August 14, 2022

Oregon – Packing for a Rogue River Rafting Lodge-to-Lodge Trip


In mid-August, the weather on the Rogue River was warm, beckoning me to jump in the cool greenish water. Of course, I obliged and would lazily float downstream. I had great weather and water temperatures, which made packing a breeze (instead of the regular gale-force winds of anxiety). Quick dry clothes, a swimsuit, and sun protection. And what made packing for Rogue River rafting even easier was staying in the lodges each night. However, I wanted to share the products I used on the 4-Day Lodge-to-Lodge Rogue Trip with ROW Adventures, in case it helps with your packing heartaches.

This post is not meant to be an exhaustive list of things to bring, but a starting point of the absolute critical items, other things that came in handy, prepping for a cold day on the river, and more. For an extensive list of things to pack, read through your tour operator’s provided information (here’s ROW’s helpful packing list). Before you head out, review what your tour includes so you do not bring duplicates. For example, ROW Adventures provides dry bags, and lodges will have towels and mini-bar soap.

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Packing for Rogue River Rafting Lodge-to-Lodge Trip – 10 Essentials

Here are 10 essential things you’ll need for a warm day on the river.

1. Water Sandals:

I have a confession. After many years of wearing Tevas sandals, I bought and brought Chaco sandals with me on the Rogue, which completely converted me. The Rogue tested these babies with wet, slick, and uneven surfaces. They did not budge, as evidenced by my stark sandal tan. I’m now, and for the foreseeable future, a Chaco girly. For any river trip, make sure to have secure water sandals because you’ll be in them ALL day.

2. Sunscreen SPF 50+:

A lot of it!! Ideally, waterproof sunscreen. Reapply to tops of thighs and feet, as well as arms throughout the day:

  • Waterproof sunscreen – I tried this one that you can apply while wet. It worked, but it also didn’t seem different from the regular sunscreen I borrowed from other people if mine was tough to reach.
  • Face sunscreen – I use this tinted one to double as my face makeup in a small refillable container.

3. Sun Shirt/Quick Dry Clothing:

With 4-days on the river, I essentially rotated between two similar outfits made of entirely quick-dry or lightweight materials. Everything dried out overnight, but if you have cooler weather, that might not be the case.

4. River Hat and Sunglasses:

Keep your face out of the sun with a hat. I brought a baseball cap (courtesy of ROW), a wide-brim hat, and my prescription sunglasses.

5. Large Water Bottle + Carabiner:

Stay hydrated on the river! Bring a one-liter water bottle with a carabiner to hook onto the boat and have easy access throughout the trip.

6. Camera Setup:

Consider what camera you will use on the trip and ensure you can protect it. Most newer iPhones are water-resistant, but how will you hold onto them? Look into waterproof cases for whatever camera you plan to use. Also, take a look at your storage capacities before you go!

7. Lip Balm:

Keep your lips hydrated with lip balm or chapstick. Ideally, it would have SPF for lip protection!

  • Sunbum didn’t leave a weird flavor – win! Buy on REI or Amazon.
  • Other options I haven’t tried: This Aquaphor lip balm seems like it would be good in particularly dry or hot destinations as it won’t melt, Or perhaps this O’Keeffe’s lip balm. It doesn’t look to be as natural, but it gets good reviews.

8. Chums or Croakies:

Unless you’d like to lose your sunglasses to the river, I’d recommend chums or croakies. Looking closely at my photos, you’ll see I switched out my chums because I bought some adorable ones right before the trip.

  • Larger fabric version that goes behind the ears: I purchased at REI (also on Amazon or Backcountry).
  • Or consider the narrower, corded version that sits more toward the front of your glasses: I couldn’t resist the Handwound Guatemalan ones I saw at Morrisons Lodge right before the trip started. They are out of stock online, but these corded ones from REI are similar (also on Amazon).

9. Quick-dry undies/bra:

I would wear my swimsuit some days under my clothes, and other days I would wear my quick-dry undies or bra underneath. Most people simply swam in their clothes.

  • Swimsuit: I just brought a single two-piece swimsuit from Cupshe. You may want to bring two swimsuits if you plan to wear them every day.
  • Quick dry undies/bra: Look for merino wool, it sounds crazy, but some lightweight options won’t get funky when it gets wet. I like the brand Branwyn for its bralette and thong. REI is also starting to carry options.

