The Beautiful Rogue River Gorge

Compared to the Grand Canyon, the Rogue Gorge is just a little ditch.  Compared to the mighty Colorado River, the Rogue River is a trickle.  But the beauty that can be found here cannot be measured by breadth or width or depth.  It simply IS and it stands alone, incomparable in its raw, untamed wildness.  And you can get up close and personal!!



Located along Hwy. 62 between Crater Lake and Medford, OR, this scenic area was formed by volcanic activity.  The lava and pumice are evident everywhere.  You can read some interesting information about the geological features of the area here.

There are two main areas that showcase these wonders of nature.   One is Natural Bridge.  You may have read the posts by RV Sue about her recent visit to the area.  At Natural Bridge the river goes underground and reemerges from a lava tube in several places.


The Rogue Gorge viewing area and the Natural Bridge area are both accessible from large paved parking lots and both have paved trails suitable for wheel chairs or mobility scooters.  A fence runs along the water side of the trail as the water here is rough and dangerous and the gorge deep and steep.



If you are physically fit, you can hike to both viewing areas along the same trail.  There are numerous hikes and viewpoints in the area of varying degrees of difficulty. 

Poppy enjoyed the walk and found many wonderful smells to pique her interest.


After our walks, we stopped at Beckie’s Cafe for lunch.  This cafe is part of the Union Creek Resort which was an important stop for travelers during the early 1900’s.  This is a TINY cafe and waiting for a table is the norm.


Click on the picture of the menu to read about the history of the resort and cafe.


The hamburgers we ordered were some of the best and exceeded our expectations.  Russ is planning his attack!  We had heard so much about their homemade Huckleberry pie, that we also ordered a piece of that to go.  I have to admit I was very disappointed in the pie.  The crust was heavy and thick and practically needed a steak knife to cut it!  The filling left a slightly bitter after taste.  I could not recommend the pie.  Son John could definitely give pie making lessons here!!


Across the road from the cafe, the resort still rents out the rustic cabins from years past.  I would love to see inside one of these historic buildings.
 
There were so many beautiful sights along the gorge and I picked out just a few for a slide show.  It seems like around every curve in the path, there is something more to see.

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And just a short video to give you a feel for the area.

Although I have lived in Oregon for over 40 years, this is the first time I have spent any time in this area of the state.  There is so much to see and I’m sure we will be back. 

In the office of the park we were staying in we found some interesting information regarding a fellow blogger.  It seems they have a secret business here in Southern Oregon that we have discovered.  Good Luck Duck – we know who you are and what you have been doing!!


So Annie and Roxanne – here’s a bottle of Claret for you.  If you like it just print out and run it through the copy machine and make yourself a whole case!!