Bend Whitewater Park is a water recreation park in

Bend, Oregon Bend is a city in central Oregon and the county seat of Deschutes County, Oregon, Deschutes County, Oregon, United States. It is located to the east of the Cascade Range, on the Deschutes River. The site became known by pioneers as a ford (cros ...

, in the United States.

Description and history

The park was conceived by the Bend Park & Recreation District and the Bend Paddle Trail Alliance (BPTA) in 2007, and cost $9,681,985, including $1.13 million in community fundraising by the Bend Paddle Trail Alliance. It opened in September 2015. The park allows

kayaking Kayaking is the use of a kayak for moving over water. It is distinguished from canoeing by the sitting position of the paddler and the number of blades on the paddle. A kayak is a low-to-the-water, canoe-like boat in which the paddler sits fac ...

surfing Surfing is a surface water sport in which an individual, a surfer (or two in tandem surfing), uses a board to ride on the forward section, or face, of a moving wave of water, which usually carries the surfer towards the shore. Waves suita ...

, tubing, whitewater paddleboarding, and

bodyboarding Bodyboarding is a water sports, water sport in which the surfing, surfer rides a bodyboard on the crest, face, and curl of a wave which is carrying the surfer towards the shore. Bodyboarding is also referred to as ''Boogieboarding'' due to the in ...

. More than 230,000 people visited the park in 2017. The park is located on the middle

Deschutes River The Deschutes River ( ) in central Oregon is a major tributary of the Columbia River. The river provides much of the drainage on the eastern side of the Cascade Range in Oregon, gathering many of the tributaries that descend from the drier, easte ...

. It spans a 200-yard stretch of the river, and intersects with Colorado Avenue, at 166 SW Shevlin Hixon Dr., Bend, OR 97702. It features three distinct channels. On river left is the "passageway" channel, which consists of several small rapids that are appropriate for tubing. The middle channel is the "whitewater" channel, and is labeled "experts only". It is appropriate for whitewater kayakers, surfers, bodyboarders, and experienced paddleboarders. The third channel, on river right, is the "habitat" channel, and is strictly off limits to the public. Its purpose is to "protect and enhance river health and provide habitat to important local and migratory wildlife." A prime example of a wildlife species benefiting from this channel is the

Oregon spotted frog The Oregon spotted frog (''Rana pretiosa'', meaning "precious frog") is a member of the frog family Ranidae of order Anura. It is a medium-sized aquatic frog endemic to the Pacific Northwest and historically well distributed in the Puget Trough/ ...

, which is listed as threatened under the

Endangered Species Act The Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA; 16 U.S.C. § 1531 et seq.) is the primary law in the United States for protecting and conserving imperiled species. Designed to protect critically imperiled species from extinction as a "consequence of e ...

. On April 30, 2022, they closed the river wave indefinitely due to a fatal incident.

References

2015 establishments in Oregon Parks in Bend, Oregon Buildings and structures completed in 2015 Parks established in the 2010s Protected areas established in 2015 Artificial whitewater courses {{DeschutesCountyOR-geo-stub