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Oregon River Rentals wants you to have a great time out on the water. We’ve compiled a list of tips that will help you be successful on your self-guided whitewater trip. This list may help remind you what you already know. And maybe you’ll learn something that will improve your trip. Relax and have fun As with sex, if you’re not having fun, you’re probably not doing it right. (I think I read that somewhere). Confident paddlers enjoy the challenge of choosing a route downriver. A panicked paddler freezes and makes poor decisions. A nervous paddler tends to lean backward

May 19th and 20th marked the 29th annual Upper Clackamas Whitewater Festival. This always proves to be a great event each year. Check out the article and video below for a nice recap. Building whitewater community takes as much muscle as paddling Upper Clackamas River By Molly Harbarger, The Oregonian The announcer was barely audible over the roar of the whitewater, rushing almost 3,000 cubic feet per second down the Upper Clackamas River on Saturday. Spectators dotted the rocky shore, watching bobbing specks of color come closer until the dry-suited paddlers appeared. The crowd cheered each racer as they passed in

  Everyone knows how easy inflatable kayaks are to store and transport. But there are a lot of misconceptions about inflatable kayaks. Most of these are perpetuated by the poor performance of cheap blow-up rafts sold at sporting goods and department stores during spring blowout sales. That’s not what you get when you rent an inflatable kayak from Oregon River Rentals. It’s time to set the record straight.   Myth: They pop the first time they hit a rock That is probably true of the swimming-pool toy you bought for your kids. Modern inflatable whitewater kayaks are a different breed.

The Lower White Salmon from below Husum Falls to Northwestern Lake is a great beginner run for those who are looking to push themselves to intermediate level paddling. Only an hour drive from Portland near Hood River, the river continues to flow late into the summer. The current is swift and the water is icy cold, a perfect cure for a hot summer day. The picture above shows a couple of paddlers going through Rattlesnake Rapid, a class III mini-drop at the top of the run. Located about 1/4 of a mile downstream from Husum Falls, it is a river-wide ledge that

Okay, maybe we won’t get around to updating this survey every day, but certainly as time permits, we’ll add new questions and get your feedback. Suggest survey questions for us in the comment box below and we’ll ask those as well!

When paddlers refer to the Upper Clackamas they mean the waters upstream of North Fork Resevoir which is part of PGE’s hydropower facilties on the river. The run from Sandstone Bridge (Three Lynx) down to the Memaloose Weigh Station just above the reservoir makes a great 13.5 mile day trip although many kayakers focus on the 4.2 mile middle section from Fish Creek to Bob’s Hole which serves up the best whitewater and some fine playboating. One of the most popular rivers that our customers use our equipment on is the beautiful Clackamas River in Estacada, Oregon due to its proximity to

The Willamette River near Canby feels more like a very long lake than a river. You can paddle upstream as easily as downstream. This makes a shuttle unnecessary, so you can do this trip by yourself. Although houses and boat docks dot the shoreline on both sides of the river, the scenery is lush with trees towering over the river banks. You’ll find a boat launch at the Molalla River State Park, allowing direct access to the Willamette River. The mouth of the Mollala river empties into the Willamette about 1/2 a mile upstream from the boat launch. If you are

The McKenzie River originates at Clear Lake and flows 90 miles west to where it joins the Willamette River just below the town of Coburg. Along the way it flows through layers of volcanic rock. Just above the town of Blue River is Wolf Rock: Rising almost 1,000 feet, it is said to be the largest rock monolith in the state. The McKenzie region is also known for the hot springs that rise from deep underground. Natural springs, heated by geothermal activity, flow to the surface in several locations. The most well-known are probably the commercial development at Belknap Hot

This run on the Sandy river from Revenue bridge to Dodge park starts out slow and picks up into some nice class II+ or class III rapids, depending on flow. It is a great companion run to the Dodge to Oxbow section just down river.   Looking upstream from the river you can see the end of the much more difficult class IV section of the classic Sandy River Gorge run. Downstream it looks calm and inviting. While certainly nothing to compare with the rapids upstream, the Revenue to Dodge trip offers plenty of whitewater fun. No one rapid stands