A Short Paddle on the Upper Middle Deschutes

Sometimes its easy to forget about sections of river that are right under your nose. In this case sections of the Deschutes River that run right through the middle of Bend.

Just above and below town there are some beefy Class IV-V sections that I may never boat, but just below the "Riverhouse Run" near Tumalo state park is a primarily flatwater section...but it's so close we decided to give it a try. Even if it's primarily flat, we knew it would still be a pretty float.

We called up our friend Brian who's been wanting to go out, and picked out a short 5-mile section of river.

We parked at Tumalo State Park and hiked upriver to a spot that was good to launch.

And yes, it was mellow, but we did come upon a few splashy Class II rapids that helped break up the flat water.

Next we want to do the next section that runs to the outskirts of Redmond...and beyond. Kirk has paddled almost the whole length of the Deschutes River, and that is one of the remaining sections left.

Not a bad way to explore your backyard!