Oregon's Top Hiking Adventure

Hiking along the Rogue River trail is becoming hot, hot, hot! If fact, Joy Henkle, owner of Whitewater Warehouse has written many articles on subject. Check out the latest blog to feature one of her stories on Rogue River hiking trips....the unique hiking experience is fast becoming one of the top hiking trips on the west coast.

The 4-day lodge-to-lodge hiking trip on the Rogue is really like no other. Hikers experience beautiful fields of wildflowers, breathtaking vistas, wildlife that live life alongside the trail, and best of all a comfortable, private cabin and a delicious meal at end of day.

If you are interested in experiencing this incredible hike, feel free to call the author of this and many other hiking stories...Joy Henkle. She can be reached (and would love to talk hiking with you) at 1-800-214-0579.

Whitewater Log Rafts--Yikes!

A raft of logs! Yikes, it's a good thing times have changed! On Whitewater Warehouse's Rogue River raft trips, the company uses its famous pontoon rafts. No other rafting company in the world has boats like White Water Warehouse. The company's rafts were designed and built by an in-house professional boat building and repair team.
Unique because the boats are very stable and VERY comfortable, folks travel with the WWW team just because of these boats. There is no cold water hanging out at the bottom of the boat because the pontoons are made to be self-bailing. This means customers of Whitewater Warehouse get a secure ride with none of the "water bucket bailing" so typically seen on conventional rafts.

Check 'em out in the photo above. We've come a long way, baby, from the days of log rafts, that is for sure!

A River Runs Through Him...

Matt Leidecker is a man with a mission....to document and write about some of the west's most famous wild rivers. His latest guidebook, just hot off the presses, is titled The Rogue River - A Comprehensive Guide from Prospect to Gold Beach and includes a rapid-by-rapid account of the Rogue River, its history, and geology.

The guidebook's attention to detail is evident in Leidecker's breakout of local and regional resources of information. He even lists GPS coordinates for the Rogue's many rapids and riffles!

Purchase this handy, waterproof guidebook by visiting Leidecker's website. Or, you can visit our Whitewater Warehouse website and email us a request. We will happily hook you up with Matt. The book makes a perfect holiday gift for the river lover in your family!

Oregon's Shakespeare Festival

13 miles to the south you land in Ashland, home of the Tony Award-winning Oregon Shakespeare Festival. Founded in 1935, this theater is among the oldest and largest of all the professional, non-profit theaters in the nation. Dedicated to producing 11 outstanding plays in a season, travelers from all over the world arrive this quaint town to enjoy the plays' drama and revelry.

While in Ashland, your stay can include exquisite hotels and bed-n-breakfasts. Meals are almost always memorable with restaurants that offer local cuisine "fit for kings and queens." Check out the Ashland Springs Hotel or Ashland Creek Inn. For a real taste of the area's agricultural bounty make a reservation at Larks or Amuse. You won't be disappointed!

And so ends our "Tall-Trees Adventure." A driving trip that started in California's magnificent Redwoods and ended here in Ashland, Oregon famous for its world-class culture and cuisine. Ten stops and ten totally different experiences. Truly a motor trip for all the senses. If you are interested in reviewing the entire journey, simply scroll back on the nine previous blogs.

Foodies Unite!

Who doesn't love artisan cheeses, chocolates, and wines? The Medford, Oregon area is chuck-o-block with some of the best nibbling you have ever experienced. The yum-o-licious meter is clear over in the red zone! Just about 48 miles south of Grants Pass (staying on Interstate 5), this area is quickly becoming a culinary boutique.

The grandfather of all these food artisans is Harry & David. Samuel Rosenburg, father of Harry and David, was a successful hotel owner in Seattle, Washington but his true love was agriculture. In 1910, he traded the luxurious hotel Sorrento for 240 prime acres of pears in southern Oregon's Rogue River Valley and named the farm "Bear Creek Orchards" after the nearby creek. Sam died in 1914 and his sons, Harry and David, took over the business. The company has been shipping these incredible pears all over the world since that time and also offers many other local treats through their mail order catalogue. While in Medford, check out their storefront at 1314 Center Drive.

