Main Salmon River Rafting on the River of No Return
Whitewater Rafting in Idaho with O.A.R.S
Highlights
- Run exciting Class III Salmon River rapids like Killum and Gunbarrel
- Explore Buckskin Bill's homestead and search for lost treasure at Jim Moore's place
- Soak in the mesmerizing Salmon River canyon - the second deepest gorge in North America
Full Description
This river rafting trip is a popular adventure vacation that includes fun rapids for rafting and inflatable kayaking, hiking, beautiful sand beaches and wooded campsites. There’s a hot spring, too!
Featuring miles upon miles of protected wilderness where little has changed since first appearing on the U.S. map, the Main Salmon River in Idaho offers a rich river experience including free-flowing Class III scenic Idaho whitewater that’s great for any age and experience level. This Idaho rafting adventure includes big sandy beaches perfect for camping and playing, beautiful mountain scenery, abundant wildlife and a natural hot spring. On the Main Salmon River, we run the full gamut of O.A.R.S.’ river vessels so you can experience them all! Riding in an oar boat one day and a wooden dory the next, then challenging the whitewater hands-on in a paddle raft or inflatable kayak, ensures a diverse and exciting Idaho river adventure for each member of your party. Dubbed the “River of No Return” by early prospectors, the Salmon River is a river you’ll want to return to raft, again and again.
Includes:
- Skilled professional guide service
- 4 or 5 nights catered camping
- Meals from lunch on Day 1 through lunch on Day 5 or 6, with limited beer, wine and soda at dinner
- Expedition equipment, including 2-person shared tent, sleeping bag with liner, sleeping pad, pillow with pillow case, ground cloth and waterproof bags to hold your gear
- High quality inflatable rafts and kayaks, colorful handcrafted dories, and related river equipment including paddle, helmet and personal flotation device (PFD)
- Wetsuits and splash jackets for paddlers-weather dependent
- Round trip transfers between McCall airport or local hotel accommodations when flying with McCall Aviation
- Scenic flight from McCall to Salmon
- Transfer from Salmon to the river, and from the river to McCall at the end of the trip
Excludes:
- Transportation to and from McCall, Idaho
- Pre- and post-trip accommodations and meals
- Single supplement tent ($30 plus tax)
- Insurance of any kind, including travel insurance
- Items of a personal nature
- Gratuities
Day by Day Itinerary
Day 1
We'll depart McCall for a scenic flight to Salmon (approximately 55 minutes). Upon arrival, we will drive approximately 2-hours to our put-in at Corn Creek. Along the way, we'll stop at the North Fork Store for fishing permits, lures, and any personal odds and ends that you may have forgotten. Reaching the river late morning, we feel our excitement grow as we see the colorful boats waiting for us and meet the O.A.R.S. crew. After an informative safety talk and some brief paddle raft/inflatable kayak instruction, we're off on our river adventure! The first day's whitewater action includes rapids like Killum and Gunbarrel.
The surrounding scenery immediately transfixes us, and for the duration of our trip, we're mesmerized by the beauty of the Salmon River canyon-the second deepest gorge in North America-and the 3.2 million-acre Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness. This broad canyon is heavily forested with towering pines and conifers and, early in the season, blanketed with vibrant wildflowers. We may be welcomed to the river by a family of otters swimming near our boats, a herd of bighorn sheep scaling a steep canyon wall, a giant elk or moose wading in the shallows, or if we're lucky, a black bear standing sentinel on shore.
Typically a day on the river includes a few hours on the water in the morning, sometimes stopping for a great hike, a visit to a Native American pictograph, historical site or a soak in a natural hot spring. Come lunchtime, we pull over to a sandy beach and enjoy a delicious picnic. After feasting and relaxing on the beach (or perhaps swimming, a game of Frisbee, a nature walk...), we get back in our boats for more floating and exciting whitewater. Be sure to try your hand at the paddleboat and inflatable kayak! Mid- to late-afternoon, we stop and make camp. You grab your bags and set up your tent while we take care of the kitchen and "living room"-camp chairs and the site for tonight's campfire (if permitted). Read, nap, or just sit back and laugh with friends and family as we prepare dinner. After a satisfying feast, the evening is yours to spend however you wish. Maybe music, stories, or jokes will bring us together tonight; maybe the popping of the fire, the whisper of the river and the clarity of the big, star-filled sky will encourage silent reflection on the amazing wilderness that is, for now, our home.
