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Main Salmon River, ID
Salmon River 13-Day Full Salmon Trip
13 days / 12 nights
Thirteen days on the Salmon
Camping Trips
Class II
Class III
Class IV
OVERVIEW
Thirteen days on the Salmon
More miles of the Salmon than any other trip, from the River of No Return to the Lower Salmon, fully guided.
13 days / 12 nights
Duration
12
+
Min Age
Camping Trips
Trip Style
DATES
Upcoming Dates
Mon
23
Rogue River Lodge
8:00 AM
Wed
25
Rogue River Lodge
8:00 AM
Fri
27
Rogue River Lodge
8:00 AM
Highlights
Best Parts of The Trip
- More miles of the Salmon More of the river than any other trip we run, from the River of No Return to the Lower Salmon.
- Two weeks, handled We take care of two weeks of logistics, camps and cooking, so you just show up.
- Deep history Travel through Nez Perce and Shoshone-Bannock country, with pictographs, pit houses, signs of early mountain men and cabins still standing.
- Buckskin Bill's museum Stop at the museum and grab an ice cream in the shade.
- Jet boat finish End with lunch at the confluence and a jet boat ride up the Snake through Hells Canyon.
- No tent setup, no teardown Your tent is up, your sleeping pad is in it and your dry bags are waiting.
INSIDER TIP
From Our Guides
Make sure you see the Buckskin Bill museum, and make sure you do at least one great side hike. Your guides always have one or two really well-structured hikes up to a historical marker, like the Jim Moore cabins, an early gold mining settlement with something like 15 cabins still standing. And bring some cash so you can restock on ice cream and a beer at Buckskin Bill's.
Your boat
Boats on This Trip
ITINERARY
Day by day
Inclusions
What's Included
Guides and gear
- Guides and all river gear
- A duffel bag sized for the flight
Where you sleep
- Tents up before you arrive
- Sleeping pad in your tent
Meals
- All meals and snacks
- Beer or wine, 3 drinks per person per night, and you are welcome to bring more
Getting there
- Flight or jet boat from Riggins to Corn Creek
- The jet boat ride out up the Snake
- All shuttles, Riggins to Riggins
Bring or rent
- Gear that fits in the one duffel we hand out
- Sports sandals or hard-soled wetsuit booties
- Swimsuits, or shorts and tops (no cotton)
- A 1-liter water bottle with a carabiner
- A fleece and a rain jacket
- Sleeping bag and pillow (or rent them from us)
From $3,299
BOOK NOWACCOMMODATIONS
Camping Trips
Nights are a mix of historic lodge rooms and guided riverside camps, depending on the launch.
Rogue River
Lucas Lodge
Sadie Lucas built this lodge around 1912 on a ranch where the Illinois River meets the Rogue, and her family has welcomed guests for seven generations since. Your last night on the river ends here with a prime rib dinner served family style.
See the full stay
Owyhee River
Owyhee Camps
Desert canyon camps on the Owyhee, set below rimrock and red rock spires that light up at sunset.
See the full stay
Lower Salmon River
Lower Salmon Camps
Every camp is a big white sand beach with a good swimming hole, and your tent is up before you arrive.
See the full stayMain Salmon, River of No Return
Main Salmon Camps
Big sandy beach camps under the pines. When you pull in, your tent is already set up, your sleeping pad is in it and your dry bags are stacked and waiting.
See the full stay
Snake River in Hells Canyon
Hells Canyon Camps
Riverside camps below the walls of Hells Canyon. Your tent is up before you arrive, and evenings start with a cold drink under the shade tarps.
See the full stay
Rogue River
Rogue River Camps
Riverside beach camps on the Rogue. Your gear boater runs ahead so camp is ready when you pull in, with tents up and dinner served family style.
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Rogue River
Paradise Lodge
Paradise has the big deck where we do movie night, with lodge cooking and a real bed. Every room has its own hot shower and private bathroom.
See the full stay
Rogue River
Black Bar Lodge
Black Bar sits right on the water. You pull in at the end of Day 1 to a home-cooked dinner and a real bed, and every room has its own hot shower and private bathroom.
See the full stay
Food & Drink
What To Expect During Meal Time
Coffee is always out well before breakfast. While you relax, the guides pack up shop and load the boats, and we launch between 9 and 10. Healthy snacks are out all day on the water, granola bars, trail mix, fruit snacks, apples and oranges, so you are never going to go hungry on a trip.
