For an adrenaline-pumping weekend, head to an area that is quickly earning the nickname “Oregon’s Outback,” where in a single day you can experience the roaring Rogue River rapids and the king of the jungle too. Thanks to its wild and rugged landscape, Southern Oregon is one of the state’s best destinations for adventurous souls of all ages. Outdoor lovers of every type, from those who prefer to sit back and enjoy the awesome beauty of nature, to those who want to jump in headfirst, will find endless options for an exciting weekend throughout the region.

In the cities of Winston, Grants Pass, and Cave Junction, families, friends, and couples can visit several wildlife animal parks, explore one of Oregon’s most majestic caves, and get wet on the Rogue River. At about four hours from the Portland metro area, a road trip to Southern Oregon is perfect for a long weekend, or for an action-packed two day adventure. If you’re heading south and have more time to spare, you’ll find that you’re at the gateway to some of the best outdoor recreation areas of Oregon and Northern California where even more adventure awaits.

The Route: Winston, Grants Pass, Cave Junction

The Drive:On your drive from the Portland area along Interstate-5 to Southern Oregon, you’ll enjoy the chance to see some of the state’s most diverse terrain. From Portland to Winston, you’ll drive about 3 hours (186 miles) passing through the rolling hills and farmland of the Willamette Valley before the highway narrows. After Eugene, craggy cliffs come up to meet the road’s edge as you enter Southern Oregon. You’ll drive a little over an hour, back on I-5 after taking Old Highway 99 to Winston, in order to reach Grants Pass. Enjoy the wide open vistas in Grants Pass before heading back into the hills, following US-199 out to Cave Junction. At the end of your road trip you can retrace your route back to Portland, head out to the coast for a change of scenery and take the long way home, or stop in some of Southern Oregon’s other exciting towns.

Destinations:

Winston:

This small town of about 5,000 citizens is famous for one thing: its animals. Winston is the home of the famous Wildlife Safari, an animal park that lets visitors get up-close and personal with some of nature’s most dangerous beasts.

Adventures in Winston

• Wildlife Safari: The highlight of visiting this animal park is the drive-through route where visitors stay safely in their cars as they follow the road past some of the most exotic and dangerous animals they’ll ever see. The loop takes about 1 to 1.5 hours to drive while viewing each of the species in their habitat-themed locations: Africa, Asia, and the Americas. During the drive, you’ll see a variety of large mammals from deer to Asian yaks and African elephants. And to answer the question you’ve been thinking: Yes, there will be lots of lions and tigers and bears wandering around out there.
• After enjoying the thrill of watching these ferocious creatures up close, you can head to the “Safari Village” and stroll the walk-through loop to see animals in a zoo-like environment, and where the kids can enjoy seeing some of nature’s more cuddly creatures at the children’s zoo. For an extra thrill, you can schedule a private animal encounter with many of the parks animals. You can choose from something as tame as a camel ride for the little ones, or a chance to feed the big cats like lions, cheetahs, and tigers.

Grants Pass:

After a morning in Winston continue south to the bustling town of Grants Pass. Often called the adventure capital of Southern Oregon, Grants Pass features the wild and scenic Rogue River slicing through town. River recreation includes whitewater rafting, hiking, and fishing. After a day living on the wild side in Grants Pass, exploring the city’s budding arts and culinary scene to relaxingly end the day.

