Family Magic White Water Rafting Trip

See full itinerary and trip details here

Travel to Lewiston, Idaho, and meet ROW’s Team Leader and our River Jester™ at the Hells Cayon Grand Hotel at 7:00 pm PST for a one-hour orientation meeting to answer last-minute questions. You'll also receive your waterproof gear bags. Dinner is on your own.

ACCOMMODATION : Hells Canyon Grand Hotel (Not Included in trip cost) - Make your reservations early

MEALS INCLUDED : None

Nez Perce National Historical Park

Meet your team leader at 7:30am for a two-hour bus ride to the rafting trip launch point near Whitebird, Idaho. On the way we'll stop briefly at the Nez Perce National Historical Park for an introduction to the native peoples who lived along the Salmon River for thousands of years. Today many celebrate their heritage by living on the Nez Perce Reservation near the Clearwater and Salmon rivers. By mid-morning we arrive at our launch point. Summer here is typically dry and hot, with daytime temperatures in the 90’s and nights in the 60’s.

Before launching on family rafting trips, ROW staff prepares you with a thorough safety briefing while personal gear is loaded. The briefing covers how to ride in a raft, how to paddle, how to swim through rapids, and other tips for the days ahead. Once this is complete everyone chooses a raft - paddle, oar-powered or inflatable kayak - and climbs aboard.

The Salmon River Canyons is a trip with “pool and drop” characteristics. This means there's a long pool of calm water followed by a rapid. Today we run great introductory rapids that give a fun, roller coaster ride.

When we stop for lunch, some guides prepare the meal while others give a “camp orientation” to explain how we minimize our impact on the river. ROW adheres to "Leave No Trace" camping ethics, so you'll learn where to wash up, how the toilet system works, where to brush your teeth, place trash, etc. Then it’s time to make a sandwich and enjoy the open-air dining experience.

Around 4:00pm we arrive at camp with plenty of free time for hiking, fishing, reading or just relaxing. ROW’s River Jester™ will have fun activities planned for the children. This might be a short nature hike, a game at the river’s edge, or an arts and crafts project. Or kids can simply build sand castles and play in the water.

Parents are welcome to join in, or to relax in their own way. Hors d’oeuvres are served around 6:00pm along with the kids’ dinner. The adult's dinner is served around 7:30 and kids are welcome to join. After dinner a campfire is lit and an evening of laughter and fun begins. As the night sky darkens we’ll offer an astronomy lesson or story to send everyone to bed with sweet dreams.

ACCOMMODATION : Beach Camping

MEALS INCLUDED : L, D

Green Canyon

You'll wake around 7:00am to the smell of fresh-brewed coffee and tea. Breakfast is served around 7:30, and while we clean up the kitchen, you pack up your personal gear. We depart camp about 9:30 for today's rafting adventure. Plenty of rapids, sun and dramatic scenery await you on an adventure-packed day of family white water rafting. Of historic interest, we stop to visit a Native American rock art site, left by the original inhabitants of this rugged land. These were the predecessors of today’s Nez Perce tribe, and were once the most populous tribe in the Pacific Northwest. Their original homeland covered millions of acres and included settlements along the Salmon, Snake and Clearwater rivers.

From these rivers they caught thousands of salmon that were both a part of their food supply as well as spiritual nurturing. During the cooler months of the year they lived in “pit houses” along this section of the Salmon River and we see evidence of these on our journey down the river. As we visit these sites and study their art, we can only wonder what life must have been like for them in past centuries.

Soon after, the river enters “Green Canyon” and we hoot and holler through the exciting rapids of Wright Way Drop and Demon’s Drop. We stop for lunch on a big beach, perfect for swimming and beach games. The afternoon has a few more rapids, peaceful drifting and the chance of seeing soaring eagles. Tonight we camp on a huge white sand beach, and after dinner we enjoy the evening campfire and marvel at the star-studded sky.

ACCOMMODATION : Beach Camping

MEALS INCLUDED : B, L, D

Cougar Canyon, Snowhole Canyon 

Today your rafting holiday takes you through “Cougar Canyon” and “Snowhole Canyon” for full day of whitewater rafting fun. Big, splashy rapids like Lorna’s Lulu, Bunghole, the Gobbler, Bodacious Bounce, Snowhole and China make for great stories and beaming smiles.