When you pull into camp your tent is already set up, your sleeping pad is in it and your dry bags are stacked and waiting. Shade tarps are out, there is always a beach game going, and iced tea and lemonade are ready. A lot of people drag their chair down to the river, sit in it and crack a cold one.
Appetizers come out before dinner. Charcuterie boards, crostini, steamed mussels with toasted pita, bruschetta and artichoke hearts, Dutch oven nachos. Our rule of thumb is to serve dinner right after the sun goes behind the canyon brim, sometimes 6 o'clock and sometimes 8, because no one really has much of an appetite when the sun is shining overhead. The guides plate every meal through the serving line and we all sit down and have supper together. Dessert comes out as it gets dark, cobblers, cakes, a s'mores charcuterie board, or the river staple, pineapple upside down cake. We make a big deal out of the flip. If it comes out perfect, everyone cheers. If it does not, everyone boos.
After dessert about half the group heads to bed and the guides stay up and entertain. Some bring instruments, some tell stories, and there are always cards and the library box full of river books, wildlife books and geology books for the stretch you are on. We will have a campfire if we are able to. Most of the summer, late June to mid-September, we cannot, so s'mores happen over the glowing Dutch oven coals.
Meeting Logistics
Where & When To Meet
Arrive in Riggins the evening before your launch. Meet us at our shop, 1512 North Main in Riggins, at 7:00 PM MT for a meet and greet. Book your night at Salmon Rapids Lodge in Riggins (208-628-2743) and ask for the outfitter rate. You can park there for the trip. All of our Idaho trips run on Mountain Time.
The closest airports are Boise and Lewiston. From there, rent a car and drive to Riggins, about 3.5 hours from Boise and 2 hours from Lewiston. We do not run an airport shuttle.
On Day 1 we fly or jet boat you to the Corn Creek boat ramp, where your guides are rigged and waiting.
The trip ends like our Lower Salmon trip. After lunch at the confluence of the Salmon and the Snake, you ride the jet boat about an hour and fifteen minutes up the Snake through Hells Canyon to Pittsburg Landing. From there it is about an hour and fifteen minutes by van back to your vehicle in Riggins, arriving around 4:00 PM MT.
TRAVEL
Getting there
Arrive in Boise mid-morning the day before launch. OTT flies the group to Salmon that afternoon.
Meeting point
Boise, then charter to Salmon
Boise the day before launch. Charter flight to Salmon around 1:30 PM. The trip ends in Lewiston.
How to get there
Fly into Boise (BOI)
Arrive mid-morning the day before launch for the afternoon charter to Salmon.
Fly out of Lewiston (LWS)
You fly out of Lewiston the day after takeout.
Airport transfer
OTT flies Boise to Salmon the afternoon before launch. The trip ends in Lewiston.
The Lewiston hotel has a free airport shuttle for the flight out the next day.
CONDITIONS
What to expect
Weather
On the Main Salmon, June averages run highs around 75 and lows around 45, and July runs highs around 90 and lows around 60. Lower in the canyon it gets hotter, and by late July you get warm mornings and nights and hot afternoons, with highs in the 90s.
Whitewater Levels
Class II to IV. The whitewater is not the huge selling point out here, even though it is some of the best we run in Idaho, 100 percent. You get mellow Class II days and Class III and IV days where it is boom, boom, boom, one rapid after another, and six or seven of those rapids were not even there 15 years ago. The river is always changing. The right people for this trip want to get out and learn, want to see dramatically changing canyons for 80 miles on the Main, and want their days broken up by awesome whitewater.
After the Main, the Riggins stretch adds a scenic, relaxing day and a day of good whitewater. The Lower Salmon finishes the trip with big, high-volume, straightforward wave trains, up to Class IV and never more.
It is a great trip for young to late teenage kids to build up confidence in a paddle. In the inflatable kayak they just go for it. In the paddle raft there is still a lot of big whitewater, broken up by a lot of calmer, easier water.
Seasonal Variability
June to July, and we only run this trip rarely. Depending on flow, it sometimes runs 14 days instead of 13. In June the hillsides are greener and the water is bigger. Late June and early July trips usually see bigger waves, and later in July the rapids soften and the water gets warmer.