Adventures in Grants Pass

• Jetboat Ride: Race your way through the Rogue River on a jetboat with Hellgate Jetboat Excursions, a company that has earned its status as the Northwest’s #1 River Trip provider. On the jetboat ride, you’ll enjoy a scenic tour of the Rogue River, while learning about the history of the area. You’ll slide, spin, stop on a dime, and endure whatever boating antics your jetboat driver throws at you in the hopes of getting your heart racing and your clothes soaked. Jetboat excursions are available for various durations from just a few hours to a full day trip with meals. While the company does not recommend infants be brought on the boat, children older than three with a big sense of adventure will love the thrill of doing 360-degree turns and speeding through the river out to Hellgate Canyon.
• Whitewater Rafting: If a jetboat excursion isn’t extreme enough, why not try out a rafting trip with Rogue Wilderness Adventures or any one of Grants Pass’s many guided river rafting companies? Many companies offer trips of varying degrees of difficulty and some are perfect for children.
• Wildlife Images Rehabilitation & Education Center: For a look at the other wild side of Grants Pass, you can prearrange a tour of this non-profit center that treats and cares for injured and orphaned wildlife. Just 14 miles outside of the city, near Interstate 5, the compound houses bears, mountain lions, wolves, bobcats, eagles and other birds of prey, and many other animal species. If you want to leave the car behind for a bit, you can board the Expedition Transport in downtown Grants Pass, (a tour bus decorated like a historic trolley) as it leaves three times a day for the Rehabilitation Center.

Cave Junction:

Southwest of Grants Pass, continue your adventure trip with a pit stop in Cave Junction, a small town with some big attractions. The most famous attraction in Cave Junction, and one of Southern Oregon’s most visited destinations is the Oregon Caves National Monument. If you’re planning to spend the night in Cave Junction, why not keep the adventure theme going by booking a room at Out’n’About Treehouse Treesort where guests stay in private treehouse cabins. At the “treesort” you won’t be able to swing on vines like George of the Jungle, but you can try one of their many high-flying programs including zip lining, a giant swing, horseback riding, or whitewater rafting.

Cave Junction Adventures

• Great Cats World Park: A few miles south of Cave Junction you’ll find this animal park that really lets visitors experience the adventure of seeing some of the world’s largest felines up-close. The park provides homes for several threatened and endangered species, more than 39 cats of 18 different species overall, including cougars, jaguars, leopards, lions, three types of tigers, and a few small cats including lynx, and ocelots. Every visitor to the park is treated to a guided personal tour where you can watch the animal trainers interact with the cats for a lively experience that provides a much bigger thrill than watching lions sleep at your local zoo.
• Oregon Caves National Monument: Your number one destination in Cave Junction will be the Oregon Caves, where 480 acres of hiking trails and caverns wait for adventurous folks to explore. The caves can only be visited by tour, but there are several tours to please all types of travelers. The standard 90 minute tour only passes through 0.5 miles of the cave and there’s a spot to exit the cave halfway through the tour, so it’s perfect for anyone who is toting along anxious children or fears of confined spaces. There are also tours by candlelight, or for the truly adventurous, the Off-Trail Caving Tour. This special tour teaches visitors about caving technique by gearing up and heading out for three hours of scrambling, crawling, squeezing, and climbing through caverns that are sometimes as narrow as 11 inches. This exciting tour is available for those ages 15 and up who want to get a feel for what it’s like to really explore a cave.

Extend your trip:

A Southern Oregon road trip is perfect for a three-day weekend from the Portland area, but if you have a few extra hours or days to spare, add a visit to one of these cities to your list to keep the thrills coming and the family happy.

• Glide and Idelyd Park: These two tiny towns about 30 minutes from Roseburg, on your way back up I-5, are a perfect spot to spend a leisurely afternoon or a long picnic lunch on your way back home. The area around the two cities offers excellent options for hiking, swimming, mountain and road biking, and fishing. Near Glide and Idelyd Park there are a total of 23 waterfalls and the famous natural attraction known as the Colliding Rivers, in Glide, where you can view the only spot in the world that two rivers, the North Umpqua and Little River, meet and collide head on.
• Crater Lake National Park: If you’ve never been, and you can spare half a day or more, make the two hour trip from Grants Pass to Oregon’s only National Park; this stunning sapphire blue natural wonder will not disappoint.
• Ashland & Medford: Two of Southern Oregon’s largest cities, Ashland and Medford, are worth a visit to check out their growing art, theater, food, and wine scenes, or to add a few more adventures to your bucket list at the many local outdoor recreation hotspots.
• Northern California: Make it a good old fashioned road trip and hit the road for a long journey to Northern California where the options for more adventure are practically endless. The Trees of Mystery tree-canopy gondola tour in Redwoods National Park and petting sharks and other marine life at Ocean World in Crescent City are a few places you could start your journey.