Idaho Rafting

Middle Fork Rafting Itinerary

DAY 1 » Meet your group at 7:30am. We'll take a two-hour bus ride to Boundary Creek and start our trip. At 6,000 feet elevation, the air is crisp and the forest thick with fir and spruce. At the river we'll go through a safety orientation while your personal gear is loaded onto our rafts. After orientation, everyone chooses a raft (paddle or oar-powered) and climbs aboard. The first 15 miles of the Middle Fork are fast and rapids are steep, narrow, come in quick succession. During lunch, we'll explain how we minimize our impact on the river with Leave No Trace camping ethics. After lunch the river continues to be lively and challenging. Every few hundred yards a creek tumbles into the river, increasing the flow. We travel between 10 and 15 miles the first day and arrive at camp around 4:00pm. Enjoy the free time for hiking, fishing, reading or just relaxing. Hors d’oeuvres are served around 6:00 and dinner around 7:30. After dinner, a campfire is lit and the warmth invites all to share stories of the day, and life.

DAY 2 » We awake around 7:00am and enjoy fresh-brewed coffee. Breakfast is served and you pack up your personal gear. The rafts are loaded and we depart from camp around 9:30 for an adventure-packed day of rapids, magnificent scenery and fun. We make it a point to visit one or two pioneer homesteads on these first few days. We'll likely stop to explore the old miner’s camp at Powerhouse Rapids. Today’s a good day to keep your eyes open for the nest of the American Dipper, a small gray bird that swims underwater and builds its nest above fast-flowing water. We'll have plenty of fun rapids as the river continues its quick descent. We'll pull out the “Duckies,” our inflatable kayaks, for those seeking a more intimate experience with the river. We’ll stop for a soak in Sunflower Flat Hot Springs where several pools above the river cascade over a rocky cliff to create nature’s perfect shower. We make camp around 4:00pm and enjoy hiking, fishing and relaxing. After dinner the night sky welcomes stargazers and, later on, the river lulls you to sleep.

Day 4 »Another day of fun rapids and incredible Rocky Mountain scenery. We’ll likely see big horn sheep as we pass several mineral licks. Those fishing will continue to find bountiful trout and birdwatchers are likely to spot golden eagles and falcons. We pass our last hot spring at Hospital Bar, so named because early cattlemen let their stock rest and feed at this large flat and easy ford across the river. We'll also see Tappan Ranch, where Red and Daisey Paulsen-Tappen grew a bountiful garden and raised a family with self-sufficiency and $300 a year in the 1920’s and 30’s.

Day 5/6 »Today we run Haystack Rapid, the most dynamic rapid on the river. Side canyon “blow outs” have changed its course twice in the last few years. This is the official start of Impassable Canyon. Below Haystack rapids, the canyon narrows and deepens creating a series of action-packed rapids. A favorite stop is at Waterfall Creek, where a steep trail leads up to the Bighorn Crags. We walk beneath the falls and on hot days finish with a jump into the river. Shortly downstream the river cuts into the Idaho batholith – the largest monolithic chunk of granite in North America. The river has carved into the granite and created towering walls for neck-bending panoramas. Further downstream we stop to hike to the base of Veil Falls, a soul-stirring cavern replete with pictographs and magic. Today’s scenery is truly among the most astounding on earth.

As we push off from shore the river takes us past the former hideout of Earl Parrot, Hermit of Impassable Canyon. His story is as big as the canyon and adds just one more thread of wonder to your Middle Fork experience. As the sun breaks over the canyon rim, more big rapids greet us as we pass beneath vistas of staggering dimensions.

We stop to enjoy lunch on a glistening sand beach just a few miles above the Middle Fork's confluence with the Main Salmon. We proceed onto our takeout, carry personal gear to the waiting bus and settle back for a two-hour ride to the town of Salmon. Enjoy a hot shower and change of clothes then meet your guides for ROW’s hosted farewell dinner.

Pre-Trip Travel Information

There are many travel options to consider in planning your Idaho rafting vacation. Simply give us a call and we’ll arrange everything for you.

(While this is a typical itinerary, every trip is unique. Water levels, as well as the campsites we are assigned by the U.S. Forest Service, vary week to week. This itinerary is meant to give you a snapshot of the trip but should not be considered an exact itinerary. Extreme high water or low water trips begin at Indian Creek—a 25-minute flight from Stanley, ID.)

How to Get to Stanley
You have two choices to get to Stanley. You can either FLY or DRIVE. (1) Air taxi transport to/from Boise is available for around $350 per person. Please call Salmon Air at 800-448-3413 to make these reservations. (2) You can drive to Stanley and shuttle your car to the takeout point in Salmon for about $90. If low or high water requires a flight into Indian Creek, there is an extra charge of $105 per person.

If 3 or more people are traveling together, it may be more economical to rent a car in Boise and drive 2.5 hours to Stanley before the trip. The rental car would then be shuttled north while you are on the river at a cost of $90. Then once we are off the river and in the town of Salmon you drive about 5.5 hours back to Boise. So, if you have plenty of time this is a good option. Contact River Shuttles at 1-800-831-8942.

Where and When to Meet
Arrive in Stanley by 7:00pm MST to meet ROW’s team leader at the Mountain Village Inn for a one-hour orientation meeting. We'll answer any last-minute questions and provide waterproof bags for your gear. Dinner on your own. You could schedule some time at the hotel’s private hot spring (reserve when checking in).

Where to Stay
Day Prior to Departure:
Stanley, ID
Mountain Village Lodge Corner of Hwy 21 & 75
Stanley, ID 83238

Last Day of Trip:
Salmon , ID
Stagecoach Inn
201 Hwy 93 North
Salmon, ID 83467

Post-Trip Travel Information

On the last day, we typically get off the river around 2:00 PM . Our trip will end at Cashe Bar where a motor coach will return you to Salmon, ID by 5:00 PM.