Rogue River June Hiking Trips

Are you a last-minute vacation planner? Oregon June Rogue River hiking adventures might just be the ticket for you! The trip offers trail guides, comfy lodges (with beds & showers), excellent meals, and even raft support to deal with all your heavy gear. All you pack is your water bottle and camera!

The Rogue River hiking trail is garnering a lot of national press lately. The hiking community’s best-kept-secret, the Oregon Rogue River trail is packed with incredible scenery, wildflowers, wildlife and moderately difficult hiking. If you get tired during the days’ hikes, just ask to ride the rafts. Couldn’t be easier.

So pick up that phone…there’s some space remaining on these June Oregon Rogue River 4-day, 3-night trail hikes. Call Whitewater Warehouse’s friendly staff today at: 1-800-214-0579.

Jacksonville, Oregon Celebrates 150 Years

The tiny Oregon town of Jacksonville has a rich 150 year old history. In 1861, a couple of muleteers spied a glint of yellow in Rich Gulch, off Jackson Creek. Before the ensuing southern Oregon gold rush ended, Jacksonville had grown into a prosperous county seat. In all, $34 million in gold dust–worth almost $2 billion today–tipped the scales at Cornelius Beekman’s bank.

The bank and Beekman’s modest house remain meticulously preserved. “It’s like Beek–that’s what everybody called him–went home from work one evening and didn’t come back,” says Terri Gieg, who narrates trolley tours that start at the bank. “The scales where he weighed all that gold are still there.”

Peter Britt, a Swiss immigrant who arrived in 1852. Britt’s house and gardens are gone, victims of fire and neglect, yet his influence is everywhere. He planted the area’s first wine grapes and later lent his last name to the town’s renowned summer music festival, staged on the grounds of his former estate. There are few pastimes more pleasurable than spreading a blanket at dusk and savoring a “Brittnic” of local wines and foods while performers–classical pianist Emanuel Ax, country legend Willie Nelson–electrify the warm night air.

Britt wore many hats:  horticulturist, vinter, painter, shrewd investor, and prolific photographer of Jacksonville’s settlers and streetscapes–a legacy that has proved crucial in recent preservation crusades. The whole of Jacksonville’s downtown has been designated a National Historic Landmark.

To do and see:  Applegate Valley Wine Trail, Britt Festivals, Self-guided tours, Trolley tours

Eats:  Carriage House Restaurant, Jacksonville Inn, Mamma Mia Gelateria

Sleeps:  Jacksonville Inn, Magnolia Inn, Nunan Estate, TouVelle House

A portion of this article was re-printed from the September/October 2010 VIA magazine.

Southern Oregon’s Rogue-Umpqua Scenic Byway

Northwest Travel magazine describes the Rogue River portion of the Rogue-Umpqua Scenic Byway this way. “The Rogue is a rascally river with headwaters near the western boundary of Crater Lake National park, where it begins carving and curling 215 miles to the Pacific Ocean. The 83-mile long Rogue portion of the Rogue-Umpqua Scenic Byway follows sections of its watery route as it gouges its way through gorges, lazily flows through broad valleys, and rumble tumbles through frothy whitewater stretches.”

While this scenic drive is essentially located southeast of Grants Pass, Oregon, it provides summer vacationers with so many things to see. Of course the beautiful Rogue River is the star of this ride but you’ll also encounter plunging waterfalls, crystal-clear lakes, historic towns, great hiking & biking trails, even Oregon’s largest fish hatchery: Cole M. Rivers.

Here’s a slideshow video that highlights some of the spectacular southern Oregon lakes and waterfalls along this drive…

Best Rogue River waterfall: Stair Creek Falls

Stair Creek waterfall on Oregon’s Rogue River is one of the most spectacular waterfalls in Oregon.  Its name comes from the watery journey it takes down rocky “stairs.” The stream cascades into the Rogue River from the south. It flows over nearly vertical rock walls to meet the river. Inspiration Point (where White Water Warehouse owner, Bob Meister, filmed the waterfall) overlooks this scenic spot from the river’s north bank.

During the summer months the pool at the bottom of Stair Creek Falls is a likely place to find salmon refreshing themselves in its cool waters. Often during the dog days of summer, rafters and kayakers will stop to view the beautiful waterfall from the vantage point of looking up into the Falls–some even brave enough to take icey cold dips in Stair Creek’s surging waters.