Jul 13 - Jul 18, 2025
1,849
1,649
Idaho
Whitewater Rafting on Idaho's Salmon River With Your Grandchild
Program No. 4954RJ
Float off on a whitewater rafting adventure with your grandchild on the Salmon and Snake Rivers as you learn about paddling, petroglyphs and pioneer history and go camping on the beach!
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Protecting the Environment
We offset a portion of the emissions created by your travel. Learn more
Prefer to enroll or inquire by phone?
800-454-5768
Age 13 - 17
ROOMING OPTION PRICING
The figures below indicate the rooming options available.
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| DATES | ||||
Jul 13 - Jul 18, 2025
| 1,849 / Adult
1,649 / Child
| 1,849 / Adult
1,649 / Child
| 1,849 / Adult
1,649 / Child
| |
Jul 21 - Jul 26, 2025
1,849 1,649 | ||||
Jul 21 - Jul 26, 2025
| 1,849 / Adult
1,649 / Child
| 1,849 / Adult
1,649 / Child
| 1,849 / Adult
1,649 / Child
| |
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This date is available to book as a private experience for your group!
6 days
5 nights
15 meals
5B 5L 5D
1
Journey to the River / Program Orientation
Salmon River
2
First Full Day on the Spectacular Salmon River
Salmon River
3
Historic Sites and Outstanding Scenery
Salmon River
4
River Journey Continues
Salmon River
5
Rafting the Salmon River & Snake River
Salmon River
6
Rafting the Snake River/Return to Lewiston
Salmon River
At a Glance
Splash and slide, float and glide on Idaho’s Salmon and Snake Rivers on this whitewater rafting adventure through the second-deepest canyon in North America! You and your grandchild will get some instruction from expert rafters on paddling techniques and water dynamics before you set off together on Class 3 whitewater rapids. Learn about local lore, history and culture along the way, camp along the riverside and swim in the Salmon River’s clear, warm water.
Activity Level
Outdoor: Spirited
Walking along hilly slopes, paddling 3-5 hours per day, optional hikes. Participants should be able to pitch their own tents and be prepared to move camps in cool and hot weather. Prior whitewater rafting, wilderness camping experience is not required. Oar rafts, paddle rafts and inflatable kayaks available. Be prepared for sunny, hot weather.
Small Group
Love to learn and explore in a small-group setting? These adventures offer small, personal experiences with groups of 13 to 24 participants.
Best of all, you’ll…
- Experience three to four hours of river rafting each day, then arrive at camp in the afternoon to swim, fish, play Frisbee, explore and more while your Group Leaders prepare dinner.
- Stop to explore historic sites such as Native American rock art, pioneer homesteads and Chinese rock houses that dot the historic river canyon.
- Ride a jet boat down the Snake River through America's deepest river gorge, Hells Canyon.
General Notes
Program is for grandchildren ages 13-17. Due to the nature of this program, listening devices are not available.
Suggested Reading List
(2 books)
Visit the Road Scholar Bookshop
You can find many of the books we recommend at the Road Scholar store on bookshop.org, a website that supports local bookstores.
Whitewater Rafting on Idaho's Salmon River With Your Grandchild
Program Number: 4954
"I Will Fight No More Forever: " Chief Joseph and the Nez Perce War
River of No Return
While we make every effort to ensure the accuracy of our published materials, programs are typically advertised more than a year prior to their start date. As a result, some program activities, schedules, accommodations, personnel, and other logistics occasionally change due to local conditions or circumstances. Should a major change occur, we will make every effort to alert you. For less significant changes, we will update you during orientation. Thank you for your understanding.
