With high temperatures in the 90s expected Thursday through Saturday, it might be a good time to visit one of the several spray parks or splash pads now open for the season in the Rogue Valley.

Splash pads and spray parks are open daily in Medford, Grants Pass, Central Point, Ashland, Eagle Point, Jacksonville and Rogue River:

• In Medford, splash pads are open 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. at Fichtner-Mainwaring Park, 334 Holmes Ave.; Hawthorne Park, 501 E. Main St.; Lewis Park, 130 Lewis Ave.; Lone Pine Park, 3158 Lone Pine Road; and Oregon Hills, 6001 E. McAndrews Road. The Rogue X Aquatic Center has an outdoors splash pad accessible with paid admission.

• In Grants Pass, a spray park is open noon to 7 p.m. in Riverside Park, 304 East Park St.

• In Central Point, a spray park is open 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. in Don Jones Memorial Park, 223 West Vilas Road.

• In Ashland, the splash pad at Garfield Park is open 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., at East Main and Garfield streets.

• The Eagle Point spray park is on Napa Street between Nova Avenue and North Platt avenues.

• A spray park in Jacksonville is at Doc Griffin Park, 298 S. Fifth St.

• In Talent, a spray park is located at Chuck Roberts Park, 466 Talent Ave.

• In Rogue River, a splash pad is in Rooster Park, 200 Pine St.

• In Cave Junction, a splash pad is under construction in Jubilee Park, with a possible opening date in July.

Renovated playgrounds open in Medford, Grants Pass

New playgrounds have opened this year at Bear Creek Park in Medford and Reinhart Volunteer Park in Grants Pass.

In Medford, the toddler section in the Olsrud Family Community Playground has officially reopened at Bear Creek Park, 1520 Siskiyou Blvd., replacing equipment damaged last year in an arson fire. Features include new spring toys, musical instruments and a shifting deck.

In Grants Pass, a handicapped-accessible playground has replaced an older structure at Reinhart Volunteer Park, with areas set aside for children 2-5 years of age and 5-12 years old. The park, at 1690 S.W. Webster Road, features ponds, sports fields and a pedestrian bridge over the Rogue River.

Vesper Meadow celebrates solstice, seeks volunteers

The Vesper Meadow Restoration Preserve is hosting a summer solstice event on Friday and is looking for volunteers to help during three upcoming work outings. Register at vespermeadow.org.

The summer solstice outdoor meet-up is for artists, writers and creatives, and is scheduled for 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday at the preserve, 16534 Dead Indian Memorial Road. Participants can learn about local ecology and restoration work while they create art.

Also, the organization is seeking volunteers to help collect wildflower seeds from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesday, July 9 and July 16, working with Tuula Rebhahn of The Understory Initiative. The seeds will be used to restore degraded meadow habitat elsewhere on the preserve. Experience with seed collection or botanical identification is preferred.

And volunteers are requested for an “all-star star thistle pull” from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. June 30 and July 3. Star thistle is a noxious weed.

Caves National Monument offers solstice stroll

Take a free ranger-led summer solstice stroll 8-10 p.m. Friday at Caves National Monument, 19000 Caves Highway in Josephine County, to watch the sunset over the Illinois Valley on the longest day of the year.

The hike will be a moderate 1-mile loop on the Cliff Nature Trail. Learn about the summer solstice, dark skies and local flora and fauna. Dress for the weather, wear sturdy footwear and a flashlight. Meet Ranger Britney in the lower parking lot for the start of the program.

For more information, call the park at 541-592-5125.

Medford parks and rec offers guided hikes

Medford’s parks and recreation department is offering several guided hikes this month:

• A trip to visit Watson, Toketee and Susan Creek falls east of Roseburg is set for 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Thursday, June 20, and Monday, June 24. There will be 2 miles of hiking total. Cost is $61 for residents and $67 for non-residents.

• 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday, a moderately strenuous set of hikes of 3.5 miles total will take place at Mill Creek Falls, Barr Creek Falls and Pearsony Falls near Prospect, plus the Rogue Gorge near Union Creek. Cost is $49 for residents and $61 for non-residents.

• For people 55 and older, an easy hike of 2.4 miles is set for 1-4:30 p.m. Tuesday, June 25, along the Lithia Park Loop in Ashland. The cost is $12 for residents and $18 for non-residents.

• An extreme 10-mile hike to Wagner Butte is set for 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. June 28. Cost is $49-$61.

Participants meet at Rogue X, 901 Rossanley Drive in Medford. Space is limited. Sign up at 541-774-2400 or playmedford.com.

KS Wild hosts hike, advocacy, ‘forest bathing’ events

The Klamath Siskiyou Wildlands Center is hosting a hike to Boundary Springs, a forest advocacy event and a “forest bathing” walk in the woods:

• The public is invited to join the organization for a short field day on Friday to visit the Mill Rat timber sale unit, where road construction and logging progress can be viewed. Things will wrap up with a discussion about the importance of community advocacy. The event is set for 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Carpool options are available. Meet at KS Wild offices, at 562 A St. in Ashland.

• Take a 5-mile round-trip hike of moderate difficulty to the headwaters of the Rogue River at Boundary Springs in Crater Lake National Park on Saturday, from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

• KS Wild is hosting a forest bathing walk 9:30-11 a.m. Sunday in the Mount Ashland area. Forest bathing, known as shinrin-yoku in Japanese, is the act of taking in nature calmly and quietly. The walk is not long and strenuous, but there is an incline. Bring some water and something to sit on.

Meet at KS Wild offices at 562 A St. in Ashland. Register at kswild.org. Call Allee Gustafson for more information, 541-488-5789, ext. 1014.

Climate Action support group meets Saturday

“Sustaining Climate Activists,” a support group with Southern Oregon Climate Action Now, is hosting a time for socializing, sharing and learning 10-11:30 a.m. Saturday at Blue Heron Park, 4385 S. Pacific Highway in Phoenix. The group is concerned with the psychological effects of climate change on mental health and wellbeing. It meets monthly to provide a facilitated support forum to address distress and develop resilience.

For more information, contact liz@socan.eco.

Black Bird hosts Fishing Derby at Diamond Lake

The annual Black Bird $5,000 Fishing Derby, Southern Oregon’s largest trout fishing derby, is set for Saturday at the Diamond Lake Resort.

Rain, snow and sleet — including last year’s hail, wind and lightning storm — haven’t prevented anglers from participating. As many as 1,100 people show up for the event, which began in 1998.

Kids fish for free. Prizes are offered for adults, teenagers and younger anglers. Top prize for adults is $1,000. Profits from the event go to charity.

Register at theblackbird.com.

Crater Lake boat tours taking reservations

Boat tour reservations have opened at Crater Lake National Park, where the lodge and dining room opened in May. Boat tours are slated to begin the first week of July on a first-come, first-served basis, with reservations taken for tours July 15 to Sept. 15, when half of all seats will be by reservation and half will be sold in the park starting 24 hours before tours embark.

For more information, visit explorecraterlake.com or call 866-292-6720.

Cities publish summer program guides

Summer program guides are available from the cities of Central Point, Medford and Ashland. They include information on senior, adult and youth programs, including classes, day camps, swim lessons, events and concerts.

Tell us about your upcoming outdoors-related events by sending us brief details, contact information and other important info so that we can tell others about your events in our weekly column, Outdoor Adventures.

Send to reporter Shaun Hall at shall@rv-times.com or 2 E. Main St., Ste. 200, Medford, Oregon, 97501. Reach Hall at 458-225-7179.