Owyhee River Rafting
The Owyhee River flows through one of the most remote regions in North America. The Canyonlands of the Owyhee River system is one of the largest unspoiled areas around. The Owyhee River greets one with impressive canyons that rise as much as two-thousand feet above the rivers' edge. This river has embraced some the most spectacular, rugged and little known country in the states.
The Owyhee River lies in the southeastern corner of Oregon. River Drifters offers three, four, five, seven and ten-day adventures on the Owyhee. On an Owyhee trip one may encounter a band of California bighorn sheep, a dozen kinds of wildflowers, an unexpected waterfall or one of the areas numerous hot-springs. One may also see some of the endangered species that reside in this area, like the peregrine falcon. Other wildlife that may be seen are the pronghorn antelope, elk, deer, cougars, sage grouse, eagles and many others.
The Bureau of Land Management in the area describe the Owyhee region as "The most rugged, remote and least known high desert canyon complexes in North America, the Owyhee Canyonlands are also perhaps the most spectacular."
The history in this area stems back to more than five-thousand years
ago. The Owyhee Canyonlands have been a home to Native Americans
for thousands of years. Evidence of their existence can be found
in the many pictographs, petroglyphs and artifacts that were left
behind from them. Since the white man settled this area more than
two-hundred years ago, agriculture and grazing had been abundant
for many years. Still today, one may spend hours exploring side canyons,
old ranchers cabins and of course, rewarding themselves with hot-springs
soak! The Owyhee River was named by Peter Skene Ogden in 1819 when
two of his fellow trappers were killed. The river was named after
them and the word 'Owyhee' is a 19th century spelling for Hawaii.