One of the curious bits of human history unique to Idaho and the lower reaches of the Salmon River is the story of the Chinese miners who came here around 1864. Gold was discovered in 1861 and Chinese miners worked or provided support services for the mining camps. By 1870, 25 percent of Idaho's population was Chinese. In the 1880’s some set up placer mining camps along this stretch of the Salmon River.

Using simple hydraulics and hard labor they moved tons of earth to find gold. In their camps, they built small rock houses, which remain today as amazing testimony to their skill and endurance. After a full day of learning and fun, we arrive in camp. The hot weather and warm water invite everyone in for a swim.

Our guides have a bagful of games and fun for kids and adults, and this evening we may set up a volleyball net, play horseshoes or hike up a nearby mountain for stunning views. Summer evenings in Idaho are long, with darkness arriving after 9:30pm in July and early August. The night sky, crackling campfire and fresh mountain air will help you sleep like a baby.

ACCOMMODATION : Beach Camping

MEALS INCLUDED : B, L, D

Cottonwood Creek, Blue Canyon

More fun rapids and incredible scenery. We may see playful river otters swimming and frolicking. At Cottonwood Creek the more adventurous might jump in and swim a rapid! We might hike to the old Reeves' homestead at Wapshilla Creek, named for a Nez Perce family who lived in the area. Jackson Sundown, a Nez Perce who was in the famous Nez Perce flight of 1877, married Cecilia Wapsheli and worked at the Reeves’ ranch. In 1916, at the age of 53, he won the Pendleton Round-Up world championship rodeo.

Those fishing will continue to find bass and trout and birdwatchers are likely to spot golden eagles and falcons. Home and worries will seem a thousand miles away. River time has settled into our rhythm and our souls.

After lunch we enter “Blue Canyon,” named for the bluish/black tone of the igneous rock that forms the dramatic landscape. Here the river is forced into a narrower channel and a long series of cascading rapids treats us. We'll bounce through Devil’s Slide, Sluice Box, Checkerboard and Eye of the Needle. These rapids are the perfect finale to your Salmon River journey. We make camp near the Salmon's confluence with the Snake River. It’s our last night on the river and we'll camp on another expansive white sand beach. These natural beaches can only be found on an undammed river where ground-up rock is free to travel as sediment downriver, settling to create these beautiful oases of glistening sand. When a river is dammed, the dam traps sediment behind its concrete walls and robs beaches of sand rather than replenishing them.

ACCOMMODATION : Beach Camping

MEALS INCLUDED : B, L, D

Snake and Salmon Confluence

If we didn’t arrive yesterday, today we'll see the confluence of the Salmon and Snake Rivers. This is a powerful place where the legendary Salmon “River of No Return” ends its journey and mingles with the waters of the mighty Snake River at the lower end of Hells Canyon. Once we enter the Snake we’re floating on twice the volume of water as the Salmon alone. The Snake forms state boundaries, and from this point on we have Idaho on our right and Oregon or Washington on the left, depending on location. There are some big waves and big rides and also some long stretches of flat water.

As we travel downstream, we'll see the original Nez Perce trail descending down the canyon to a ford used for centuries by the Nez Perce as they traveled east from the Wallowa Mountains (in today’s northeast corner of Oregon).

We stop for another fine lunch on a sandy beach and put on a big smile for the group photo. A few more miles of magnificent scenery and then around 3:00 pm we reach our take-out just below the Snake River's confluence with the Grande Ronde River. Gear is untied and everyone carries their personal gear to the waiting bus.

It’s a quick 45-minute ride back to the town of Lewiston, Idaho. Depart the next morning to head home, or continue on to your next adventure.

Travel information for the next morning: If you drove to Lewiston your car is waiting for you at the hotel. If you flew, take the hotel shuttle to the Lewiston airport or a taxi to the Spokane airport.

ROW Inc. is proud to be an Equal Opportunity recreation service provider under permit from the Bureau of Land Management. Our Salmon River Canyons trips are operated under permit from the Cottonwood Resource Area of the BLM. ROW Inc. is bonded and fully licensed by the State of Idaho Outfitters and Guides Licensing Board.

ACCOMMODATION : Hells Canyon Grand Hotel (Not Included in trip cost) - Make your reservations early

MEALS INCLUDED : B, L

Departure

If you drove to Lewiston your car is waiting for you at the hotel. If you flew, take the hotel shuttle to the Lewiston airport or a taxi to the Spokane airport.