The Wild and Scenic Rogue River

The Rogue emanates from the Cascades’ Mount Mazama, the volcanic container that cradles beautiful blue Crater Lake, then meanders 250 miles to Gold Beach. Down the mountain past the 40 miles of rapids that lure rafters by (literally) the boatload, the river calms and expands, flowing clear and green between walls of forest and rock. The Rogue is also full of fish — spring chinook, summer and winter steelhead, silvers (coho) in fall — making the river a gratifying one for anyone inclined to drop a line. Unlike the North Umpqua, whose complexity attracts the fly fishermen elite, the Rogue is a river for the people.