PACKING
What to Bring
Pack light. If we fly you to Corn Creek, it is on small planes, so everything you bring has to fit in the one duffel we hand out at the meet and greet. That duffel is your size and weight limit.
On the river
- Three swimsuits, or shorts and a top, no cotton
- Sports sandals or hard-soled wetsuit booties
- Synthetic paddling gloves if you plan to kayak
- A wide-brimmed hat or ball cap
- A polypro, synthetic or hydro-skin shirt
- A 1-liter water bottle with a carabiner
- Waterproof sunscreen
- Two pairs of sunglasses with croakies
- Snacks for the kids
In camp
- Two pairs of pants and two pairs of shorts
- Three shirts
- A fleece or sweatshirt
- A rain jacket
- A sleeping bag, or rent one from us
- A pack or travel pillow, or rent one
- A small pack towel
- Insect repellent
- Personal items, kept to a minimum
- A headlamp and a battery pack
Binoculars, because bird watchers go nuts on Idaho trips. Super-soaker squirt guns for the kids and the kids at heart. A different pair of shoes for camp so you can get your feet dry and the sand out of your toes. If you have an allergy that can cause anaphylaxis, bring at least one EpiPen and let your guide know.
REVIEWS
What guests say
POLICIES
Cancellation timeline
90+ days out
Full refund of the trip payment
Minus any non-refundable permit fees.
30–89 days out
50% refund
Date changes may be available if space remains.
Under 30 days
No refund
Weather holds are reviewed case by case.
Refunds depend on how far out you cancel. Weather holds are handled case by case.
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
What time zone are the Idaho trips on?
Mountain Time. Every meeting time on our Idaho and Hells Canyon trips is Mountain Time.
Do I have to set up my own tent?
Not on a guided trip. Idaho trips are fully all-inclusive, with no tent setup, no camp teardown, guides have the tents up with pads inside before you walk into camp. On the Rogue camp trips the gear boater has camp set up ahead of you. On a Row Your Own the tent is yours.
Is alcohol included on Idaho trips?
We will have at least a beer or a glass of wine for you every night, and oftentimes more. If you would like to bring your own, feel free.
Will we see wildlife in Idaho?
Your best odds are bighorn sheep, plus deer, elk, osprey and both bald and golden eagles. Black bears show up mostly in June. On the Main Salmon add mountain goats and a very small chance of a moose. There are no grizzlies on any of our trips, and birders go nuts out here.
Should I bring cash?
On the Lower Salmon, no cash needed. On the Main Salmon, bring a little for ice cream and a beer at Buckskin Bill's.
What if I miss the pre-trip meeting?
Call or text us at 208-630-6668 as soon as you know. We will run the meet and greet checklist with you over the phone, drop your bags at your lodging, and tighten it all up in the morning.
Where do I park in Idaho?
Leave your car at your hotel in Riggins, since shop parking is limited and every hotel in town will let you leave it for the trip. On the Main Salmon we suggest Salmon Rapids Lodge.
Will I be able to use my phone or the internet?
No. There is no cell reception in the canyon and no internet at the lodges. Camp trips are phone-free. Plan on a few days without it.
What is the jet boat ride like?
On the Lower Salmon 4-Day and the Hells Canyon 5-Day you board the jet boat after lunch at the confluence for about an hour and fifteen minutes up the Snake River to Pittsburg Landing, then it is about an hour and fifteen minutes by van back to Riggins. It is cool to see a different river from the downstream perspective going up, and a small taste of Hells Canyon on your way home.
Can we swim?
Yes. In Idaho the water is warm (the later in the season, the better) and every camp has a swimming hole, plus jump rocks at French Creek on the 2-Day. On the Rogue there are swimming holes at the Rogue River Ranch and Paradise Lodge. On the North Umpqua you will swim whether you meant to or not.
Do we go into Riggins on the 13-day trip?
No. When we reach Riggins, we swap the gear boats and most of the crew, and your trip leader stays with you. You stay on the river the whole way.
MORE TRIPS
Our Most Booked Trips
|
4 days
|
Class
Hike the Rogue River Trail with a daypack, sleep in the lodges, and let the raft carry everything else.
|
3 days
|
Class
Run the Rogue River Trail lodge to lodge with a light vest while the raft carries your bags.
