08. Meadow Picnic Area to Farewell Bend Park

Flow Update 2022:  Over the past few years, flows have become far less reliable.  Meadowcamp is now too low for most of the summer.  Flows above 1800, which used to be the summertime average, are now almost unheard of.  It's runnable starting at about 1475, and starts getting good above 1600.  The higher the better. This run, known locally as Meadowcamp, is an excellent class IV to IV+ run, within the Bend city limits, that flows all summer. When everything else is dry, you'll find prime levels, and locals running laps on this in-town run. Putting in at the Deschutes National Forest Meadow Day Use Area on river left, the river starts with a 2 mile of warm-up before you pass River Rim Park. Those who don't mind avoiding the warm-up and want to put in right at the start of the class IV whitewater, put in at River Rim Park on river right. This popular alternative known as 'Short Camp' includes 2.5 miles of the best whitewater and has an easy shuttle that sets you up for multiple laps. The run has numerous hazards, mostly due to the abrasive lava rock that forms the river bed. This run should only be attempted by experienced class IV paddlers, and it is very helpful to follow someone down your first time. The Deschutes is managed for irrigation, so Meadowcamp has reliable flows of 1700- 2200 cfs from early May through early September. Above 2000 cfs is when it really gets good. At these flows, it is quite pushy and the sequence that includes Playtime, Dammit, and Pipe is very continuous. Many paddlers coming from other areas of Oregon find this section to be significantly faster and pushier than what they are used to. If you run the standard lines, Meadowcamp really isn't very difficult for experienced class IV boaters.  However, it offers tons of challenging eddies to make the run more difficult and interesting for better paddlers, especially in a playboat. If Meadowcamp isn't exciting enough for you, you can put in a few miles upstream and run Lava, an alternative known as 'Lava Camp,' that is sure to get the adrenaline going for even the best boaters. The Bend Whitewater group on Facebook serves as the main scheduling tool. If you are a local looking to step up to this run, or are an out-of town-boater passing through Bend, this group is an easy way to find people to paddle with. Multiple people can be found running Meadowcamp every day in the summer. Meadowcamp is also the venue for an annual downriver race. https://www.facebook.com/meadowcamprace Nate Pfeifer's has an excellent write up of the run on his Wheels and Water Blog.  http://wheelsandwater.blogspot.com/2014/07/meadow-camp-deschutes-river-or-62814.html Meadowcamp Video:  https://vimeo.com/69122682 Put in: Meadow Day Use Area put-in: The traditional put in was the Meadow Day Use Area picnic area off of Century Drive. To reach this access, follow Century Drive (Highway 372) out of town and at mile marker 5.9, just before the Widgi Golf Club, take the turn down to the Meadow Day Use Area on the Deschutes National Forest. It's a 1.2 mile drive down to the river from the highway. River Rim Park put-in: These days this is the more popular put-in option and if someone says they are doing 'Short Camp' this is what they mean. This access cuts out 2 miles of class II and starts you off right above the first significant rapid. Using the River Rim put in also makes multiple laps incredibly convenient. To reach this access you shuttle up from the take-out on Brookswood Blvd. and turn right onto River Rim Dr. Follow this road through the neighborhood to a small park that has an access trail from the canyon rim down to the water's edge. Takeout: The take-out, and standard meeting location for Meadowcamp runs, is at a small isolated parcel that is part of Farewell Bend Park in a residential neighborhood at the corner of Ashwood Dr. and Cedarwood Rd. It is just upstream from the Bill Healy Bridge where SW Reed Market Rd. crosses the Deschutes River.