Hellgate Jetboat Excursions

Yesterday I had the pleasure of celebrating friends 25^th anniversary with a great bunch of people while experiencing my first Hellgate Jetboat/​dinner cruise. I’ve never had so much fun doing donuts, fast «brake check», and side slides in a boat on the river!!! My experience had me smiling the whole time! This boat ride was so much more than just enjoying gorgeous scenery and wildlife, for example 3 bald eagles, osprey, a variety of hawks, blue harins, and so many other birds I can’t remember the names of all of them. Although I personally didn’t see bears or deer, we were inform you can see them from time to time. As we traveled down the river, people going over the bridges, or on the shores fishing, or in personal water crafts waved (as they all seem to know the Hellgate Jetboats) and expect you to wave back too. It brings back childhood memories of how people can be friendly to total strangers just because. Our Captain, John, was a great guide telling us about historical spots along our tour, river knowledge, residential knowledge, in addition had a fabulous sense of humor, and you can tell he truly enjoys his job.
I always have the moto if you are on the water you’re going to get wet, and so it was we got wet, some more than others doing exhilarating donuts, fast stops, and «quick brake checks». So come prepared to have your hair messed up, sitting in wet clothes, and a smile plastered on your face! After all these are jet boats!
As for the meals, they do a brunch and dinner cruise. We were there for dinner. The restaurant is on a hill, set in beautiful mothernature surroundings. It’s an open restaurant, meaning you have a roof and concrete floor, but no walls so you can soak in the gorgeous natural beauty of southern Oregon. To get to the restaurant the boats dock at the bottom of that hill and you have to hike up the trail (mind you it’s not far, but it is VERY steep), so if you have disabilities, they do provide a large wagon with seating to take you up to the restaurant and back down to the boats. The food is served family style, so you may be sitting next to new found friends or just friendly strangers. The food consisted of plates of pickles, black olives, and carrot sticks, small baskets of corn bread and biscuits with butter, jam and honey (you may have to ask for the honey), and tossed green salad with honey mustard dressing. The main meal is pork ribs in BBQ sauce, chicken, coleslaw, and sliced potatoes with cheese, bacon, and chives; for dessert it was marrionberry cobbler with real whipped cream. To drink there’s lemon aid, ice tea, beer, and wine. This is an all you can eat and drink, so all you have to do is ask if you run out of something. They do have a bar if you want mixed drinks, but that is at your cost. For me, I’m a very picky eater, so I would only give the food about a 3.5 rating at best. I’ve had better, but it was not terrible.
They give you about 2 hours (give or take) to eat and walk around. Your Captain will let you know before docking at the restaurant what time to head back to your boat.
Overall, I loved the experience and plan on doing it again!!! Next time I’ll be trying the brunch cruise. They do have other cruises just check out their website. Remember to bring a waterproof jacket as it can be cooler on the water, put your electronics in zip lock bags to keep them dry, this includes your key fobs too, and enjoy the ride! Keep in mind this is a family friendly experience. In our boat alone we had 2 kids under the age of 4 (yes they were wearing life vests). If you haven’t done this, and you like water adventures, do it!

Great scenic views of the Rogue River. Saw birds, wild life, nice homes and a great sunset. And the staff for dinner was great. Food was good, but the views during dinner was amazing. The jet boat itself was very fun!

Love this trip! I’ve done it three times now and it just gets better and better! The boat drivers are fun and knowledgable and the food is great!

Have never done anything like this before, or gone out to a huge jet boat like this. A ton of fun! Our guide was pretty hilarious, the scenery was great, with lots of things to see. You don’t get to see a whole lot of things like this in CA, especially in a big city, so it’s nice.
We did the brunch, which was fun! You’re kind of in the middle of nowhere, with nothing but nature around. The food is pretty good, the mimosas are bottomless and they even have a bar area if you’re looking for something different.
I definitely recommend checking this place out, you’ll have a great time and the best part is you don’t even have to take a shower, cause you’ll get one while on the excursion. I’ll be back to try the dinner next time!

So much fun. We have done the brunch and dinner runs. Food is just okay. But a fun and relaxing day on the water and all you can eat and drink. The blueberry bread that they serve at brunch IS AMAZING.

