Oregon’s rivers fascinate us! They offer cool, restful moments along their shady shorelines and that’s the basis for this week’s Grant’s Getaways.

This week, I travel to Central Oregon to visit a river that has earned protection and is prized for it’s fishing, camping and unique outdoor adventures. Plus, you can watch the Metolius River come to life!

Early morning light, when the air is cool and clear, high cascade peaks like Mt Jefferson are a marvel. That’s especially true near Camp Sherman where the Metolius River bubbles from the ground to curl and wind along an 8600-acre river corridor.

It is so special a place that it’s been protected as one of America’s Wild and Scenic Rivers since 1988.

In nearby Sisters, Oregon, the folks who live and work in Central Oregon like it that way. That includes Jeff Perin, local fishing guide and owner of The Fly Fishers Place. Perin is often found creating hand tied imitations of nature’s creations and said “artistry and utility go hand in hand” for one of the hottest recreation activities around: Jeff often goes to the Metolius River near Wizard Falls, a rough and tumble stretch broken by moments of calm water. Perin has cast into the Metolius for more than 26 seasons and he loves to cast flies to tempt wild trout to bite.

It is so special a place that the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife has operated the nearby Wizard Falls Hatchery since 1947. More than four million baby trout are raised at Wizard Falls Hatchery for release into scores of lakes and ponds across Oregon.

Visitors come from all over the state too and stroll the 35-acre hatchery grounds that are more akin to a park land than a fish hatchery.

Nearby campgrounds make the living easy too. There are ten U.S. Forest Service Campgrounds along the Metolius River that offer a place to stay and relax. There are no hook ups, phones or TV at these campgrounds, it’s self-contained camping without fancy conveniences.

The Metolius River may runs through the heart of Central Oregon, but it also builds lasting outdoor memories in the hearts of the people who visit each year.