down to Touvelle State Park, or from “We’ve had people as young as 3 Gold Hill down to the city and as old as 90” on that of Rogue River. stretch of the river, says Day trips on the upper Shelly Tauriainen, owner river are easy to organize. of Raft Rite, a Shady Cove A number of outfitters in outfitter. Shady Cove rent inflatable Tauriainen says this kayaks (still often called stretch of the river is “Tahitis,” from the name of extremely popular, so the original popular boat), it’s wise to show up early as well as life jackets, on hot days, or make a paddles and anything else reservation. Paddle rafts you need for an afternoon are available for larger on the water. Most will parties that want to share haul you upstream to Lost a single boat. Steering Creek Dam as part of your those boats requires some rental fee. You float down teamwork, and attention to Shady Cove, (about 10 to balancing the crew’s river miles) in three or four weight equally on both hours, and take your boat sides to keep the boat Shelly Tauriainen, stable and avoid tipping in out of the water at the park just downstream from the owner of Raft Rite rapids. Highway 62 bridge. OneFarther downstream, in Shady Cove and two-person inflatables around Merlin, there rent for $20 to $30, which is more challenging usually includes transportation to the whitewater for day trips, but novices put-in. can still enjoy the ride. Outfitters rent
We’ve had people as young as 3 and as old as 90 on that stretch of the river.
April 20, 2014 • Our Valley 73