Whitewater Rafting on the Salmon River’s Middle Fork
From early June when the runoff in the Salmon River watershed boasts the best whitewater in the country, until late September when the low water is perfect for a laid-back scenic float experience, our Middle Fork of the Salmon River rafting trips offer 6 full days of activities on and off the water. Each day of exhilarating and unforgettable rapids and gorgeous canyon landscapes are framed by full service glamping accommodations and gourmet food.
Here is an overview and what to expect on a typical full day of rafting the Middle Fork of the Salmon River with your friends and family:
- Hot Coffee and Breakfast
- Time to Go Rafting!
- Morning Adventures
- Lunch
- Afternoon Adventures
- Arrive at Camp
- Dinner
- Campfire Festivities
Hot Coffee & Breakfast
You will wake up to the sound of the Middle Fork of the Salmon River gently meandering down the granite riverbed just outside your tent. Solitude’s famous cowboy-style coffee is ready every morning before the sun rises, so if you’re an early riser feel free to join the guides around the morning fire. Witness the first light of a new day as it fills the deep canyon walls, and listen for the birds’ first morning melody. Breakfast is typically served at 8-8:30AM. By this time, the sun is fully shining into the canyon. Your Solitude guides are experts of wilderness gourmet and have created a morning masterpiece – perhaps eggs benedict and cinnamon rolls, beer-battered trout and vegetable omelets, or pancakes and bacon.
Time to Go Rafting!
The most fun craft on the river is the paddle boat, and the greatest feeling is shoving off from camp and letting the river take you into its flow towards new adventures, new camps, new rapids, and new sights. With a guide in the back, you are nestled into the paddle boat with your family and friends. As you begin your morning paddle, the river takes you deeper into the Tappan Canyon, or the Jack Cr. Canyon, or the famous Impassable Canyon – a 7000ft deep masterpiece of geology, hydrology and natural beauty. The rapids are an endless chain of class IIs and class IIIs, with an exhilarating class IV challenging you at least once a day. You’ll soon find out why a wilderness rafting trip on the Middle Fork of the Salmon River is one of the paramount outdoor adventures of North America!
Morning Adventures
A typical morning on the river will be about 3-4 hours, and include one or several riverside adventures on your Middle Fork Salmon River rafting experience. Perhaps we stop at sunflower hot spring for a relaxing dip, or explore Daisy Tappan’s pioneer homestead, or take a short hike to decipher Native American pictographs.
Lunch
We typically stop for lunch at around 1PM, but this could be earlier or later depending on how many miles we have to cover. Every lunch is healthy, hearty and different from the last. We provide an excessive assortment of fruits, salads, sandwiches, meats, cheeses and deserts. Our most popular lunchtime desert is cookies from the Odd Fellows Bakery in Salmon. Lunchtime usually includes about 45 minutes of riverside relaxation, or an opportunity to explore the river trail.
Afternoon Adventures
Every day and every trip is different on your Idaho whitewater rafting trip depending on which camps we are staying at, the different opportunities for off-river adventures in each section of river, and the specific interests and pace of each group. Typically, the afternoon will be 2 more hours of rafting with another off-river activity. In the afternoon you can try the Inflatable Kayak for a more intimate experience with the rapids of the Middle Fork. You could kayak through Tappan Falls, Earthquake Rock, or Jack Creek rapids, feeling every motion of the river in your small craft. We may stop to explore a hidden grotto with an enormous waterfall, or an abandoned hermit’s cabin.
Arrive at Camp
By the time you arrive at camp, you and your family and friends will have completely surrendered to “river time”, a phenomena that occurs on remote wilderness river trips that cause extreme exhilaration and bliss. You will arrive at camp to find your accomodations set up: tents, the dining tables and chairs, the bar, kitchen, shower and bathroom. After settling into your tent, you can find a refreshing beverage and a scrumptious hors d’oeuvre before taking a chair to relax by the river with your best friends. Or, perhaps you are still full of adventure and you decide to toss a bocce ball, strike a powerful yoga pose, or take a fly rod to catch a wild cutthroat trout.
Dinner
By the time the sun has dipped below the steep canyon walls, your guides will have started preparing a feast over an open flame grill and in coal fired dutch ovens. You will eat enormous, juicy all-natural hormone-free pork chops and stir fry, or fried chicken with cornbread, or fajitas with tamales and fresh guacamole. Finally, the gourmet finale is a strawberry vanilla cake, or a chocolate turtle cake, served out of enormous dutch ovens.
Campfire Festivities
Our big warm campfire illuminates camp and everyone will be gathered around to tell stories about the day. After the evening festivities have died down and you can hear the sound of the river seeping into your subconscious, you’ll head back to your tent. The Middle Fork lies in Idaho’s “Dark Sky” zone and you can gaze up at a vibrant night sky with the Milky Way framed by the rugged canyon ridges.
Middle Fork Salmon River Rafting with Solitude River Trips
Solitude River Trips offer the most comfortable, convenient, and unforgettable wilderness Middle Fork Salmon River fly fishing and Idaho whitewater rafting experiences in North America. We are ready to get you out on the Middle Fork of the Salmon River! Our 6-day trips are designed to provide families, friends, lovers, or solo travelers with the most unforgettable and high-quality adventure vacation of their lives. Learn more about our trips or use the form below to contact us with any questions.
