The Rogue River Trail

The Rogue River Trail from Grave Creek to Illahe is in the heart of the National Wild and Scenic Rogue River Canyon. The trail stretches roughly 30 miles along the north bank and is easily accessed from either the east or west end.

Heather and I decided to begin at Grave Creek (not too far from the Galice Store and Rand Ranger Station). We hiked about 4 miles before turning around as the weather was beginning to turn on us. This took us past Rainie Falls, Whiskey Creek and to the campground near Big Slide. Exploring the old homestead area at Whiskey Creek was a highlight of the trip. The buildings are remarkably well preserved and the shelves of the kitchen are still filled with old metal food tins and tools. Another point of interest was the high water mark from the '64 flood. It's hard to image the river at this level as it's a long way down from where this photo was taken. We didn't see too much for wildlife though berry colored scat was everywhere. Some from bear, other from fox or coyote perhaps. We did see a sturgeon surface in the river below which was pretty neat...the first time either of us had seen one. We're thinking of a 5 day trip next spring to hike the trail from end to end...so Holly and Dave, if you're interested?