Ryegrass Hot Springs

What to expect

Ryegrass Hot Springs is a river trip soak. It sits at Ryegrass, a large camp on the Lower Owyhee River in the canyonlands of Malheur County, about 24 river miles below the launch at Rome. You cannot drive to it in any normal sense. You get there by raft, kayak or cataraft, usually at the end of a long first day on the water.

The spring itself is a little upstream of the camp, close to the river at a spot called Ryegrass Crossing. River guides describe it as a very good soak, and one outfitter puts the water at about 110°F43°C where it comes out of the ground. We could not find an official measurement, and conditions at any river spring change with flows, so test it before you get in.

The setting is the reason people make the trip. The Lower Owyhee runs through a deep desert canyon of rhyolite and ashy lake sediments, with cliffs, hoodoos and side canyons. Just below Ryegrass, Pruitt’s Castle, a rhyolite fortress on river left, and Lambert Dome come into view, and both make good hikes from camp. A few miles upstream, near Rustler’s Cabin, maps mark another spring that one river guide found muddy and not worth a stop.

The BLM manages the river corridor, and much of the canyon around it is a wilderness study area. There are no facilities of any kind at Ryegrass.

Getting there

The put-in: The Rome launch site is just off US Highway 95 at the Owyhee River bridge, between Burns Junction and Jordan Valley. A dirt road leads from the highway to a BLM campground and boat ramp a short way upstream of the bridge. Sign in at the kiosk.

The float: From Rome it is roughly 24 river miles to Ryegrass, through Class II and III water with a few harder spots. Bulls Eye rapid comes early. Read-it-and-Weep and Artillery are around mile 21, just above Rustler’s Cabin. Most groups camp at Ryegrass the first night, then continue to Birch Creek (about 49 to 50 miles from Rome) or across the top of Owyhee Reservoir to Leslie Gulch (about 67 miles).

The take-outs: Birch Creek is a four-wheel-drive road with a steep climb out of the canyon, and trailers are not recommended. Leslie Gulch is easier to drive but means a flatwater paddle across the reservoir, which can be slow in wind. Shuttle drivers work out of the Jordan Valley area, and the Vale BLM office can point you to current operators.

This is a remote, committing trip. Rapids get more technical at low water, and there is no easy way out of the canyon once you launch.

When to go

The Owyhee runs on snowmelt. The BLM’s primary float season for the river system is March through early to mid-June, with April and May often best below Rome. The agency recommends flows between 800 and 10,000 cfs for the lower river on the USGS Rome gauge. Below about 800 cfs, small craft can still make it with plenty of dragging and lining, usually from early June to mid-July.

Weather swings hard in spring. Expect anything from hot sun to rain, wind and snow on the same trip. Some low-snow years give only a short window, so it is hard to plan far ahead. Watch the gauge.

Outside the float season, Ryegrass is effectively out of reach.

Rules and etiquette

• Permit: All parties need a BLM self-issue permit. Put the top copy in the registration box at Rome before launch and carry the bottom copy on the river.
• State boat permit: Oregon requires a paid permit for non-motorized boats over 10 feet. The BLM form calls it an aquatic invasive species permit.
• Party size: Up to 20 people below Rome. Motors are not allowed above river mile 55.
• One night only: BLM limits camping at Ryegrass to a single night.
• Toilets and fire: Carry an approved portable toilet. Fires must be in a metal fire pan or on a fire blanket, with ash packed out, and you must bring your own wood below Rome.
• Leave the spring alone: Digging, damming or otherwise changing hot springs in the Owyhee system is illegal. The springs support protected plants and animals.
• Share the pool. Ryegrass is a big camp and day-floating parties often stop in for a soak.
• Clothing: There is no posted rule. River parties set their own norms, so check with your group and any neighbours.

Where to stay nearby

On the river, Ryegrass is the stay: a large camp with room for a full party. Several more good camps lie in the next two miles past Pruitt’s Castle.

Before the trip, many boaters camp at the BLM campground at the Rome launch the night before, where there are a few first-come sites and picnic tables. Jordan Valley, east on US-95, and Burns have the nearest motels and supplies. After the trip, Birch Creek has a BLM campground with toilets and water, and Leslie Gulch has camping at Slocum Creek.

Safety notes

• Remoteness: Patrols are infrequent, there is no cell service and help can be many hours away. Carry a satellite messenger and a full first aid kit.
• Rattlesnakes: River guides name them as one of the main hazards in the canyon. Watch where you put your hands and feet, especially on hikes from camp.
• Cold water and weather: Spring flows are cold and can rise quickly after storms. Pack for both heat and snow.
• Hot water: Test the spring before you get in. Keep your head above the water and do not drink it.
• Mud and roads: Rain can make shuttle roads impassable, especially the Birch Creek road.

Nearby stops worth adding

Plan a layover for the hikes. Pruitt’s Castle and Lambert Dome are right below Ryegrass. Farther down, Greeley Hot Springs at around river mile 44 is the other well-known soak on the run. The BLM asks boaters to moor at the campsite rather than at the spring there, because the wetland is breeding habitat for Woodhouse’s and western toads. Near the bottom, the take-out at Leslie Gulch passes through some of the best rock formations in eastern Oregon.