Rogue Jet Boat Adventures operates along a 14-mile stretch of the upper Rogue River on either side of TouVelle State Recreation Site, to the delight of some and the surprise of others.

Some of the delight was evident Tuesday, when 25 eighth-grade students from Perrydale Middle School in Amity rode in two of the company’s boats on the river and later played at a lake at the company’s Discovery Park, located across the river from Lower Table Rock.

“They had a ball,” said Alex Graber, a teacher leading the students on a tour of Southern Oregon sites in celebration of their pending graduation from middle school.

“I would definitely do this again.”

Company boats load at the state park, to the apparent confusion of many, given that the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department in February announced it would not at this time formally contract with a jet boat company to operate a concession at the park.

For years, the boats loaded at the park, under a now-expired special use permit that allowed the company to erect signs and man a passenger check-in station there. Now, the boats use the park informally as a parking and loading location.

“Half the people think we’re not even in business,” said company co-owner Emily Grimes, a sixth-generation Oregonian whose “harebrained” idea it was 12 years ago to open a jet boat excursion business with her husband, Taylor.

“Most of the people think we’re shut down,” Emily Grimes said.

The school group took a three-hour tour, loading at the park aboard two boats — one that held 25 passengers and the other that held 18 passengers, with boat captains Jon Geyer and Steve Scow piloting them. The captions then sped the students upstream past natural areas and residential areas to Rattlesnake Rapids, about 1.5 miles below Dodge Bridge.

Passing a fisherman in the river, Scow slowed his boat.

“If we can slow down for the anglers, we will,” he said.

Passing some — but not all — of the homes, he slowed, too.

“We try to be neighborly when we can,” he said.

One of the homes displayed a banner that read, “No tour boats,” or something to that effect.

Along the way, Scow, a former sheriff’s deputy, explained some of the area’s history and natural wonders. Osprey flew overhead. Fish jumped. People waved from shore.

And a bunch of students got wet when the boat spun.

Blocked by Rattlesnake Rapids, the boats paused and then turned back, passing TouVelle on their way to the company’s Discovery Park, a 53-acre property with a 40-acre lake that’s a former gravel pit 40 feet deep.

The lake is just up and over a riverside embankment from where the boats dock. The park features lawns, picnic areas, docks, a camping area and a large floating water play structure. Kayaks and paddleboards are available, as is food and drinks, for an extra charge.

While the views across the lake to distant mountains are attractive, it’s the view across the river to Lower Table Rock that’s the star. The rock formation rises up hundreds of feet from near the river shore.

“This right here is really awesome,” Graber, the teacher, said about the park.

“This is so much more than jet boats,” Taylor Grimes said.

The kids played for about an hour before getting aboard again for a ride downstream to the Gold Ray Dam area above Gold Hill before turning around and returning to TouVelle. The company hosts a lot of school groups this time of year, with about 1,200 school children in all expected to visit before the end of this school year.

Early on in their business venture, Emily and Taylor Grimes operated out of private properties, before buying the Discovery Park property about seven years ago. They worked to clear out berry bushes, create landscaping and install structures.

“We worked so hard at it, it isn’t even funny,” Taylor Grimes said. “We put a lot of work into this over the last seven years.”

“We just wanted to do something outdoors, not in an office,” said Emily Grimes, who worked in the same office as her husband at Microvellum, a company he helped found.

As for working outdoors, they both got their wish. Both are well tanned.

Taylor Grimes was the jet boat company’s first boat captain for years, piloting a 10-passenger boat, until the larger boats were purchased, leading to the hiring of four pilots as of this year. In addition to Scow and Geyer, the other pilots are Nick Fitzpatrick, a fire captain in Shady Cove, and James Dyer, a longtime local fishing guide who is a pilot in training.

Taylor Grimes said the boat captains are the key to safe operations and have saved lives during rescues.

The company offers a variety of experiences, including tours that amount to shuttles between the parks, with extended stays at Discovery Park.

Until last fall, the company operated under a three-year special use permit with the state parks department. Under the permit, the company was allowed signage and a check-in booth at the park. When the permit expired, the state then considered a longer-term concessionaire agreement, but announced in February that it was holding off for the time being. That made headlines, including one in this paper that read, “TouVelle state park won’t have a jet boat concession.”

True enough, there’s no concession, no signage and no passenger check-in counter at the park. The company is still allowed to load its boats at the park as long as its mobile passenger-loading ramps are below the high-water mark, where the state lands department has jurisdiction.

“Below the high-water level, we don’t have authority,” Chris Havel, a spokesman for the parks department, said Friday in a telephone interview. “From what we’ve seen, they’re below it. It’s legal, and they’re there. I understand the confusion.”

As for the decision to forgo a concessionaire agreement, Havel said, “the park isn’t ready” for one, and pointed to potential conflicts between a swimming area and a boat ramp area. It would be best to separate the two, he said.

He pointed out that if there was an agreement, state parks could negotiate terms for how the boats operate on the water.

“We have a lot of freedom regarding terms of a contract,” he said.

The parks department received about 1,600 comments from people regarding a possible concession at the park. Some were in favor, while others were not.

Concerns included possible erosion from boat wakes, potential harm to fishing and noise from boat motors, in addition to congestion at the park, according to Havel.

“People around the park have concerns and we want to respect that,” he said.

At the same time, boat riders enjoyed their ride, “and we like to see people having fun,” he said.

The price for a three-hour tour, including a stopover of a bit more than an hour at Discovery Park, is $65 for people 12 years and older, and $45 for those younger.

A shorter trip that shuttles people between the state park and Discovery Park is $25 for those 12 and up and $20 for children 11 and younger, with extended stays of up to six hours at Discovery Park. Rental of watercraft is extra.

Other outings are offered, including a two-hour “Friday Happier Hour” that costs $20 for ages 12 and up, and $15 for ages 11 and younger. A “Concert at the Rocks” outing is a four-hour experience that’s $59 for people 12 and up, and $45 for ages 11 and younger. For information about the concerts and other services, see roguejetadventures.com or call 541-414-4182.