Since we are from California, we thought it would be fun in the summer to take a road trip up to Oregon. Our trip was four days long and the jet boat ride was supposed to be the icing on the cake.
Hell gate said they give customers a 24 hour cancellation notice. And if there is a cancellation, Hell Gate takes your home and cell phone number in order to notify you of the cancellation. I gave my home and cell number. That day we needed to drive back (8 hrs) to California we intended on doing the jet boat ride before we left.
We showed up at the time they had told us. I had gone to the front desk to get our passes, when the clerk informed me, that a group cancelled at the last minute and the ride was cancelled.
She tried to tell me that the company tried to call the cell number I had left. Except they didn’t call my cell. I was with my phone the whole day the day before. I guess they didn’t realize that the 209 number was in a different state so if they called my home number and left a message I never would have gotten it. Why leave a cell number if they weren’t even going to bother trying to call it.
And even though they had cancelled our tour, at the last minute Hell Gate offered us a scenic tour. But they offered no discount for any inconvenience. If they require 24 hour notice then the same courtesy should be extended to their customers. Had they extended that courtesy to us we could have most likely booked at a different jet boat company. As of now we are stuck driving home without being able to experience what was supposed to be the highlight of our trip! I wouldn’t waste my time trying to book with this company! Unreliable!

We took the longest white water trip we could get as this has been on my husband’s bucket list for a long time. We were not disappointed. It was great fun from start to finish and we saw some of the most beautiful canyons, bald eagles, blue Herron, wild flowers and wild azaleas and so much more.
Our captain Mike went out of his way to make this trip a special time for one and all. Plenty of 360s and spray over the bow to cool us off.
Lunch at Morrison’s was a treat. The service excellent, food plentiful all in a perfectly tranquil setting.
We will be back with friends and family soon. I highly recommend for families with kids who are a bit older and have a spirit of adventure.

WARNING! BE PREPARED TO BE DRENCHED, THEN RIDICULED IN HELLSGATE JETBOAT EXCURSION… We enjoyed seeing the river wild life, getting sprayed as the operator did numerous 360’s in the river. This would have been completely fun, really. But no! The driver just had to ruin it!!! The tour guide, as animated as he could probably be at the 1:45 p.m. excursion on this warm sunny late spring day, did warn us of refreshingly welcome amount of water sprays and wetness involved in the excursion (as evident during the first time we took the ride and in what we had experienced during this tour 5 minutes out). But good grief! They never mentioned a totally saturated, soaked and drenched calamity, like you might as well have jumped into the river kind of deal!!! It was completely unacceptable! I mean, we had planned other events after this boat ride! We were at the end of the tour and almost at the docking station when suddenly, the driver had to make a maneuver that brought an avalanche of the river into the boat leaving as much as 6 inches of water on the floor drowning our shoes and purses (yes, our purses, which had in them our electronic devices, which we assumed were securely tucked in the floor cubby for life vests under the seat in front of us!!!). The entire boat of over 50 passengers went completely silent as we in the 1^st and 2^nd rows stood up dripping from head to toe in complete disbelief, looking as if we just climbed into the boat from the river. Sadly, only a low mumble from the operator saying the words, «we did say you would get wet» (no apology or even a hint of remorse, as if it was a big joke on us). We, along with the mother of the group sitting in row 1, made a formal complaint to the manager but again, even after seeing us dripping in a puddle of water insisted that they warned of getting wet. Yes, I agreed, but not «DROWNED» just before the end of the ride!!! The manager eventually offered a change of clothes to wear on our 30 mile ride home but unfortunately the rest of the day was totally ruined. That brings us to the conclusion that HELLSGATE JETBOAT EXCURSION is not the fun recreation activity that people are made to believe it is.

