It is an 80-degree day in Bend, Oregon. The sun is out, the water looks pristine, and you think, “Hey, let’s go for a relaxing float down the Deschutes!”
What they do not tell you is that floating the Deschutes can easily turn into a ridiculous mess of water-logged gear, zero-current logjams, and total navigation failure. Here is what can happen out there, straight from someone who learned every lesson the hard way.
Float # 1 – Trial by Fire (Er, Water)
The Launch: Heavy Tubes, Parking Miracles, and Pump Regret
The chaos starts long before your feet even touch the water.
First, the parking. Finding a spot anywhere near Riverfront Park on a warm summer weekend is usually a complete nightmare. But against all odds, we hit the absolute lottery: someone pulled out of the prime main lot right as we drove up. Not the massive, dusty gravel overflow lot way down the street, but the real, paved main lot. We felt good.
That high did not last long.
We bought our own tubes to skip the rental hassle: heavy-duty numbers with protective canvas covers. To pump them up, we brought a small portable air pump bought specifically for this trip. We stood there in the heat, listening to our pump whine away, feeling pretty good about our prep work. Then we walked about twenty feet into the park and spotted the free, high-speed inflation stations set up for public use. Watching a commercial-grade air station blast a tube full in five seconds while holding our now unnecessary store-bought pump felt like a personal insult.
What we would not learn until later was the real design flaw: those canvas covers filled up with water through the bottom gaps the second we got in. Our nice, light inflatables turned into heavy, hard-to-turn anchors (and we wondered why everyone was casually floating right past us).
The “Lazy” River: Cold Shock, the Shoreline, and the Tether Paradox
It was time to step into the shallow walk-in section at the launch.
Bend might be sitting at a nice 80 degrees, but the Deschutes River did not get the memo. It is surprisingly chilly. Your body numbs up after a minute and it feels great, but the immediate cold shock was unexpected.
The bigger problem? We were not moving.
When we first pushed off, there was no wind and zero current right at the launch ramp. We sat back and floated in place like statues. When we finally caught a tiny drift, it did not push us down the river. It steered us straight into the bushes lining the shore. Sharp branches and inflatable vinyl are a terrible mix, so that was fun. I was ready to give up right then and there.
While smart floaters walked their tubes out into the deep water to catch the actual current, we were stuck near the bank, paddling furiously with our bare arms.
Trying to steer or stay next to your fellow tubers using only your hands is near impossible, which brings up the great Deschutes rule conflict: tethers. Officially, tying two tubes together is not allowed. Unofficially? Everyone on the river seemed to be tied together. Unless you want your partner floating off to Washington while you are stuck in a berry bush, maybe you take your chances and clip the tubes together.
Side Quests and Wildlife
Back in the main channel, we started to relax a little until we came to a fork in the river. Of course, there were very few people around when we had to choose. Left looked good, so we took it.
Naturally, the left side was a side quest to nowhere, and by that point, the wind had picked up. Cue more furious paddling to get back into the main channel. At this point, nobody was having fun. But on we floated.
We continued our journey dodging cute baby ducks, geese that seemed to own the river, and the occasional sandbar or errant log sticking up near the bank (which our tube inevitably found for the tenth time) until we reached the rapids.
The Rapids
Now, you have the option to bail and take your river tube out, but that was not happening. We were going through, and it has the potential to be a blast. In fact, many people run the rapids, get out, and loop around for a second, third, or fourth run.
We entered the rapids separately. We had no tether and frankly thought it would be better without one anyway, though I am still not sure that was the right call.
I made it down the first three rapids without incident (be prepared to get soaked if you are not already), while my husband got caught in the first one, swirling around in a dead zone. It takes you around in a circle that requires real effort to paddle out of. By the fourth rapid, I was stuck so badly that I had to climb out of my tube and dodge other floaters just to get back into the channel. By that point Hubby had broken free and was chilling down the river. To this day, I still do not understand the technique for going straight down the rapids without a full-on side quest of frantic, exhausting paddling. To be fair, we later saw plenty of others get stuck, too. Misery loves company.
Once we finally cleared the rapids, we started getting sucked into the far side of the river where the river surfers come out. It looks intimidating, and most people (including us) try really hard to paddle away from it. The joke was on us: it is actually better to paddle straight for it, because once you hit that main current, it pushes you downriver right where you want to be.
The Home Stretch
From then on until the take-out point, we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. The water was calmer and the current carried people where they needed to go.
We enjoyed the scenic, tree-lined waterway with unique houses and the giant swan inflatables people had tied up outside their docks.
All that was left was to get out of the river and hop on the shuttle… which, to our dismay, pulled away right as we were walking up. Of course it did.
The shuttles normally run every 20 minutes, but we did not want to wait, so we started hoofing it back to the car. And we decided to leave our tubes fully inflated. Don’t do this.
I had not looked up actual walking directions back to the car, and we did not have our phones because we did not want to risk them in an untested dry bag. At one point, we asked a local if the trail we were on would lead us back to River Bend Park. I could tell he hesitated to answer because he knew exactly what a nightmare walk we had ahead of us with giant inflated inner tubes, but he acquiesced and said yes.
After walking about half a mile with our massive tubes, we finally surrendered, deflated them, and stuffed them into a soft-handled shopping bag we had brought along. That was drastically better.
We finally arrived back at the parking lot just as a shuttle bus pulled up to drop off a half-full load of tubers.
Score: River: 1, Mooses: 0
Main Lessons from Float # 1
- If you are high-strung: Get a paddle.
