I boarded one of these boats a few weeks ago… it’s one of my favorite Southern Oregon things to do, and every time I get to this area of Oregon, I always book a trip.

Starting in the heart of downtown Grants Pass, we wound our way down an easy ramp to the water’s edge, where we boarded for our exciting ride. The water was moving at a pretty good clip, so I knew that navigating this current would require a lot of power. No worries! With a low rumble, the boat started and the engines roared to life. Ooooh, the power! I smiled and clamping my hat on, we were off.

The sun shined down and the fresh cool air of the river swept over us as we swooped our way down the river. The guide/driver expertly navigated the river, pointing out historic and natural features of our ride with aplomb and an almost encyclopedic knowledge. He also playfully carved some arcs on the river, with a few resulting waves splashing down on the delighted kids who had plunked themselves up in the front of the boat to get in the middle of the action.

Residents living along the river closer to town waved to us as we passed, and still others gave us smiles as they were fishing along the banks or on drift boats along the way. Our guide respectfully slowed down to not ‘wake’ those boats or the swimmers near some of the parks scattered along the shoreline.

Rumbling on, we slowed down so the driver could point out wildlife including some osprey hovering overhead. The scenery continued to get even more spectacular, especially when we entered the narrow chasm known as Hellgate Canyon. Toothy rock walls surrounded us and I could feel the energy of the river rise as it was channeled through such a narrow space. As it was pointed out, this particular section of the river was featured in the movie “River Wild” was filmed with Kevin Bacon, as was parts of “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.” The light filtering into the canyon never fails to take my breath away, and is iconic in my mind to the beauty of Southern Oregon.

The thrum of the engines, wind in our hair and the warm sunshine was exhilarating. But the best was yet to come. Dinnertime took place at the OK Corral, which is owned by the jetboat company. Passengers disembark onto a dock and can either walk up the short hill or take a ride on a tractor wagon that shuttles everyone up to the corral. I decided to stretch my legs and was up at the lodge within a couple of minutes. There, a delightful spread of home cooking tempted our palates. Surprisingly, despite the fact that we hadn’t exactly been exerting ourselves on this ride, I was ravenous and enjoyed the barbeque favorites on the menu.

But one of the special treats of this place was discovered when I got up and spied a group of deer fearlessly walking up to one side of the outdoor seating area. Apparently, they knew it was dinner time too, and weren’t disappointed when some of the kids started tossing crumbs out. It was great seeing these graceful creatures up close.

But dinner was over, and the sun was starting to get low, so it was time to go. We piled back onto the boat, and the pilot driver wended his way up the river back towards town. Even within the span of a few hours, the light had again changed and the river looked entirely different, and there were new animals and things to see on the way back. This just proves that the ever-changing landscape is something to experience and revere, and this jetboat ride was just the perfect way to get to experience a sliver of it for myself.

Hiking Oregon’s Rogue River trail with White Water Warehouse owner and trail guide, Bob Meister, is more than a trek; it is a history lesson. The 43-mile hike lasts for 4 days and 3 nights and winds through some of southern Oregon’s richest back country historical and ecological sites.

“The Rogue River-Siskiyou mountain range hike is not only stunningly beautiful but also home to some incredible moments in history. Hikers have a chance to live history by standing on sites where local Indian battles took place, they will discover the ruins of homes where neighbors shot and killed each other over gold mining claims, and even walk through old homesteads where home owners would spend winter months snowed in waiting for food and rations to arrive by wagons coming over the mountains,” says Meister. Even the start of the Rogue River trail is historic. The trail head is named after the grave of Martha Leland Crowley, a daughter of a pioneer couple. Martha was buried under an oak tree near the creek in 1846.

As the 40-plus mile trek continues, the trail often shadows the famous wild and scenic Rogue River. Scientists have described this area as one of the most plant diverse ecosystems in the United States–rivaled only by the Great Smokey Mountains. “This hiking experience is like no other…and I have hiked all over the world,” says guide Jim Jackson. “You walk through all the glories of nature on the Rogue-Siskiyou trail. The diverse ecosystems are incredible. Hikers see rocky, dry areas, rain forests that are home to some of the most sensitive plants in the world, eye-popping fields of wildflowers, and fragrant wild azaleas lining the riverbanks. It is breath-taking.”

The trail hiking season is May through mid-June (because of the moderate temperatures at this time of year). A chain of three rustic fishing lodges conveniently spaced a day’s walk apart along the Rogue River makes possible a style of hiking that’s the norm in much of the rest of the world but somehow not see in this country: inn-to-inn walking.

White Water Warehouse offers guided outdoor adventures in Southern Oregon. You can read about things to do in Southern Oregon on their blog, White Water Rafting, Kayaking and Hiking Blog.

Henry Miller is the outdoor editor for the Salem Statesman Journal. He has been fishing the rivers, lakes and coastline of Oregon for 20 years; his biggest fish to date is a 44 pound ling cod caught on a charter out of Newport.

Wallowa Lake
Flanked by the Eagle Cap Wilderness and the Wallowa Mountains, there arguably is no more scenic fishing lake in Oregon than Wallowa Lake near Joseph. Its crystalline waters are stocked with rainbow trout during the tourist season, but also has a good self-sustaining population of kokanee—a landlocked variety of sockeye salmon. If you’re at Wallowa around Labor Day, you can watch the kokes in full scarlet and green spawning colors swim out of the lake and up the Wallowa River.

TenMile Lakes
North and South lakes south of Reedsport make up the coastal complex known as Tenmile Lakes—the top bass tournament waters in the state. It’s not uncommon to see several fish checking in at more than 8 pounds during a typical tournament weigh-in. Because the lakes are shallow—average of about 15 feet deep—spring and summer fishing is tops, before the water chills in the winter or heats up in the summer, turning the fish sluggish.

Lower Rogue River
Fishing guides talk about the banner years when the fall-run chinook salmon are so thick that limits are landed in less than an hour…and they don’t take reservations, but instead run a shuttle service to take anglers queued at the docks at Gold Beach out to the fish and back to the cleaning stations! This may be an exaggeration, but not by much when the run is good. Fishing for the salmon that can top 40 pounds peaks in August and September, when fish move upriver with the first rains.

The John Day Pool on the Columbia River
Known as Lake Umatilla, the impoundment above John Day Dam always offers something to catch—as long as you can stand the wind and the weather extremes! The fun includes steelhead in September at the mouth of the John Day River. Anglers focus on small mouth bass and walleye—the state walleye record, almost 20 pounds, was caught in the pool in 1990—in the late spring through summer. Shad also make it up the Columbia as far as the town of Umatilla, peaking in late May and early June.

Crane Prairie Reservoir
This big impoundment near Bend is legendary for its big trout, both rainbows and brookies. Unlike most reservoirs, the site of Crane Prairie wasn’t skinned off by loggers before filling in the 1920s—its wealth of snags and structure make it as picturesque as it is productive. In addition to monster trout (rainbows approaching 20 pounds are regularly hooked), there’s also a healthy population of largemouth bass, the progeny of an illegal “stocking” that took hold.
While limits aren’t guaranteed, the fish that you land will be worth the effort.

For more information on fishing the glorious waterways of Oregon, please visit our Outdoor Recreation section.