ramp

Parking: lots, with plenty of parking for trailers

EV Chargers: No

Rentals: Yes, at Pleasure Rapids, both guided and just equipment


We were in town for a wedding this weekend, and one of the pre-wedding activities was a Rafting trip on the Rogue River. We were up for that!

We had about 25 people from the wedding party and families together, including all 9 of our immediate family. The weather was pretty good. A bit on the chilly side maybe, but no wind.
We had 1 official guide for our group, so the other boats had whoever sat in the back to steer. Our boat had Jonah. The river is pretty mild on this stretch, with a few class 2 and 3 rapids, but nothing much to challenge a large raft.
The float starts at the bottom of the dam at Lost Creek Lake, with a nice boat ramp and dedicated parking for boaters. There were 2 outhouses and some picnic tables.

We got our life jackets on, got into the rafts and pushed off.

We did see some wild birds, like herons and several families of ducks and geese with young ones. 

The sun did come out near the end, which was welcome.
It was a nice float. Nothing dangerous, plenty of whitewater, but also calm stretches. Afterward, we had lunch in Shady Cove. The wedding party headed out to Camp Latgawa to prepare for the next day's wedding, and we went back to our Air BnB to take a nap.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

S5. Hike #3 Alsea Falls

Image
  Alsea Falls and Green Peak Falls Starting Location:  Parking lot,  Point of Interest  :  two waterfalls, forest trail Length of hike:   Just over 2 miles, Level :  Easy to moderate Bathrooms :  Yes, pit toilets Parking :  large gravel lot EV Chargers: No $5 Day Use Fee (BLM) with credit card machine (not working) We were fully expecting rain today, and were dressed for it. But somehow it just never showed up while we were hiking.  The drive to Alsea Falls is beautiful, if winding. We came up from Philomath, but there is also a route from the East, by Monroe. Due to recent rains, the flow was pretty high, which made for  a lot of water coming through the falls. Alsea Falls is just a few steps from the bridge over the river, and we could hear it. There is good access to the riverbank, and the trail is well maintained. Here's a video to give you an idea of how powerful it sounded. This is the view from the bridge, and you can see 3 f...
Read more

S5. Hike #1 - Tryon Creek

Image
  Tryon Creek State Natural Area  (First Day Hike) Trail Map Starting Location:  parking area by Nature Center Point of Interest  :   trails for hiking, biking, horse Length of hike:   Several trails, we did about 5 miles Level :  easy to moderate (mud, some steepness) Bathrooms :  Yes, flush toilets in Nature Center Parking :  Large paved lot, EV Chargers: No Our second, First Day Hike, this time at Tryon Creek. There were 5 hikes of different lengths and starting times available today, and we chose, of course, the longest and earliest. We had Ranger Nick leading us today, and he stopped occasionally to teach us about this particular forest in general, and a few interesting specifics. Here he is explaining about how loggers would cut holes in the trees for their platforms to stand on while they sawed the tree down. The trails are pretty well maintained, although we did have to step over a few trunks  and branches that had not been ...
Read more

S2.12 Wallace Marine Park to Keizer Rapids

Image
 Our intention was to put in at Wallace Marine Park in downtown Salem, and float to Spong's Landing in Keizer. However, when we went to drop off our car, it was apparent that there is not a boat ramp at Spong's Landing. You could carry lighter kayak's down to the river, but it's a long haul for heavier craft. So, instead we dropped the car off at Keizer Rapids , and headed back to Wallace to launch. The boat ramp is very nice here, with a small dock and plenty of parking. The only bathroom near the ramp, however, is a nasty port a potty. While Wallace is smack dab in the middle of Salem (okay, more to the West, but close...) it doesn't take long to get away from busy road noise. There weren't too many people on the river, probably because we put in pretty late in the afternoon, almost 4pm.  There was quite a bit of wildlife, including this heron which took flight when we got too close. We saw several heron, jumping fish, ducks, and hawks. But the scenery is alw...
Read more