10. Bandana and/or Sarong:

I wore my classic bandana every day to protect the back of my neck and keep me cool. And although I brought a sarong from my previous trip, I didn’t really remember to use it. If I was smarter, I would have busted it out each lunchtime to have something dry to sit on.

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In Case You Encounter a Cold Day on the River

The ROW Adventures Packing list distinguishes between a cold day on the river and a warm day on the river. This helped me think through the different circumstances. On this Rouge Trip, I never encountered a cold day on the river but was happy to have these items stashed at the bottom of my bag.

1. Rain Gear:

Bring it, even if you don’t think you’ll need it. The raingear doesn’t prevent the water from getting in entirely. Instead, it helps keep the warmth you do produce. It also deflects some of the water.

2. Synthetic Tights:

These are the key to wearing rain pants comfortably! On my last trip, I really didn’t like the feeling of the rain pants touching my skin when I wore shorts underneath, so I didn’t wear them much. To solve that icky feeling, wear synthetic tights underneath!! The synthetic-ness will wick the water away, so go with anything that does not contain cotton.

3. Paddling Gloves:

Whoops, I forgot mine. But I really need to pick some up for the future because they serve a dual purpose: keep your fingers warmer and protect them from the paddle and sun. Here are the ones I’m considering purchasing from REI.

Lodge-Specific Items

Each day, when I got to the lodges, I would immediately shed my damp river clothes, hang them to dry, and change into something comfortable to lounge around. Here are some things to consider bringing to relax at the lodges.

1. Insect repellant:

I never had a problem with the mozzies while on the river, but I sure attracted them when I sat peacefully at the lodges. Especially because I was up early and out late to get extra photos.

2. Travel Shampoo and Conditioner:

The lodges provide little travel-sized soap, but you’ll need to bring shampoo and conditioner. I also brought soap because I’m picky, but that’s up to you!

  • Fill up reusable travel containers with your favorite products. Examples include smaller 1.7oz tubes from REI or these flat ones from Amazon are slightly harder to fill but compact as you use them.
  • For my face serums, I got these mini dropper bottles from Amazon. So far, they have worked great and are durable despite being glass. I typically bring 2 – 4 on any given trip.

3. Comfortable long-sleeve and long pants:

I almost didn’t recognize people once they changed out of river clothes and into comfortable lounging clothes.

  • Lightweight Fleece: ROW recommends a light fleece, which I brought a jacket but never wore. I’m sure you have one in your closet, but I really like the vibe of this one at REI.
  • Long-Sleeve Shirts: Bring regular items from your closet, such as a waffle-knit henley, a regular cotton shirt, or wear your Columbia button-down.
  • Comfy Pants: In the evenings, I would change into athletic tights or these hiking pants from Kuhl, which are super comfortable and a little loose, so mozzies can’t get me.
  • Camp Dress: It was pretty warm in the evenings, so a loose camp dress like this one is another option.

4. Lodge Sandals/Shoes:

You’ll want some sort of shoe that isn’t your river sandal when you arrive at the lodge. I brought some lightweight slides that I could also fit cozy socks in.

  • Lightweight slides from Old Navy. These are super comfy but do not pack down well, so not sure if they are the best option, but you can get the idea of something easy.
  • Another option is to bring some hiking or tennis shoes. I brought my Salomon Trail Sense shoes to cover everything… but I didn’t really end up wearing them. For our main hike on Day 3 to Inspiration Point, I wore socks with my Chacos. Many other people wore proper shoes!

5. Headlamp with extra batteries:

While I didn’t use these much, my headlamp was handy at Black Bar Lodge before the generators kicked on in the morning.

  • Black Diamond is the classic brand that I’m familiar with, and the Spot 400 is a solid choice. Make sure you choose one with a red light, allowing you to see at night without blinding anyone else.
  • The Petzl Actik Core has a rechargeable battery – very cool! It also gets very good reviews.

6. Cozy Socks:

It’s always great to have some cozy socks to wear around your room or with sandals around the lodge.

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Rogue Mindset Preparation

In addition to what you bring with you, how you mentally come into and embrace the river will affect your experience!