Best activity ever! I had so much fun, I don’t even know where to start! We chose the dinner excursion. We had a group of 4 in our party and checked in at the requested time of 3pm for a 4:15 boarding time. There was a lot of standing around when we got down to the loading dock, and the line got really long. I started wondering how we were all going to fit on one boat, and worried that it wouldn’t be fun because of all of the people and we were nowhere near the front of the line. Turns out, they had several boats that they were putting us on, and even though the boats hold 60 people, it didn’t seem like it. Everyone had a great seat. They keep your party together too, so don’t worry. After the waiting around we finally boarded at 4:15 and began the trip. Our tour guide was hysterical and really made an effort to make the trip memorable. We cruised down the river and he did lots of spins and took time to show us different things as we went down. I got pretty wet, but I was sitting on the very edge. The speed of the boat helps to dry your clothes quickly too. We got to the OK Corral and went up to the dining area, where they had already put our groups name onto specific seats at a long table. Food was really good, and they had all you can drink beer, lemonade, water, wine and iced tea. I was so full by the end, I wondered if I would ever eat again. We loaded back into our boat (same driver, same seats) and started the trip back. The driver had just as much fun on the way back splashing us and doing tricks. It was so fun. I didn’t want it to end. The scenery was gorgeous and the dining experience was awesome too. I would recommend wearing sunscreen if you burn, because there is a lot of sun exposure, and bringing a sweatshirt even if it’s a warm day (the ride back was colder than the ride in, plus you’re wet). I saw people with entire changes of clothes, which I think was more than necessary. Overall, wonderful and amazing, and I will be doing it again!

Great time and amazing food and service. The boat ride was a blast, have gone 6 times but enjoy every time.

We did the 3 hour lunch trip and had a blast. We rode down the Rogue about an hour stopping every so often to see wildlife and hear stories from our guide. Our guide was awesome. He has been on the river his whole life and even helped build the boat we rode in. He had a great sense of humor and kept our tour fun and interesting. We turned around at Hellgate Canyon and then stopped at the OK Corral for lunch. Lunch was ok. Nothing special. We had salad with a great homemade honey mustard, biscuits, corn bread, BBQ chicken, potato salad and blackberry cobbler. Drinks were ice tea and lemonade. We were there for about an hour and half. Plenty of time to have lunch, bathroom break and stretch your legs a bit before heading back up the river. On the way back our guide drove much faster and did some turns and spins getting most of the boat soaked. It was so much fun. We had a slight hiccup when our boat broke down on the way back but our guide quickly fixed it and we were on our way again. What a great way to spend the day in Grants Pass!

Amazing. Incredible. Great attraction for tourists and locals. Came here with a colleague and we signed up for the dinner jetboat excursion. The worst part was having to arrive a half hour early and stand in line in the hot sun. I saw that the boats held up to 60 people and I was concerned that it would not be fun. Boy was I wrong. After we got on the boat, everything was great.
Our captain, Craig, was a good sport and full of jokes. He got us all cooled off and wet right away by braking and spinning the jetboat. Pretty soon we were zooming down the Rogue River with the beautiful scenery of Southern Oregon and all its florae and faunae. After about an hour, we were at the lodge, and served an ok dinner of salad, potatoes, ribs and chicken, beer and wine (all you can eat and drink!). First, we overshot the lodge and looked at Hellgate Canyon, where many movies have been filmed.
The way back was even crazier. Everyone was a little more lubed up with alcohol, and Craig was in fine spirits. He doused us with water no less than 10 more times. The good news is the boat goes so fast that just a few minutes down the river almost dries you off completely.
The entire excursion lasted about 4 hours. Worth the money. Food wasn’t the best, but what else do you really expect?

