The arduous Oregon Trail stretched 2000 miles across the American West and, for the rugged pioneers who traveled it to the end, it proved the road to Paradise. Lewis and Clark first set eyes on the Cascade Mountains and the Columbia River Gorge in 1805, inspiring settlers to follow to this splendid land of mountains, endless forests, waterfalls and fertile plains. The snow covered peaks of Mt. Hood rise high over the 1.2 million acres of protected wilderness. It's a dormant volcano, unlike the infamous Mt. St. Helens that left a moonscape of lava and ash when it erupted 25 years ago. We walk the slopes of Mt. Hood and to the safe vantage point of Mt St. Helen's Crater Viewpoint.

A volcano, an impossibly blue lake, a rushing river and an open-air Shakespeare Festival set the stage for adventure in Crater Lake National Park. Hike park trails to spectacular overlooks, bike along a crater rim and down a "highway of waterfalls," raft the wild class II-IV Rogue River, and feast on locally grown berries, cheeses and wines.

Let our rafts carry all the camping gear as you hike with only a day pack. Following trails that roughly parallel the Snake River in Hells Canyon this is a heavenly hike offered in the spring and fall. Big canyon scenery and the comforts of river camping make a great combination.

Flowing through a dramatic, isolated desert canyon, the lower Owyhee boasts hot springs, class III intermediate whitewater rafting, excellent spring bird watching and spectacular scenery.

Tucked in the northeast corner of Oregon and flowing from the Blue Mountains, the Grande Ronde (from the French for big circle) flows fast and clear. This is an easy whitewater trip through lush, forested canyons.

Similar to the Lower Owyhee, but with much more difficult class IV and V whitewater rapids. Camp on white sand beaches while deep cut canyons soar into a cobalt-blue sky.

The deepest river gorge in North America, straddling the borders of Idaho and Oregon, Hells Canyon cuts through some of the most rugged, spectacular landscape on earth with some of the biggest rapids in the West. Between the rapids kick back and marvel at the snow-capped peaks over a mile above the river. Excellent hiking trails, Indian rock art sites, idyllic summer camping conditions and outstanding fishing.