from $1,075* per person	5 Days	May
Comfort accommodations		Exertion level: 3
Operator: Sierra Club Outings		15 people max

When you float the Owyhee River, you journey through a land of haunting beauty, sometimes called the "Grand Canyon of Oregon." Located in the most isolated part of Oregon, the Owyhee runs through high desert country, where multicolored spires and secret canyons await your discovery. Here you'll feast your eyes on unique scenery that's a match for the more widely known grandeur of river canyons in the Southwest. In April 2009, Congress designated the 267,000-acre Owyhee River Wilderness as part of the 517,000-acre Owyhee-Bruneau Wilderness in Oregon and Idaho.

The Owyhee begins in the snowy mountains of the Humboldt National Forest in north-central Nevada. It derived its eponymous name after natives killed three Hawaiian fur trappers in 1819 who worked for the Hudson's Bay Company. Owyhee country is authentic wilderness but filled with the echos of a rich history. The river can be run only in the spring, when upstream snowmelt fills the canyon with the sound of rushing water and challenging rapids. The Owyhee is perhaps the most remote, secluded, and pristine rafting river in the Northwest, and we will be floating the best of it.

This is a very special river -- rare and wild, isolated and pure. Life blooms in the canyon. Pronghorn antelope, bighorn sheep, coyotes, and wild burros inhabit the rim rock. Golden eagles and over 100 other species of birds abound.

As if the beauty and the seclusion of the canyon and the exhilaration of Class III+ rapids were not enough, this trip will allow you more river running options than you would normally find. You can relax in a guided oar boat or paddle raft, challenge the rapids single-handedly in an inflatable kayak, or learn to row yourself down the whitewater with a partner in a small raft. Choices will depend upon the interests of our group. No experience is necessary, as you will be trained according to the option you choose.