Rogue River Gorge Viewpoint is made up of a short, paved path loaded with incredible, close-up views of the river’s rushing waters through a narrow channel, and it is absolutely worth a stop for Central Oregonians heading to or from Medford or Ashland.

In late May, my wife and I pulled over to check out the viewpoint on a trip back to Bend from Ashland. Conveniently located west of Crater Lake at 56515 on Highway 62/Rogue-Umpqua Scenic Byway in Prospect, the trail affords incredible views of a portion of the 215-mile Rogue at its narrowest: just 25 feet wide and screaming with the hydraulic force at a rate of 410,000 gallons per minute, give or take some gallons. I’m willing to wager it was higher than that figure given the melt-off of a highly fruitful winter.

Along the path, one will find interpretive signs explaining some of the science of what’s going on here, including one for The Living Stump, which is exactly what it sounds like, a stump that because of its interconnectivity with roots of neighboring trees, has continued to live. Lucky stump, or the ”Johnny Got His Gun” of trees? You decide.

You’d think it would be isolated being this close to the river’s headwaters in the Cascades, but there are a few close-by amenities to flesh out your stop, including Farewell Bend and Natural Bridge campgrounds, Natural Bridge Interpretive Trail, the 3.5-mile Rogue Gorge Trail and Beckie’s Cafe. I don’t know how many times we’d driven right on by this spot in the past, but now I’m guessing we will pull over every time we drive by, and next time I’m getting a slice of pie at Beckie’s.