Eugene Outdoor Activities

Among the forests and hills of the Willamette Valley, Highway 58 Golf Range fills with the staccato pops of launching golf balls as golfers there practice every aspect of the game. Guests tee their range balls up year-round on either natural-grass tees or covered mats, sending the balls soaring toward Mount Pisgah in the distance. A short-game area allows for focused practice of near-green finesse, complete with a putting green, a chipping area, and a bunker where golfers perfect saves and practice guessing how many grains of sand are in a jar to win it.

The McKenzie River flows past some of Oregon's most awe-inspiring natural scenery—douglas fir–blanketed mountainsides, bald eagles diving to catch trout, and gargantuan boulders splitting the current into Class II and III rapids. Operating in partnership with the Willamette National Forest Service, the Oregon State Marine Board–licensed guides of All-Star Outfitters unveil these sights to visitors on both whitewater- and scenic rafting adventures. Additionally, guides equip outdoorsmen with fly or spinning rigs and guide them on fishing trips on the McKenzie River, Siuslaw River, and Lake Creek to catch rainbow and cutthroat trout, spring- and fall-run chinooks, and steelheads. The guides can also arrange lunch options for every outing, such as deli-style sandwiches, Wild West barbecue, or hot dogs on a hook.

After wrapping up a five-year career for the University of Oregon men's golf team, Justin St. Clair knew he was destined to dedicate himself to golf. A bona fide ace by nearly every standard—he won the 2009 Pacific Northwest Pro-Am and was named an All-Pac 10 Honorable Mention in 2005—Justin couldn't quite ascend to golf's highest ranks, opting instead to channel his passion for the game by opening his own golf school.

Today, Justin presides over the practice facilities at Emerald Valley Golf and Resort, correcting swings with advice relayed in simple terms. Justin can help golfers sharpen swing mechanics at the driving range, where he enlists high-speed video to dissect swings and locate heckling poltergeists, he can improve course management with a playing lesson, or he can determine his clients' ideal clubs with club- and driver-fitting services.

Chase Adventure Outfitters’s guides chaperone whitewater rafters and fishermen across the McKenzie River’s swirling waters on quarter-, half-, and full-day trips. Guides customize each route to suit their passengers’ tastes, gliding rafts down gentle stretches or whipping them through rapids as intense as a shower taken under Niagara Falls. As a gentle breeze hits riders’ faces, they catch sights of lush foliage along the riverbanks as well as gamboling area wildlife.

Diamond Hill Paintball's two outdoor fields evoke historical battlegrounds for tournament-style and recreational play. A net encloses the regulation NPPL speedball course, whose symmetrical layout of inflatable bunkers is designed for intense competition. The rec-ball field's mounds and muddy foxholes help conceal casual players as they advance and protect feral canvases from the Technicolor volley. A unit of paintball veterans ensures safe, fun play at all levels, and distributes safety gear to accompany Tippmann 98 rental markers.