Rogue River Float To The Coast (Grants Pass, Gold Beach: dangerous, retired, best)

[Larry Caldwell]

Has anyone done the Rogue River from Grants Pass to the coast? Now that I'm retired, I'm looking to do things I have never had time for before. I have taken the Hellgate Jet Boat tour, and the mail boat run on the lower Rogue, but have never done the whole river.

Is there a lot of white water? Can you run the white water, or does it have to be portaged? How many days does a float take?

Summer is here. It's time to enjoy Oregon.

[Hawk J]

Larry, over five lustrum ago we took our young'uns twice during summer, on a raft day trip from outside Merlin, down part of the river.
Had loads of Fun. Saw much beauty. We were in awe, seeing the deer, elk, black bear, osprey, great blue heron, beaver, etc...
Saw a few large fish. We had some white water in a few areas but nothing too dangerous, the part of the river we were on.

Some of the guys/gals on the oregonfishingforum have gone on kayak, pontoon, or raft trips on the Rogue.

[delta07]

My husband, sister-in-law, brother-in-law and myself floated the Rogue River Wild & Scenic section in August 2008. It was an exciting experience! I had never been whitewater rafting before, but my brother-in-law is very experienced (used to be a guide on the Arkansas R. in Colorado) and took us all on the trip. We spent 5 days there, although did a fairly leisurely pace, and could have easily done the river in 3-4 days. However, the slower pace allowed us to visit some of the historic sites and take a few short hikes. I don't know if I would float all the way to the coast, as the jet boats get to be a bit much. During our float we saw lots of wildlife too, including a black bear. At times the river was quite flat, not much whitewater at all. But then, at others, it was class V rapids and one portage at Rainie Falls, I believe. Blossom Bar was another very technical section, although it didn't require us to portage. I think there was a nice balance of whitewater and flat water. But, one must be pretty experienced with rafting to take on the Rogue, as it can be pretty deceiving.

We were lucky to score a last minute permit, which may be your best bet if you are thinking about rafting it during the busy season. The lottery for the permits opens in January and all slots are usually taken. Here's a link to a nice guide found on the blm site. It should help answer some of your questions. http://www.blm.gov/or/resources/recr...oatGuide04.pdf

[FVWinters]

I hiked it from one end to the other but never floated it. I can echo the previous posters in saying the scenery is awesome. I would highly recommend taking the trip.....

[Terryj]

Larry, there are a number of places on the Rogue that will give you a thrill, running Rainey Falls will most likey be the most challenging, it classified as a class 5 however that all depend on the time of year. Some people prefer to portage around the falls and some like the thrill of going over it. I'd like to go the entire route of the open Rogue from Casey State park to Gold Beach, it would most likely take about a week to do.