Unfortunately we booked just 2 weeks before the date and there were no dinner cruise options available for the weekend our whole family was in town. I would say that the dinner cruise is the best option of the three that Hellgate offers– but that really depends on what you’re looking for.
On a Saturday morning we met up at the check in area, where the gift shop and everything is at 8:45am. The place was packed already! Some people were seated out front where there are some tables outside, but most everyone was shopping around and waiting inside where it was air conditioned. There is a second story as well in the shop, but everywhere seemed to be super busy. Which leads me to write about the bathroom situation. I know back in the day there were more bathrooms outside, but a line no matter what. Every. Single. Person. In line was complaining. I saw there was a sign for the upstairs too so I ran up there and the line was worse! It didn’t take that long, but people were not happy on the wait haha– typical women’s bathroom line though.
Us six adults and 2 kids walked down the hill to stand in line for our boat. We waited about 15 or so mins before a young man started organizing people and making sure they were in the lines they were supposed to be. They then section you off to be able to sit with your group that you come with.
I’ve been on the jet boats a few times, but not for about 15 or so years and this was the first time that I’ve been put on one of the smaller boats– which was a blast! The smaller boats can do double the amount of donuts in the water and it just glides down the river– okay they both do. But the spins are seriously impressive and so much fun! After a cruise down the river, where you can see the beautiful wildlife out and about. Countless types of birds, a stand out being the eagle which we did see on this trip. After about an hour down stream you arrive at the place for your meal. There are tractors with trailers for those that can’t walk the hill– but the hill takes you about 2.5 mins to get up and that’s if you’re taking your time.
When you get into the dining hall you are greeted by a hostess who you check in with and they let you know what table you’ve been assigned to. The breakfast is served family style on platters. They start the breakfast out with a bottle of Sparkling Cider for the kids, a bottle of Champagne and a pitcher of cold orange juice. Then a server comes around offering coffee and cream.
Food wise, other than the drinks when you sit down there is already a platter of fresh fruits. Then they served eggs, potatoes, sausage, bacon, biscuits, gravy, and sweet breads. On the table they didn’t have anything like ketchup, or tabasco, so you’ll need to ask, if you’re server isn’t already running around like crazy. The food was decent. My only complaint was that they didn’t serve the food all at once, which I know may be difficult to organize, but each item came out almost with a couple of minutes between each. More like the biscuits and gravy came, 10 mins went by, then we watched as the two tables near us received their food. But with that being said, it’s nothing that I would go and tell people about, it’s still a great experience and very fun to do on the weekend with family and or friends!
Our driver was super easy going, well spoken, with a good sense of humor– so that helped as well. He grew up in the area, knows the river very well because he’s a fisherman and also does tours in the area to take people down the rivers to fish. We even drove by his dad and I believe it was his uncle or something at one point who were fishing on a boat that we were passing by. His dad held up a HUGE (in my eyes) salmon that they had just caught that morning.
Overall a great experience, the kids absolutely loved it– so be sure to take the kiddos it’s definitely a fun memory for a family to make together!

We had a group of 38 today on Boat «T» with Captain Mike. It was AWESOME! Our group came up to Medford for a ASA Softball tourney and one of the mom’s scheduled us for a group evening dinner trip. Everyone had a blast! The boats were very exciting with the combination of high speed and big waves, the scenery all along the Rogue River on up into the Hellgate Canyon was incredible, and the meal at the OK Corral Dinner Lodge was outstanding!
We saw several types of birds, deer and even a Bald Eagle along the way. Captain Mike was a great host and full of information and humor! We will definitely return for another trip next time we visit southern OR.
—and forget wasting your money on the cheap $ 0.97 Wal-​Mart ponchos, a little water won’t hurt you!

An absolute «Must Do» if your in the Grants Pass area.
Awesome scenery and an overall fun time.
Did the lunch excursion. Food was «so so» but all of the workers were very friendly and helpful.
The boat pilot was safe and entertaining.

My boyfriend planned a surprise date for us and the jetboat and dinner excursion was what he picked. We ended up doimg a double date with his mom. This is by far the most fun I have ever had doing anything! Also the best date of my life so far. The jetboat excursion was so much fun and our boat driver Mike was amazing! He was so funny and he could tell really good stories!!! The boat ride was so much fun. The boat went super fast and I was having some issues keeping my eyes open to enjoy the view, so next time I’m bring sunglasses. I definitely recommend bringing some eyewear. Besides going fast, Mike also made sure we got drenched when we were or weren’t expecting it and it was awesome! The ride there was pretty mellow on the getting wet front. About 1.5 hours later we arrived at the lodge for dinner. It was served family style where the entire table would pass the food around. I personally liked it because it made sure you would talk to your neighbors. The food was good probably could have been better but I’m not complaining because there was tons of it and I was stuffed when I was done eating. Dessert was super yummy!!! Blackberry cobbler!!! After dinner, we walked back down to the river where the boats we parked and I noticed there was a blackberry bush right next to us so I picked some berries and ate them right there. The ride back was crazy! We did 360s in the boat and the boats would cause waves for other boats to soak everyone. Our boat had a little girl in it and an elderly lady celebrating her 9^th birthday so the trip is for everyone. Definitely bringing a change of clothes or get something to cover you up a bit. I brought my phone with me to take pictures and would put it in my purse when the boat was moving. There is a cubby where the life jackets are that stays dry so I stashed my bag there. Had no problems with my stuff getting wet or losing anything. It was an invigorating experience. I absolutely recommend everyone to do it!!!