  1. Openness to New Experiences: Between paddling for the first time, rock jumping, toenail painting, floating a rapid, hair beading, or trying the inflatable kayak, there will be the opportunity to do new things every day. Embrace new experiences and support others when they try something new — that’s living life.
  2. Readiness to Disconnect: 4-days goes by quickly when you’re having fun. There is no cell service on the Rogue River, and that’s a good thing. Be ready to disconnect and appreciate nature while on the trip!
  3. Surround Yourself with Enjoyable Personalities: It’s important to meet everyone on your trip; there will likely be people you feel more connected to. Once you’ve identified those people, try to spend more time around them. I love spending time around people who are also incredibly stoked and grateful to be on the trip, which amplifies my excitement and gratitude.
  4. Sense of Humor: Silly or embarrassing things happen when you’re outside your comfort zone. Try to laugh instead of getting frustrated. Laugh at getting splashed, falling out of the boat, or going to bed early because it will likely happen.

Rogue Reading Materials

Typically I love reading books directly or indirectly related to the destination I’ll be visiting. It’s a fantastic way to learn about the place and get excited about the trip. Since I got COVID right before the Middle Fork of the Salmon River, I enjoyed books about Idaho!! Too funny. After switching, gears and jumping on the Rogue, I am still catching up with reading. Luckily, I heard that the owner of ROW Adventures is a total book lover, so they have reading lists for many of their destinations – amazing!! Here’s the ROW Adventures reading list for the Rogue River. I’d like to get my hands on Illahe and The Rogue, A River to Run from the list. They are a little tough to find, so I’ll update this post when I can read them. In the meantime, here are a few resources I discovered for the Rogue.

  1. Rogue River Boater’s Guide, Bureau of Land Management: One of the lodge owners let me borrow a spiral-bound version of this PDF, which was incredibly helpful when writing the main trip breakdown blog post. I’m not clear on how to get another spiral-bound version (if you do, reach out!), but at least you can view it online.
  2. The River Why, David James Duncan: I’ve just started this book, and while it’s not explicitly on the Rogue, there are moments already, and I believe more to come, where the characters interact with the Rogue River. Forewarning, the book is very fishing-centered, and I’ll let you know how it is at the end.
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Packing Lists!
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What I Will Do Differently Next Time

I’ve got to brag a little because I think I nailed it this time. The success comes from a few different reasons:

  • Learning from my last trip: My last rafting trip was a great indicator of what I liked and didn’t like. I learned that river fashion is all about sun protection and body temperature regulation, so I leaned into that with new products that suited me well on the river.
  • Going on a lodge-to-lodge trip: Knowing that I would be staying in a room each night with blankets cut out a lot of questions about how cold I was going to be (always my concern). It put my mind at ease that I could easily access a shower and snuggle into a bed each night.
  • The night before the trip was on the river: Unlike the Grand Canyon, you start the Rogue River trip by staying the night before just a few minutes from your put-in area. I experienced nearly the exact temperatures for the days ahead, and the heat was eye-opening for me.

But there’s always room for improvement!! Here are a couple of things I would do differently:

  • Upper Body Workouts: While I wasn’t sore after regular paddling each day, I was sore after going in the inflatable kayak. Maybe going kayaking a couple of times before the trip and working on upper body strength would have made me more confident in the inflatable kayak.
  • Nice outfit for Half Moon Bar: Our guides dressed up for the final night on the river, and I wished I had something a little nicer to put on as well. Half Moon Bar feels more luxurious, so having a nice outfit or dress would be fitting.

Overall Thoughts: Packing for Rogue River Rafting Trip

One thing to note about a river trip is that it’s perfectly okay to wear the same thing every day for the whole trip! So while I’ve suggested different options, you could likely be comfortable with less. The final test will be packing your dry bags the night before the trip. Once I did that, I opted out of a few things (which I didn’t miss at all!). Most things that I hung up dried out by the following day, but we were also in the hottest part of summer. Bring a garbage bag in case you need to separate some wet items.

And finally, I didn’t recommend entertainment because I didn’t need anything. Between the excitement throughout the day, books and games at the lodge, exploring the lodges, watching the deer, and engaging with fellow guests, there was plenty to do! Even as someone who has trouble sitting still and “doing nothing,” I found the days flying by, despite not bringing any additional entertainment. If that scares you, bring one book or kindle for the afternoons. Otherwise, I encourage you to slow down and appreciate the Rogue River Canyon.

Don’t forget to check out my other blog posts about my Rouge River rafting adventures:

What is one thing you always bring on a rafting trip? Whether that be a function or for fun, I’d love to hear about it. Someone on my Rogue River trip had a unique 3-D Wiley Coyote Mug that she brought on nearly a dozen river trips – how cool is that?! Let me know your item, so I can try it out on my next rafting adventure.

Happy Travels,

Hanna

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Filed Under: Oregon, Travel Tips

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