Heritage Landing (Deschutes)

By America's State Parks Editorial TeamMay 8, 2026 · Updated October 23, 2026

🏆 Deschutes River Gateway — Boat launch and day-use area where the Deschutes meets the Columbia

Heritage Landing is a boat launch and day-use area at the mouth of the Deschutes River, with access to both the Deschutes and the Columbia. It sits just across the Deschutes from the campground at Deschutes River State Recreation Area, and its ramp is the gateway to the Lower Deschutes, a 100-mile stretch designated a National Wild and Scenic River and an Oregon Scenic Waterway. River guides meet their clients here, families head out onto the Columbia for salmon fishing or water skiing, and anglers come back to show off their catch.

Visitor Information

Frequently Asked Questions

Is this good for fly fishing?

The Lower Deschutes is a world-class fly fishing destination. Redband trout (resident rainbow trout) are available year-round, with steelhead runs in late summer through fall. Hire a local guide for the best experience.

Is the Deschutes good for fly fishing?

The Deschutes is Oregon’s most famous fly fishing river — world-class trout fishing above Warm Springs and legendary steelhead below Sherars Falls. The river produces wild “redsides” — a brilliantly colored strain of rainbow trout found nowhere else.

About Heritage Landing

Heritage Landing sits at the mouth of the Deschutes River where it meets the Columbia — one of Oregon’s most productive fishing confluences. The site offers boat launch access to both rivers. There is no camping at Heritage Landing; the campground of Deschutes River State Recreation Area is just across the river. Oregon State Parks acquired the first 30 acres at the river mouth in 1963 and added about 134 acres of frontage between 1977 and 1983.

Things to Do

Fishing for steelhead, salmon, and smallmouth bass is world-class. Rafting and kayaking the lower Deschutes — one of America’s premier whitewater rivers. The lowest two miles of the Deschutes, from below Moody Rapids to Rattlesnake Rapids, are a pass-through zone where boaters may not stop. A life jacket loaner station is on site.

Insider Tips

River canyon access: Heritage Landing provides access to the lower Deschutes River — one of Oregon’s most legendary rivers for fly fishing and whitewater rafting. Pro tip: The Deschutes produces wild steelhead and redsides (rainbow trout) — catch-and-release fishing with barbless hooks is the rule. Desert canyon: The canyon walls reveal 15 million years of volcanic geology.

Best Time to Visit

Spring/fall: Best fishing and comfortable temperatures. Summer: Whitewater rafting season (Class III-IV rapids). October: Steelhead season. Winter: Quiet and cold but beautiful canyon light.

Wildlife & Nature

Heritage Landing provides access to the lower Deschutes River — one of Oregon’s most celebrated fly fishing and whitewater rivers. The Deschutes flows through a dramatic basalt canyon, its cold, clear waters supporting wild populations of native redband rainbow trout and summer steelhead. The canyon’s rimrock supports nesting golden eagles, prairie falcons, and red-tailed hawks. California bighorn sheep — reintroduced after being extirpated from the region — pick their way along impossible cliff faces. Mule deer and coyotes inhabit the sagebrush slopes. The river’s legendary “salmonfly hatch” in late May — when 3-inch stoneflies emerge by the millions — triggers a feeding frenzy among trout and is one of the most anticipated events in American fly fishing.

Nearby Attractions

Deschutes River State Recreation Area is the primary access point for river recreation. Maupin — the “Whitewater Capital of Oregon” — provides outfitter services for rafting and fishing. Sherar’s Falls — a sacred Warm Springs tribal fishing site — features traditional dip-net platforms. The Dalles has the Columbia Gorge Discovery Center. Celilo Falls memorial remembers the great falls inundated by The Dalles Dam in 1957. Sherman County Historical Museum in Moro covers the region’s wheat farming heritage.

Keep exploring: The closest neighbor is Deschutes River State Recreation Area, directly across the river.

About the Author

America's State Parks Editorial Team

America's State Parks is an independent online guide to state parks and other public lands in the United States. Our editorial team compiles park profiles from official agency and operator sources and other identified references, and follows our published editorial policy and review methodology. Where a profile shows a source-check date, that date applies to the detail it names. We correct errors when we find them or when readers report them.

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