Hiking Rainie Falls with KIds
KID-FRIENDLY WITH CAUTION
Rainie Falls is the perfect day trip hike to get away from it all. It is only an hour away from Medford making it easy to get to. Before we even hit the trailhead we ran across a gorgeous waterfall that was literally right off of the road. We pulled over to take the quick two minute hike up the hill to get a better view. After we took some pictures we hopped back into our car and headed up the road not even five minutes. When we got to Graves Creek Bridge that is where we parked on the right side of the road. Of course, as is typical of southern Oregon springs, it started down pouring right when we got out of the car, but we were there so we threw on our coats and tackled the trail.
The trail sign said that Rainie Falls was only two miles away but we measured it with our GPS and it was more like 2.50 miles. From the start it is pretty much a single track trail so make sure to be prepared to have a good handle on the kiddos. The whole hike is along the Rogue River so you can imagine that the view is pretty amazing.
There were waterfalls, wildflowers and amazing green rock on the trail. The trail is actually quite rocky so be aware that it is really slippery, especially in cooler, wetter months and the incline was pretty steep at times, which was the harder part of the hike. As we hiked the trail there were a lot of seasonal waterfalls flowing, some quite wide to cross; Gary even had to pick Olivia up one time. When we finally got to "Rainie Falls” they were basically non-existent because the river is so full it filled in the whole area where the waterfall usually is. It still was a beautiful area of course and we stopped to eat our lunch, do a little rock hunting and to enjoy the serenity of the river.
My dad says that if you go up river a bit, there is some pretty fantastic fishing; and apparently there is an old miners cabin and more to check out which we plan on going back to see. Of course we hope it will be sunny so we can get a different perspective on the river and all of its beauty. We have added this to one of our top hikes and will definitely go back sometime in the near future! The U.S Forest Service has an awesome Rogue River Trail download that gives you all of the details of mileage and what you will see along the way!
Side note: We took our four year old and she did great, but she is an experienced hiker. Of course use your judgement, but be aware that the drop-off on the trail is very steep so if your child is still in the not listening stage, I would not recommend it. This is definitely a trail for able-bodied hikers that can handle hills.
For more pictures head to our RAINIE FALLS GALLERY
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8 KID-FRIENDLY HIKES IN THE ROGUE VALLEY