The Canyons raft trip is the perfect combination of adventure and relaxation. It is truly the ideal whitewater rafting trip for families, combining just the right amount of exciting whitewater, swimming, games and relaxing on the beaches. The Salmon River is the largest UN-dammed river in the lower 48 states giving it an abundance of pristine white sand beaches great for play and overall camp quality. This rafting trip boasts the warmest water, the fewest bugs and the biggest beaches.
The Lower Gorge of the Salmon River raft trip terminates in Hells Canyon on the Snake River the deepest canyon in N. America. The geological diversity will amaze as you pass through spectacular landscapes, steep granite walls, and metamorphosed volcanic gorges with columnar basalt formations. Your guides will interpret history of the Nez Perce Indians and the pictographs along the river. You will also visit Chinese pit dwellings, abandoned homesteads, and old mining claims.
An orientation at the river’s edge on safety and river etiquette will take place while your personal gear is loaded to boats. After a few miles of fun roller coaster style rapids a tasty lunch stop on a sandy beach will help you take in the Salmon River Canyons. At about 4pm “river time” camp will be waiting after you have had several miles of river fun. Your tent will be ready and your sleeping pad inflated when you arrive. Splash with the kids, build a real sand castle, play a game or chat with the other adults as the kids are entertained by one of the guides. Enjoy Hors d’oeuvres about an hour before the main dinner course is served.
Our morning spread will be out at 6:00am that will include coffee, tea, coco and all your favorite fixins, breakfast is served around 8:000am. Pack up your personal gear while the guides make the kitchen disappear into back on the gear boat. Enjoy a leisurely morning at camp, playing with the kids, going fishing or soaking up a book from our river library. At about 9:30am, the boats depart for a day of family fun on the river. Learn about more historical sites, the geography of the river and watch your kids faces as they ride the rapids.
Snow Hole Canyon – is filled with lofty waves and rapids with names like “Lorna’s Lulu, Bunghole, the Gobbler, and Bodacious Bounce. The memories made on this day are filled with rapids that will last for a lifetime. Add to this the Offsprey and Eagles soaring overhead and the rustic cabins of early settlers and you’ve just realized you have escaped the ordinary and entered the extraordinary only mother nature can bring. At camp you’ll see familiar games on the beach like horseshoes, volleyball, boccee and frisbee but we also have a few MRO river games your sure to love. Enjoy the wildlife and scenery through the afternoon before camping for the night on one of the largest sandy beaches of any river canyon. A campfire after dinner and an astronomy lesson are the perfect bedtime rituals to create the family time for which this trip is known.
You may swim a gentle rapid with the kids just before you enter a Canyon where indigo colored igneous rock creates a majestic appearance and large rapids. The pace of the river picks up as it enters the Devil’s Slide, Sluice Box and Eye of the Needle rapids.
The Salmon “River of No Return” you’re family has loved joins with the mightier flow of the Snake River at the lower end of colossal Hell’s Canyon. Riding on twice the flow, there are some big waves on the Snake River, Oregon and Idaho share the Snake River as a boundary line between the two states. A final big lunch is shared, along with group photos before loading on the jet boat for the ride up Hells Canyon to Pittsburgh landing on the Snake river then a short van shuttle back to Riggins.
We provide EVERYTHING you’ll need except, of course, personal clothing and toiletry items. The night before your launch date you will receive your MRO duffel, personal dry bag and large camp bag with sleeping bag and pillow at the pre-trip orientation. Our exceptional back country accommodations and gourmet river kitchen insures our clients the best river trip experience available. The truth is that you don’t have to rough it to be able to enjoy the beauty and excitement of Idaho’s wild and scenic rivers. Let our professional guides pamper you and your family while enjoying the serenity of the canyon and the thrill of the whitewater.
All of MRO Lower “Canyons” Rafting Trips include Jet Boat ride through Hells Canyon to Pittsburgh landing where your just an hour back to Riggins. The jet boat tour gives you much more time to relax and enjoy the Salmon River eliminating the unpopular last 20 miles on the Snake River to Heller Bar.
Idaho’s Premier Wilderness Outfitter – Escape …the Ordinary!
Jess and Brenda Baugh owners/operators of Mountain River Outfitters, LLC., Dba S&S River Outfitters and Salmon River Tours Co. operates under several USFS and BLM special use permits for Salmon Challis National Forest North Fork Ranger District, Hells Canyon National Recreation Area Wallowa Whitman National Forest, Nez Perce National Forest, BLM Lower Salmon River Cottonwood Field Office. Mountain River Outfitters and Salmon River Tours are insured, licensed and bonded outfitters by the State of Idaho’s IOGLB and are equal opportunity recreation service providers and employers.