So many sensations to titillate your tastebuds! This area is just rich with artisan cheese makers, chocolate makers, and wineries. If you want to take a day or two and leisurely enjoy a tour, contact the folks at the Oregon Wine and Farm Tour. They would be happy to mail you out a brochure that offers visitors a complete driving tour of the best the area has to offer.

The tenth and last leg of our northern California/southern Oregon adventure ends just 13 miles farther south on I-5 at Ashland, Oregon. Check out our next blog on this unique township.

The Wildly Scenic Rogue River

A rich reward awaits the curious traveler on the eighth leg of our California/Oregon driving adventure. So far we have driven past the neck-craningly tall Redwoods, feasted our eyes on whitewater waves lapping the California coastlines, and gone underground to view southern Oregon's odd marble caves. These caves are cool. Once a tropical reef (millions of years ago), the reef was pushed under the continental edge to a depth of 12 miles. Catastrophic geological events then uplifted the caves 4,000 feet above sea level where visitors find its location today!

And the incredible scenery just keeps on giving.... Next up, stay on Route 199 until you reach the city of Grants Pass, Oregon. The city is known as the "gateway to the wild & scenic Rogue River." The Rogue River was one of the first American rivers to be classified as wild & scenic. Truly an adventure that travelers must experience at least once in a lifetime, the Rogue is a permit-only river from May 15 through November 15. Going with a quality outfitter like, Whitewater Warehouse, ensures that you will get the dates, lodges, and quality experience that you desire. You can call their friendly staff at 1-800-214-0579 for more information on this unbelievable whitewater adventure.

Our ninth stop takes us 48 miles straight down Interstate 5 to the city of Medford, Oregon. We'll discuss more about the emerging local food delicacies this area offers its lucky visitors...

Trees & Rivers & Caves...Oh My!

Mother Nature's beauty hits you right between the eyes on the seventh leg of our California/Oregon road trip through the land of tall trees, mysterious caves, and wild & scenic rivers. Continue following Route 199 until you see Route 46....turn off here and check out the Illinois River Valley Visitor Center. This "one stop" visitor center will provide you with information about the Oregon Caves and the Siskiyou National Forest. The Center even has a natural history bookstore which stocks books and materials that give you additional information on the area's unique geology and rare plants.

If you are interested in visiting the famous Oregon Caves you should know that the caves are open to visitors from March through the end of November and that even in the heat of the summer it is a chilly tour so bring a jacket with you. The labyrinth of caves are a national monument...a collection of chambers and passages that experts estimate are 3 to 5 million years old. Amazing to think that this wonder of geology has been "creating and re-creating" itself for that long.

On the next edition of our road trip, you will move up Route 199 into the city of Grants Pass--famous for being home to the wild & scenic Rogue River rafting and fishing adventures.

North to Alaska...

Well, not quite north to Alaska but we are headed north up Hwy 101 through California's Crescent City in the sixth leg of our "Enormous Evergreen" trip. After stopping at the must-see Trees of Mystery, and less than 20 miles further up 101, you'll come to the town of Crescent City. While not as beautiful as the forests that surround the town, its claim to fame seems to be the tsunami that struck the town in 1964. Follow 101 through town and veer east onto Route 199.

You will get your last view of the giant California Redwoods at Jedediah Smith Redwood State Park. The park is named after the intrepid explorer, Jedediah Strong Smith who was the first white man to explore the interior of Northern California. The park was formally established in 1929, and is bisected by the last major free flowing river in California, the Smith River. Since this is a journey through the trees, you will find a diverse selection here. Conifers other than redwoods include western hemlock, Sitka spruce, grand and Douglas fir, as well as the less common Port Orford cedar. Primary examples of understory trees include tanoak, madrone, red alder, big leaf and vine maples, and California Bay.

The seventh edition (and up-coming blog) to this incredible trip will move us further north into Oregon's water and tree-filled southern region.