Southern Oregon Wineries: Pair 'em with a Rafting Trip

If you are a wine lover, you absolutely must make time for the unique wineries of southern Oregon's Rogue River Valley. Can you believe there are over 50 wineries in this small Valley? The Southern Oregon Winery Association (SOWA) has a simple website that lists these 50 wineries/vineyards and makes it easy for you to click through to their individual websites. SOWA separates the wineries into two distinct geographic regions: the Applegate region and the Rogue Valley region. Even in this small Oregon Valley, the two regions offer wine lovers distinctive climates and hillside slopes....which helps to make their final wine products totally unique.

Many of the area's wineries have won national honors (and loyal followers!) for their wine making capabilities. Here's an interesting video that shows how one southern Oregon winery, Fiasco Winery, explains their unique wine varieties and also discusses their homemade balsamic vinegars. Another twist is that the wine maker enjoys flying hand gliding as a hobby. Perhaps you could book a flight with this adventurous fellow and enjoy a sip or two of wine afterwards!


The Oregon Wine and Farm Tour is a sister organization to SOWA and offers guided tours of wineries and farms. Visitors can sign up for tours to either the Applegate Valley or the Rogue River Valley. You can check out times and costs by clicking on this page.

When considering unique "pairings," think about an Oregon rafting, kayaking or hiking trip with Whitewater Warehouse paired with an award-winning winery tour from the southern Oregon Rogue River or Applegate Valleys.

"Mad" About Oregon Rafting Organic Vegetables

We call the organic micro-farmer who we get many of our summer vegetables from for our Rogue River rafting, kayaking and hiking season, "Mad Ed." His given name is Edward but his nickname "Mad" comes from his organic gardening passion and the fact that he's also a bit eccentric. Here's a guy who spends most of his time tending his garden, stirring his compost, hand-picking weeds, and doesn't give a darn about the internet or FaceBook (come to think of it, maybe he isn't so eccentric!). In the photo above, you can see him looking back at me through a tented, raised bed of broccoli and cauliflower.  Because we have cooler weather through about the middle of May in Oregon's Willamette Valley, we have to tent many of our vegetables to keep them warm and growing strong.

"Mad" provides all our organic garlic and onions, and most of our tomatoes, zucchini, broccoli and cauliflower throughout the Rogue River rafting and hiking season. It really is incredible to taste difference between homegrown, organic broccoli vs. store bought varieties. And, we have to say that an added bonus is that we love supporting our local, micro-farmers. Not only is it the right thing to do, but everything tastes better too!

We will be featuring more of our Oregon micro-farmers on Whitewater Warehouse's Facebook and Twitter pages. Check us out and if you like what you see, follow us! We promise to respond to any of your questions or comments. We love our fans.

Oregon Vacations can be Healthy AND Fun!

Itching to get some exercise and eat healthy for your next vacation? Oregon Rogue River rafting, kayaking and hiking trips offer vacationers the perfect combo: tons 'o fun and a chance to get some real exercise without really thinking about it.

Recreation is basic to the purpose of a vacation. Recreation means "to restore to life, refreshment by recreating oneself." To recreate is to refresh ourselves, to heal, to recharge our batteries and reorient ourselves to a more balanced, successful life.

We don't realize how many things we can do to recharge our batteries, help us resolve our feelings, help us get in touch with our vision and goals, and provide much needed perspective. A conscious vacation brings more life, love and meaning into our lives. It is a little life sabbatical that leaves us ready to re-enter our daily lives with fresh perspective and new energy.

So seize the moment and call us at 1-800-214-0579 to book the healthy, fun vacation you've been dreaming of. Oregon Rogue River rafting, kayaking and hiking trips. This is one Oregon vacation you will walk away from revitalized and renewed.

Father's Day Getaway: Rogue River Rafting

Father's Day gifts. What to do? A whitewater rafting trip on Oregon's Rogue River just might be the ticket. Whitewater Warehouse is offering super discounts for dads, step-dads, granddads, and uncles on our Rogue River lodge trip that begins on Father's Day (June 20, 2010) and ends on June 22, 2010.

We call it our "Discounts for Dads" Father's Day trip special. All you need to do is bring your dad, step-dad, granddad or uncle with you on this trip. We will honor him by offering any dad or "dad-like" person a 50% discount on his trip! That means dads will go the on 3-day, 2-night lodge-to-lodge Rogue River rafting trip for just $440 per dad!

