Trip Highlights
- The unforgettable blue-green color of the Illinois’ waters
- Wonderfully isolated, wonderfully beautiful and rugged country
- Run the Green Wall, one of the most famous rapids in the world
Oregon’s Wild and Scenic
Illinois River
A one-of-a-kind adventure for the truly adventurous
4 Day Illinois River Rafting Trips
- Length: 32 miles / 4 days
- Season: April and May
- Activities: Class IV/V Rafting
- Minimum Age: 16
- Includes: Professional guides, exceptional food,
and camping gear - Meeting Place: Grants Pass, Oregon
- Trip Cost: $2295/person
Greatest Day Ever
★★★★★
“ With 20 years of rafting behind my dad, NWRC gave him the single greatest day on a river he’d ever experienced. I’ll forever be grateful for that.”
- Tess Payne
Note about Illinois River Flows and Weather: The Illinois typically has reliable flows in the spring but can be volatile due to a number of factors that include weather, snowpack, too much rain, or too little rain. Because of this we historically cancel 20% of our Illinois River Trips. If we are unable to run the Illinois River we can move the trip to the nearby Rogue River or offer a full refund.
Every river is unique and no single day on a single river is ever the same. Yet the Illinois stands apart as a river unparalleled in its pristine, wild course through the remote Kalmiopsis Wilderness.
The difference between an Illinois River rafting trip and other river trips is apparent right from the start. Instead of the jostle of crowded put-ins strewn with gear and people and the frenetic energy of a busy boat launch, the unimproved and mostly-deserted river bench put-in at Miami Bar sets the tone for a more introspective sort of journey. And you’ll need the calm and quiet you’ll find here to marshall your resources for the days ahead because just around the bend of what looks like a gentle undulation downstream, lies some of the biggest wildwater in the region.
For most of your time on the Illinois, you’ll see few if any other river runners. The intensity of Illinois River rafting trips keeps all but the most fierce away. The surrounding wilderness does as well. Deep canyons and rough rock ridges make for challenging terrain on foot and especially in the water. But as with other wild and remote locations on our earth, those who are ready to embrace all the Illinois has to offer will be rewarded with a once-in-a-lifetime experience that will shift your soul.
Illinois River Rafting Trip Rhythm
Expect a steady build-up over the course of the first couple of days to some of the most difficult rapids on any river we run (awesome Class IV/IV+ whitewater) by Day 3. The last day is generally pretty easy—whew!—so you can bliss out in that happy-exhausted feeling that comes after doing something hard and truly worthwhile.
Off the Rafts
Once we hit camp for the day, we might go for hikes. But after such epic days, we’re usually happy to relax in camp, talk about the day, and steep ourselves in the solitude and immense beauty surrounding us.
Flora & Fauna
Bears, Osprey, Bald Eagles, Mergansers, Rattle Snakes, Great Blue Herons, river otters, newts, sturgeon, salmon, deer. Ponderosa Pines, Douglas Fir, Western Hemlock, Madrone, Manzanita, Alder, Willows and many types of wildflowers. Lots of Bald Eagles and Osprey and of course Bear.
Land Acknowledgement
Our trips on the Illinois River travel through the ancestral, traditional, and contemporary lands of the Shasta Costa and Takelma peoples. In particular, we we visit land ceded in the Treaty of 1853. We recognize current indigenous peoples and those who were removed from their homelands.
We operate under special use permit with the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest. Additionally, we are an equal opportunity provider and employer.