Idaho’s Salmon River Canyon
Offers one of the world’s ultimate wilderness whitewater rafting trips. Come with us, on the River of No Return. We’ll spend a week, just a few of us, drifting down the Salmon, through one of the deepest canyons in America. No telephones, no traffic. We’ll float through pools so quiet you can only hear the canyon wrens…and we’ll run some of the biggest whitewater in the Northwest. We’ll pick apples where Jim Moore made moonshine during the last goldfish. We’ll watch a trout rise to the fly. We’ll camp on sandbars and watch as bighorn sheep come down for a drink. We’ll have a drink while the fire burns down just right for steaks, and biscuits bake in the Dutch oven. We’ll relax around the campfire as we listen to the River of No Return.
Salmon River Whitewater Rafting Trips are for Everyone
Of all ages from beginner to expert on the Middle Fork of the Salmon River, Main Salmon River and Lower Canyons of the Salmon River, with Aggipah River Trips. Choose a relaxing float, an on-the-edge whitewater trip, or something in between. We look forward to hosting your unforgettable Salmon River vacation.
The Main Salmon River through the River of No Return Wilderness section
Offers excellent Idaho white water rafting, providing some of the best white water in Idaho. With more sand beaches, warmer water, and more moderate rapids than the Middle Fork, the Main Salmon River rafting is an excellent trip for families with grade school age kids. It is also more suitable for inflatable kayaks. Group size is is limited, usually 8-12 people, and charter trips can be arranged throughout the summer. Our nicest camps are on the Main Salmon River, mostly sandbars. We can also offer a trip on the Main Salmon with no camping, staying in lodges each night.
Learn more about the Main Salmon River
The Middle Fork of the Salmon River
Is often considered the best whitewater rafting trip in Idaho. Challenging whitewater, isolated wilderness canyon, excellent fly fishing, hot springs, Indian pictographs, wildlife, combine to provide lifetime memories. Access to the Middle Fork of the Salmon is limited by Forest Service regulation, with a limit of 24 passengers per group. On early or late season trips, however, group size is smaller, and Aggipah can arrange charter trips then. For those who prefer to break up five nights of camping, we can arrange for you to spend a night or two in a riverside lodge with sheets and showers. Trout fishing while rafting Middle Fork of Salmon is very good, especially later in the season after the water drops. We can provide special fishing trips using McKenzie drift boats or two-person rubber boats.
Learn more about the Middle Fork of the Salmon River
The Lower Gorge of the Salmon River
has whitewater similar to the Main Salmon River, though rapids are less frequent. Water temperature is warmer for swimming, into the 70s by mid-summer, with beautiful sand beaches. Small mouth bass fishing is good in late summer and early fall. Because of its low elevation, the Lower Salmon is most pleasant in September after the summer heat has past. It is an excellent extended weekend trip. In early October Lower Salmon river rafting offers a very interesting sportsman’s trip, with steelhead, sturgeon, smallmouth bass fishing, and chukar partridge hunting overlaying a back-country whitewater trip.
Learn more about the Lower Gorge of the Salmon River
Best months for each section of the Salmon River:
June - September | Late April - August | August - Mid October |
|---|---|---|
| Middle Fork of the Salmon River | Main Salmon River Rafting | Lower Salmon River Rafting |
White Water Rafting Trips Daily Routine
We do not have a rigid river rafting schedule, but vary stops according to the interest of the group. We have breakfast about 7:30-8:00, get on the river about 9:30, stop on a sand bar for lunch and make camp on the river bank around 4:00-5:00. We may stop to look at old prospector’s cabins, pan gold, pick berries, fish, look at Indian pictographs, soak in hot springs, or scout a rapid. During July and August daytime temperatures are usually quite warm, and swimming is popular. We spend more time floating the Salmon River in late summer, as current speed slows, than in the faster water of July.
A Typical Day on the Salmon River:
- First-class, freshly prepared meals
- Explore old prospector’s cabins and pan for gold
- Soak in the sun on sandy beaches and swim in the Salmon River
- Fly-fish for world-famous Cut-throat trout
- Hike to a waterfalls and photograph spectacular scenery
- Inspect Indian pictographs, and ponder the myth of the “River of No Return”
- Pick berries and soak in natural hot springs
- Scout a rapid and run world-class whitewater on raft, kayak or drift boat
- Unwind after your day in our comfortable sandbar camps or riverside lodges
This is the Vacation You’ve Been Looking For!
Our river guides are knowledgeable, experienced, and friendly, our rafting equipment is state of the art and our comfortable campsites along the Salmon River are breathtaking. Idaho white water rafting scenery is unmatched. We will entice you with unforgettable meals. With three sections of the Salmon River to choose from, Aggipah River Trips ensures fun for all ages, a great river rafting vacation!
Confused by the variety of trips and times? Let us help match a trip to your interests.