Photo Courtesy: Chad Case
Raft the Rogue
Time slows as water flows on a river adventure
My adult son Tally leaps from a metamorphic rock pedestal and plunges into a deep pool. We’re rafting the lower section of the Rogue River, one of the original designated Wild and Scenic River segments in America. The value of this downtime (with no cell coverage and limited lodge Wi-Fi) cannot be understated. How joyful to contemplate little other than the breeze’s distinct harmonies rustling through the coyote willows, their roots anchored firmly in the riverbank.
Though the river’s flow doesn’t waver during our time, guests could enjoy impressive flexibility in how they experience the river. Some choose to paddle a raft collectively, others to float without effort—but not without splashes—in a steer boat. Still others navigate downstream in a “ducky” (an inflatable kayak). There’s plenty of time to bob merrily along in the languid current or sluice one’s way through various whitewater.
“I loved seeing my boys’ faces light up as they paddled their inflatable kayaks out on the river for the first time,” said Bob Stein, a rafter on our trip who traveled to the Rogue from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with his grown sons. “Their eyes were wide open, and they had these huge smiles of accomplishment.”
Photo Courtesy: Chad Case
The Launch
The eve of our journey’s departure was delightful at Morrisons Rogue River Lodge.
The quality of my Pacific Rogue Wagyu steak with black garlic chimichurri matched a beautiful presentation on the patio that evening, with the river visible through the reeds in the distance.
We put in the following day at Grave Creek Boat Ramp Launch, assembling into various rafts for our maiden float, a mellow miles-long overture before the first frothy Class III movement at Grave Creek Falls.
“This river is defined by its ledge drops, like this one,” said Ryan, our lead guide with ROW Adventures, as we approached the rapid. “They’re what give the Rogue such character and make it a ton of fun.”
These first rapids also allow guide Matt, aka The Professor, to conduct novice paddlers as they orchestrate the synchronicity required to slip between intransigent boulders, avoid underwater features that could upend their vessel and encounter full frontal soaks, although saturation would be welcome with temperatures in the high 80s. Whether a seasoned guide or paddling plebe, navigating the constantly changing whitewater offers a thrill ride that surpasses any artificial rollercoaster, with no ticket required.
Photo Courtesy: Chad Case
A River of History
While quiet today, this 34-mile segment has a long history.
For thousands of years, the Takelma and Tututni Indigenous people created temporary dams and weirs to trap salmon. In the mid-19th century, the Rogue Valley Gold Rush frenzy significantly changed the river’s course through blasting intended to stir up gold dust from the banks and bottom.
Still, no prospector’s cannon blast compares to the Rogue River’s metamorphosis wrought by Glen Wooldridge. The speculator procured 10,000 pounds of dynamite from the federal government to blow up or “relocate” boulders to create a clear passage for boating Wooldridge’s guests from both downriver and upriver. Nowhere is this geological reconfiguration more apparent than Blossom Bar, a challenging Class IV stretch of rapids considered to be the trip’s most complex navigation.
“Before Wooldridge came along, a boulder garden covered the river here,” said Ryan as we climbed the hillside to scout the route. “The best path through this obstacle course changes daily based on river flow, one of many reasons why running the Rogue never gets old.”
Today’s commute requires a strenuous paddle up to 90 degrees through the narrow chutes of the Picket Fence, followed by a pivot past Crescent Rock which requires positioning the bow upon a barely visible rock. The raft continues its swirling orbit, progressing backward while narrowly avoiding Conglomerate Rock before reorienting forward to navigate past Volkswagen Rock, the final obstacle.
We visit the cabin of Zane Grey, the author who popularized the Rogue Valley in his book Rogue River Feud. Guide Matt, who is a middle school science teacher in the off season, also describes the region’s natural history, using props to illustrate osprey adaptations and explain the salmon’s foundational role in the local ecology.
No puppet could replicate the mature black bear that surprises us along the riverbank and stares us down for several minutes before ambling back into the bush. Just downstream, a wake of turkey vultures feeds on a deer carcass as a juvenile bald eagle perches nearby. Mature eagles appear in decent numbers, too. Once endangered, the eagles’ presence, in tandem with the ubiquitous osprey, indicates a healthy riparian ecosystem.
“I loved the balance of the adventure,” said the 20-something Mone’t, who joined her parents on the float. “There was endless history to learn, but there was also excitement in every rapid, nonstop laughter and even some competitive, um, roguishness.”
Like Mone’t’s folks with their daughter, I cherished my time with my son, a London-based artist. Hearing Tally chortle as we laced our way through the corset-tight Mule Creek Canyon or watching him tumble out of his ducky while trying to back-surf Tacoma Rapids, I realized how this immersive sojourn unwraps nature’s priceless gift: a four-day eddy from daily life with nothing save the oncoming rapid to dwell on.
Photo Courtesy: Chad Case
If you Go
The Rogue River is an excellent introduction to Class II-III whitewater with a couple of spicy Class IVs tossed in.
Several rafting companies lead tours and provide options depending on amount of time available, ages of participants and interest in activities. Options for accommodations range from camping or going from lodge to lodge.
Crai S. Bower’s writing and photography earned the 2025 NATJA “Best Illustrated Story” award. He regularly contributes to Condé Nast Traveler, Garden & Gun and Fodor’s Travel, among others.
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