- Wait for the shuttle: Do not try to walk it.
- If you must walk: Deflate your tube first.
Float # 2 – Time to Outsmart the River (Spoiler: Nope)
Watching all those smiling tubers floating peacefully down the river was a tough pill to swallow. We could not let the Deschutes beat us that easily, so it was not long before we decided we needed to get back out there for round two.
First, we geared up. We acquired two perfectly sized small paddles and set off on foot to skip the parking situation entirely.
We even prepared by packing our deflated tubes into our handy shopping bags, ready to blow them up at the park’s free air station. Amazingly, no one was in line when we walked up, and we happily filled our tubes in seconds.
Next up: Launch Part Two.
This time, we ignored the cold water, walked right out into the main channel, hopped into our tubes, and started cruising down the river. We felt pretty smug with our brand-new paddles guiding us, confident in our knowledge to avoid the left-fork side quest. We began to let our guard down.
Then suddenly, the wind picked up and we realized we were heading straight toward a sandbar (over taken with geese). No problem, right? Out popped the paddles.
Except the second we dug into the water, the paddle completely self-destructed. The shaft popped off, leaving just a handle while the paddle head floated away down the river. Luckily, we used the second paddle to navigate over and scoop it up, and because we were tethered this time, we did not lose each other in the ensuing chaos.
The Rapids: Redemption (Or Not)
Before heading down the rapids, we untethered again (still not sure if this is actually the right call or not).
My husband went first and made it through the top drop smoothly. I went next, immediately failed to make it through the first rapid, and spun around in a swirling dead zone at least three times before finally breaking free, only to get caught in the very next eddy. It was not going well.
By the time I finally broke free, my husband was nowhere in sight. I discovered later that he had made it down several rapids before his path was completely blocked by a someone trying to essentially surf in the shallow whitewater. When they refused to move, my husband got trapped in a separate side vortex.
A kind stranger saw he needed assistance. My husband extended his paddle for the guy to pull him out of the vortex… at which point the paddle head pulled completely off in the guy’s hand. The helper just stared at the broken paddle piece in utter shock and horror.
Since the water was shallow and there was no clean way back into the main channel with a broken paddle, my husband ultimately had to climb out and walk his tube down to the next logical drop-in point.
The rapids won again.
The Great Water Dump
After finally recovering our sanity on the calm, scenic stretch of the lower river, we successfully landed at the exit and deflated our tubes.
It was at this exact moment that we finally realized how much water had been lurking inside those protective canvas covers the entire time. It explained why everyone else had been floating past us so effortlessly. Dumping out those covers was like evicting a 50-pound water hitchhiker. Lessons learned for next time.
Score: River: 2, Mooses: 0
Main Lessons from Float # 2
- Get a paddle that actually works: improper gear will betray you at the absolute worst moment (and shock helpful strangers).
- Ditch the canvas covers: Get a solid vinyl or commercial tube that does not retain water. We thought we did well buying the more expensive canvas covered tubes, nope.
- Expect the unexpected in the rapids: Whether it is a dead zone, a rogue river surfer, or failing gear, chaos awaits.
The Deschutes Brewery offered a more fun and tasty atmosphere rather than going for a third run, but we would absolutely do it again in a heartbeat.
Last Minute Practical Tips
If you are planning to hit the Deschutes yourself, here are a few real-world tips to keep in mind before you get out there:
- Life Jackets: There are sometimes free loaner life jackets available near the launch area, but do not rely 100% on them being in stock when you arrive. They are not required and most people don’t wear them, but I recommend you wear one anyway. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
- Free Tube Options: At the main takeout point, we saw a pile of free, abandoned tubes left behind by previous floaters. We are not sure if they needed a little patch work or just a re-inflate, but if you are on a tight budget, it is worth taking a quick look before paying for rentals.
- The Flip-Flop Paddle Hack: If you do not want to buy paddles or carry extra gear, keep an eye on the experienced floaters around you. We saw tons of people taking off their flip-flops or sandals and using them as improvised hand paddles. It turns out a flat shoe gives you way more levered pulling power in the water than just dog-paddling with bare hands!
- Shuttle Tickets: You can prepurchase shuttle tickets online to save time, but we were told you can also just hand over cash on the spot when you board.
- DO NOT Miss the Takeout Point: Pay attention as you approach the end of the float. There is no good place to get out after the main takeout area, and if you miss it, you should know the river further down becomes restricted access and eventually turns back into dangerous rapids. When you see the exit, get out. And no, it wasn’t hard to get out and it’s not easy to miss in our opinion.
- Watch for Upstream SUPs: You will encounter plenty of people paddling Stand Up Paddleboards upstream through the current, often with their dogs perched on the front. Give them room so you do not cause a fur-and-vinyl collision.
- The Night Concert Float: A lot of locals and visitors float down near the Hayden Homes Amphitheater in the evening, tie their tubes together, and hang out on the water to listen to the free concerts happening on stage. It is one of the coolest ways to experience the river if you want a more chill, social vibe.
The Verdict
What We Liked
- Moments of gliding in a straight line down the channel with light wind and warm sun.
- The second half of the river past the rapids is incredibly scenic, featuring weeping willows, gorgeous homes, and calmer water.
- It is a fantastic way to cool off on a hot day.
What We Didn’t Like
- Steering is tough without a proper paddle, especially when the wind works against you.
- Parking can be tricky, as can timing the shuttle back.
- Getting stuck in the swirling rapid dead zones will test anyone’s patience.
The Bottom Line
It’s Bend, it’s summer, get out there and explore the river!