Hey there river buddy!
There is a ton of great stuff around the Bend area. The Deschutes is ALWAYS running and there are multiple sections. I'll start with :
All of this whitewater is not ten minutes up the main road from town and some sections are actually in downtown bend.
1. the upper section- Benham Falls. It's a class V+ ledge drop rapid. It is quite long and not many people run it at the optimum flow of 2100 cfs. Note: 1800 cfs is super sticky and once it drops down to winter flow (around 600 cfs), it turns into a class III/IV drop.
*Below Benham Falls is a bunch of class III/IV boogie water -all flow dependent.
2. Below Benham is Dillon Falls...WEEEE!
It's super fun and there are multiple lines you can take. The drop is classified as a class V drop but I think it's really a class IV+. The swim is consequential. Why? Well, just below it is Dill Hole. It's a friggin "eat any boat at any level" hole. REally sticky and you dont wanna swim here. All the rock in Bend is lava rock so when you swim, you dont just get bumped, you get cut. So....dont swim. Anywho....so once you get through Dill Hole then you have Dillon Canyon which is actually really fun. Some good class IV water and great scenery.
*All of these sections are perfect for taking pics. Easy to get out and get shot...most of the time
3. Below Dillon is a bit of flatwater- maybe 1.5-2 miles then you have Big Eddy. Float on through this one unless Sousse hole happens to be in at 1400 cfs...then stay and play
Big Eddy is a class III splash and giggle drop
4. Just below Big Eddy is Lava Island Falls. This is a good stretch for solid class IV/V boaters. Lots of tight technical drops that are very consequential. This is part of the section we did in that blog. Super fun at a big fluffy flow....lots of F U rocks at lower flows.
5. Meadowcamp...about 1 mile downstream...Meadowcamp is the longest stretch of class IV in town. 5 miles of goodness. Pretty fun drops. Again, Dont swim. This is the worst section to swim at believe it or not....LOTS of sieves and undercuts. nastinesssssss
6. WAY downstream- past all of the damns is riverhouse. 5 miles of class IV bouldergardens
Yeah maybe that was too detailed but I wanted ya to have the info
Always fun here in Bend! Hope you are doing awesome. Stay warm!
Happy Paddling,
Christina
Anyhooooo check out the new post...
Linear Mode
