Whitewater Rafting Adventure on Idaho's Lower Salmon River

Afternoon: We meet at 12:30 p.m. at the Hells Canyon Grand Hotel Hotel in Lewiston, Idaho. Our lead guide will meet you in the hotel lobby or just outside in the parking lot. (Ask at the hotel desk if you are in doubt about where to find us.) After a brief orientation you will pack your things into river bags (which we provide) and then if you drove into town you will park your vehicle at the hotel. We’ll board a bus for the two hour ride to our boat launch site at either Hammer Creek or Pine Bar. Once we arrive at our launch site you’ll meet the rest of our guide crew, and our lead guide will conduct a safety briefing. We’ll then board the rafts for the ½ to 1 mile float to our first night's camp.

Dinner: Meal prepared by program staff at campsite along the river.

Evening: After dinner an orientation and get-acquainted session will be held.

Activity note: We’re on the river four to six hours on average, and travel at a relaxed pace that allows time for swimming, exploring historic sites, or scouting rapids. Itinerary may vary due to changes in water level, weather, availability of camps or other factors. As a result, rapids we might expect to encounter on a given morning may not be encountered until afternoon, and canyons we expect to float through in the afternoon of one day may instead be encountered the following morning.

Breakfast: Meal prepared by program staff at campsite along the river.

Morning: After breakfast we'll pack our bags and load the boats. Then, after a brief orientation to the day's adventures, we'll head downstream for a 10 to 12 mile journey.

Lunch: Meal prepared by program staff at riverside.

Afternoon: After lunch we encounter Cougar Canyon, the first of the river’s spectacular gorges. We arrive at the night’s camp by mid to late afternoon. While the guides prepare dinner you'll have free time to swim, fish, read, play games or otherwise enjoy the river and its surroundings. (There are good spots for hiking along the Salmon River but only a few; for the most part hiking opportunities are limited.)

Dinner: Meal prepared by program staff at campsite along the river.

Activity note: Each day’s instruction may occur during the day on the river, be scheduled for the time between breakfast and boarding the boats, or occur just before or just after dinner. In general, though, the time from arriving at camp until dinner, and after dinner, is free time to use as you wish.

Breakfast: Meal prepared by program staff at campsite along the river.

Morning: Rafts depart at approximately 9:30 a.m. Soon after pushing off downstream we encounter beautiful Snow Hole Canyon, which continues downstream for the next 10 miles. Rapids encountered include Bodacious Bounce and Half and Half. Time permitting we’ll make stops today (or in the coming days) to view stone structures and other evidence of historic gold mining activities.

Lunch: Meal prepared by program staff at riverside.

Afternoon: Rafting continues, and we encounter Snow Hole rapid, at most water levels the river’s most challenging whitewater.

Dinner: Meal prepared by program staff at campsite along the river.

Breakfast: Meal prepared by program staff at campsite along the river.

Morning: By mid-morning we exit from Snow Hole Canyon. Morning highlights include China Rapids, a thrilling and long s-curve of whitewater.

Lunch: Meal prepared by program staff at riverside.

Afternoon: Rafting continues, including calm stretches good for swimming, and mild, class II rapids.

Dinner: Meal prepared by program staff at campsite along the river.

Breakfast: Meal prepared by program staff at campsite along the river.

Morning: Small rapids and signs of pacer mining during the gold rush are encountered.

Lunch: Meal prepared by program staff at riverside.

Afternoon: This afternoon’s stretch of river includes what is arguably the river’s most dramatic scenery, as we enter Blue Canyon. Blue Canyon contains numerous rapids as well, including Slide, Sluicebox and Checkerboard. We camp near the Salmon River/Snake River confluence, and time permitting we’ll hike to the Pullman Mine, a copper mine that was active in the 1920’s and where mining equipment can still be seen.

Dinner: Meal prepared by program staff at campsite along the river.

Breakfast: Meal prepared by program staff at campsite along the river.

Morning: We depart our final camp and as we float downstream we soon join the much larger Snake River at the edge of Hells Canyon, the deepest gorge in North America. We'll encounter a few rapids on the Snake, but for the most part this section of river is placid. For this reason, we will say good-bye to most of our guides and board a jet boat, which will take us downriver on the Snake into Lewiston. This segment of our journey presents us with a great opportunities to watch for bighorn sheep, and gaze up at the canyon walls.

Lunch: Meal prepared by program staff at riverside.

Afternoon: On our last day we arrive at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Park in Clarkston, WA, our take-out point, between 2:00 and 3:30 PM. Once we've unpacked, you'll board a van or bus for the ride back to Lewiston. The ride back to Lewiston is a short 10 minute drive back to the hotel.