Duration
6 days
5 nights
What's Included
15 meals (
5B, 5L, 5D
)
6 hands-on experiences
An experienced Group Leader
5 nights of accommodations
Taxes and customary gratuity
Road Scholar Assurance Plan
Day
1
Journey to the River / Program Orientation
Location:
Salmon River
Meals:
D
Stay:
Camping Outdoors in Tents
Activity Note
Arrive by 12:30 p.m. at the Hells Canyon Grand Hotel in Lewiston, Idaho. Remember to bring your nametag (sent previously). Getting on/off a bus; driving 88 miles, approximately 2 hours riding time. Rafting between 0.5 and 1.5 miles, approximately 30 minutes.
Afternoon:
We meet at 12:30 p.m. at the Hells Canyon Grand 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.
Day
2
First Full Day on the Spectacular Salmon River
Location:
Salmon River
Meals:
B,L,D
Stay:
Camping Outdoors in Tents
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, availably 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.
Day
3
Historic Sites and Outstanding Scenery
Location:
Salmon River
Meals:
B,L,D
Stay:
Camping Outdoors in Tents
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.
Day
4
River Journey Continues
Location:
Salmon River
Meals:
B,L,D
Stay:
Camping Outdoors in Tents
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.
Day
5
Rafting the Salmon River & Snake River
Location:
Salmon River
Meals:
B,L,D
Stay:
Camping Outdoors in Tents
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.
Day
6
Rafting the Snake River/Return to Lewiston
Location:
Salmon River
Meals:
B,L
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 p.m. 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.
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MEALS
15 Meals
5 Breakfasts
5 Lunches
5 Dinners
LODGING
Lodgings may differ by date. Select a date to see the lodgings specific to that date.
Showing Lodging For:
- Jul 21, 2025 - Jul 26, 2025
- Jul 13, 2025 - Jul 18, 2025
- Jul 21, 2025 - Jul 26, 2025
Participant Reviews
Based on 6 Reviews
Sort By:
This is a terrific program. The outfitter and all the river guides are excellent. The river is exciting. I highly recommend this program.
— Review left July 29, 2024
This a great experience and is fitting for first-time "rafters". It is exciting and educational! Plan on getting wet!
— Review left July 29, 2024
The trip was awesome! Personally the botanist assigned to our trip was very knowledgable about the plants in the area along the river. I learned some of the plants that the Nez perce native americans used and utilized in their time, especially the Mormon tea that fascinated me a lot. My granddaughter enjoyed the river so much, riding in the duckie and swimming in the cold river and floating along with the current or rapids with the guides's supervision. The camaraderie was great, we made friends with the other set of grandparents and their grandchildren. The food was delicious and healthy, the guides were great, especially Kaelan Fore and Lucy, did not get her last name. Despite my being thrown out of the raft and lost my ID, driver's license, cash, Starbucks card and a credit card, I still enjoyed the trip, my first ever on a river raft. It was so memorable and I will never forget that experience of my life. I felt bad that I could not give a token of appreciation for the guides since I lost my money when I fell overboard. All in all, the trip was well coordinated, well planned and was a big learning experience for me and my granddaughter and above all it was FUN!
— Review left July 29, 2024
If you have an outdoor loving teen, GO on this trip. The rafting company guides are superb, letting the kids stretch their comfort levels both physically and socially and providing a safety net. I have now taken four very different grandchildren on this trip and they all loved it. By day two the kids form a bond and no one is left out. The salmon river is scenic and has just enough rapids, every night I slept so well. Oh and I did not mention the food, such feasts!
— Review left September 16, 2023
Awesome experience with my grandson! Was a bit leery because I'm a non-swimmer, but am so glad we went!! Todd at Oregon River Experiences relieved all my fears. Guides were excellent, and I thoroughly enjoyed the other participants. Be prepared for 6 days "off grid," a beautiful river with sandy beaches, camping in tents or under the stars, delicious food...YES, I would definitely go again if another grandchild desires this experience..!!
— Review left August 9, 2023
We had a wonderful 6 day rafting trip with our grandson on the Lower Salmon River. What a great adventure for all of us. The rapids were so fun and the food was fabulous!! I highly recommend this trip!!
— Review left August 3, 2023