We've already booked some lucky dads on this June 20 - 22, 2010 trip so don't delay in calling our office to honor the most important man in your life. You're just 60 days away from creating some of the best dad's day memories ever.....1-800-214-0579

Southern Oregon's Bandon Dunes Golf Course

When one of our valued Whitewater Warehouse customers raves about excellent customer service we take notice. Molly O'Hearn who is in a league of her own (in many ways but we are referring to customer service here!) says that southern Oregon's Bandon Dunes Golf Course in Bandon, Oregon is world-class in offering top-notch customer service. "I have never felt so welcomed by a resort before. They are warm, they welcome me by name, the accommodations are cozy and top quality. And then there's the golf. This course runs along the Oregon coast so the scenery is breath taking. The course itself is really unique--in the spirit of the golf courses in Scotland. And, when I play there, I meet golfers from all over the world. I think that says it all. An amazing golf course, excellent facilities, and some of the best customer service I have ever experienced...no wonder I love coming back year after year."

We visited Bandon Dunes recently and experienced the quality of the resort for ourselves. By the number of vehicles in the parking lot and the diverse geographic locations of their license plates, you know you are somewhere special.  We took photos but they don't really do the resort justice. Check out Bandon Dune's website for more details (and better photos!)

We seem to be attracting more and more folks from all over the world who choose to Rogue River raft and kayak with us and then scoot over the mountain to travel the Oregon coast and play at Bandon Dunes. After visiting this incredible golfers' retreat, we can see why. It is truly spectacular. But don't take our word for it. Check out the kudos this course received from GolfersGuide.com!

Beautiful Bandon on the Southern Oregon Coast

Our Rogue River whitewater rafting, kayaking and hiking guests often head over to Bandon on the southern Oregon coast after their adventure vacation with Whitewater Warehouse. There, they find so many fun things to do. Great seafood, quaint places to stay, unique shopping, and even a world-class golf course (more on that in a later blog).

Recently, we had the opportunity to visit Bandon with the owner of the Galice Resort, Debbie Fine-Thomason. In this video, she explains why she loves to visit the quaint southern Oregon town of so much:

 If you are interested in heading to Bandon, you can find a wealth of information at the Bandon Chamber of Commerce. The site even has a "jetty cam" so you can see the weather minute by minute!

So don't miss out on this beautiful little town. Just the perfect place to land after a wonderful river trip with Whitewater Warehouse.

Rogue River Rooster Rumble 2010

June 25th - 27th, 2010 Rogue River, Oregon's National Rooster Crow Weekend - Since 1953, the Oregon town of Rogue River has held the National Rooster Crow Championship the last Saturday in June. The community event has grown into a 3-day event, kicking off Friday night at 6:30 pm with free entertainment. Saturday morning is the well known Rogue River "Rooster Crow Parade". This year's theme: ROOSTER RUMBLE 2010!    After the parade, there is a whirl wind of activities, arts and crafts, food booths, a special kids area, boat races on the Rogue River and...of course, the National Rooster Crow Contest and Human Crow Contest. After the winners circle, head over to the Woodville Museum Gazebo for another free concert starting at 3:30 that afternoon. Sunday continues with the Rooster Crow Car Show for antique car enthusiasts and more Rogue River boat racing for the thrill seekers. For more information, please contact the Rogue River Chamber office at (541) 582-0242.

Whitewater Kayaker Tries Rogue River Rapid Flip

Whitewater kayaker tries to flip kayak in "Mary's Pot Hole" on Oregon's Rogue River. This fun drop/hole is a blast to go over--either in a kayak or inner tube. Watch how the kayaker paddles towards the hole and drops into it...and finally ends up in quieter water. This is known as a pool-and-drop river. In other words, you drop into a rapid and then ease out into calm water. Much of Oregon's Rogue River is like this, making it incredibly fun to white water raft or kayak during the summer months.



Interested in knowing more? Contact the friendly folks at Whitewater Warehouse for summer scheduling info:  1-800-214-0579

Whitewater Rafting--It's all in the Details!

When you book a whitewater rafting trip, you want your outfitter to offer the very best. And being the best means concentrating on the details of every trip. Whitewater Warehouse is one of these Rogue River outfitters that truly believes that the "devil is in the details."

Since folks come from all over the world to raft, kayak and hike with White Water Warehouse, the company wants to make sure that they experience "Oregon" in all the best ways. Before dinner each night, WWW offers a variety of Oregon foods to sample. Willamette Valley hazelnuts, southern Oregon artisan cheeses, Oregon wild Salmon and Steelhead--caught and smoked by our owner, and luscious Oregon/Washington wines are presented to our valued guests.

Even Whitewater Warehouse's garlic, herbs, onions, tomatoes, cabbages, broccoli, cauliflower come straight out of the owner's organic gardens! The rest of the vegetables and fruits are purchased through a local farmer...so the food is always all-Oregon, all the time.

Interested in seeing this quality outfitter in action? Check out Whitewater Warehouse's website. Or, call their friendly staff at 1-800-214-0579. They would love to talk to you about what makes them so different!