This is one good experience that you should not miss, esp for people in California (where it is hard to see any water flowing these days). We went on for a quick and scenic tour for 2 hours in the afternoon. After waiting in line in scorching sun for some 30 – 40 minutes, we got onto one of their newest jet boats with a lot of expectations. They did exceed our expectations.
The boat roared through the shallow rogue river at an amazing speed. We had to take it slow at some places because of heavy raft traffic. But at other places, it was an awesome experience. Especially when the pilot made a lot of 360 spins, we got almost completely drenched. I was lucky to get the corner seat and every time there was a spin, it was a welcoming shower of water. None of us wore life jackets on the trip and it did not seem dangerous (Atleast on our trip). Our pilot has amazing control over the boat and some stunts were absolutely enjoyable. There were some deers here and there at the banks but we were mostly waving to some nice people having fun in the river. See if you can carry a squirt gun to splash water on some evil (:P) rafters who did splash water on the jet boat tourists ;). Do not miss this tour if you are around.

Excellent! We absolutely loved everything about our adventure. We saw the great reviews it had on Trip Advisor and planned to check it out. My husband, daughters (ages 13, 10), and I chose the Brunch Tour. Craig, our driver, did not disappoint. The ride was fabulous! We saw Bald Eagles, osprey, deer and Canada geese. The scenery was stunning. When it was time for brunch we were thrilled to be served a delicious feast of fruit, eggs, sausage, bacon, cornbread, potatoes, biscuits & gravy, orange juice, champagne, cider… phew! There was PLENTY of food. We were stuffed! I swear the food was delicious!!! We didn’t have to wait to be seated, either. Our seats were reserved for us (I liked the attention to detail).
After eating we headed over to the river and the kids had the chance to wade in it. Everyone was having such a great time. The ride back was super fun, too. It was perfect weather for getting wet on our way back. There were people of all ages laughing and having a great time. There was even a baby on board!
We had traveled from California, making several stops along the way. All of us agreed that this excursion was the highlight of our trip.
Thank you so much Craig and Hellgate Excursions for giving us great memories to take with us. :)
Tips:
Wear sunscreen
Bring a water proof camera
Put your wallet, keys, etc in a large ziplock bag
Have your kids wear their bathing suits in case they want to take a dip after brunch
Come early to get parking and pick up your boarding ticket at the gift shop
Bring $ to tip your waitress & boat driver
If you don’t want to get too wet sit in the middle in the back of the boat.
Wear a light sweater for the ride to brunch if you get cold easily

Amaze-​balls! A must do adventure in southern Oregon. We had an absolute blast, it was hot out but the water was cold so bring a weather proof jacket to cover up from the water splashes. The ride to dinner was so much fun, my 2 toddler boys had a blast. Dinner was delicious with bbq ribs and chicken, cole slaw and hot potato salad and it included wine, beer and soda. Oh forgot to mention the biscuits and corn bread, yum! For dessert was an awesome blueberry pie in a cup, yummy in my tummy as my son stated.
The most amazing thing happen on the way back, there’s a bald eagle that knows Hellgate has friends on the shoreline to hold a fish out to get the bald eagle to swoop in and grabbed — -and it happened. The eagle swooped down just 10 ft above our boat and grabbed to fish, it was one of the most amazing experiences to see a wild bald eagle up close.
Our guide Randy was awesome and showed us a great time, very knowledgeable about the area and spun our boat several times for a great thrill ride. Got a little wet and hair was crazy but well worth it! Thanks Hellgate Jetboat, can’t wait to bring my family up from Florida to ride the fun Hellgate.

We had an excellent time on the Dinner Jet Boat Excursion! We came to visit on the second day of the season so there was only one boat running which was nice because we were able to take our time and weren’t rushed by other boats (apparently they have 6 going at a time). Our guide was the senior guide and said next year would be his last year doing it, as it would be his 30^th year. He knew the river like the back of his hand and was so kind and funny too. The food was probably as good as it can get for preparing food in large masses. We had salad, biscuits, potatoes, coleslaw, bbq chicken/​ribs and a berry cobbler.
The only downside to or trip is the week of the excursion Hellgate called us and cancelled out original tour w had booked. We were scheduled for the whitewater adventure. They said they weren’t running that excursion due safety regulations since the drought was causing the water levels to drop… Which is understandable but still a bummer.