Day 2-4 or 5
As we journey into the pristine heart of the Frank Church Wilderness, each day brings new discoveries: exciting rapids like Salmon Falls, Big Mallard and Growler, historical sites such as Buckskin Bill's homestead and Jim Moore's place (maybe you'll find the fortune he buried in the hillside!), and the much anticipated Barth Hot Springs. Avid hikers may enjoy a challenging climb to Rabbit Point, where the beautiful views are well worth the effort of getting there. The fishing is excellent during these days, and on trips in July and August, warm air and water temperatures encourage frequent refreshing dips in the river.
Day 5 or 6
Today, as the Salmon River begins to parallel the forest service road, we say farewell to the river and our guides and travel by van from the take-out back to McCall, arriving at approximately 5:00 PM. It may be possible to catch a flight to Boise this evening, however, we recommend staying overnight in McCall and flying out the next morning. McCall Aviation offers return flights from McCall to Boise.
About The Operator:
O.A.R.S
Headquarters:
Angels Camp, CA
O.A.R.S. was the first exclusively oar-powered rafting company permitted to operate trips on the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon. Through our four decades in the adventure travel industry, we have become the largest and most diverse family of river-based adventure travel companies in North America, operating on over 1230 miles of rivers in the continental U.S. In addition to our signature Grand Canyon trips, we offer adventure vacations in Alaska, California, Colorado, Idaho, Oregon, Utah and Wyoming, as well as in British Columbia, Chile, Galapagos, Fiji, Baja and Peru. The heart and soul of O.A.R.S.-from president and founder George Wente to the more than 300 dedicated guides and employees on our team-is that we are all genuinely invested in every passenger, every trip and every lifetime memory.
Our Staff
We consider our O.A.R.S. outdoor adventure guides to be among the best in the industry! Some began their river-guiding careers more than 30 years ago; others were born into it. They are entertainers, historians, geologists, botanists, chefs, medics, anthropologists, event planners, authors, photographers, wilderness pathfinders, and they are the single most complimented component of our organization. Our guides are also professional, playful and ever mindful of your wants and needs, and their enthusiasm for the natural world is contagious. Learn about our guides through reading their detailed biographies, experience and interests.
Our Adventure Consultants and our year-round office staff who provide you with all the trip-specific tips, trip planning assistance and adventure travel trip logistical support have more than 100 years of combined experience in the adventure travel industry, as well as close to 1000 river trips between them.
Your O.A.R.S. Adventure Vacation
You concentrate on fun. We brew the coffee, cook the meals, pump the boats, provide the gear, plan the day, find the best camp spot, and we strive to fill each day with excitement, discovery and the attention to detail you deserve. O.A.R.S. provides the best average guide-to-guest ratio in the adventure travel business (1:4).
You do only what you feel like doing. Want to paddle a ‘ducky' or admire the view from the bow of a boat; go on a day hike or stay in camp and read; save room for dessert or have two pieces of seared salmon? Every day is yours to do with as you please.
Camaraderie
Is there any other experience more conducive to creating new, lasting friendships and deepening family bonds than an O.A.R.S. adventure? Our outdoor trips are wonderful equalizers, bringing together like-minded people from diverse backgrounds. Time and again we hear from guests about their joy of having met kindred spirits and new traveling companions. Parents bask in their child's newly-gained confidence in the natural world. Gone are electronic distractions, commutes and deadlines, leaving guests with uninterrupted time to relax, snuggle under the stars, savor a sunset and swap tales around the campfire.
When you join an O.A.R.S. adventure travel trip, you're not just a customer-you are a friend, a member of the crew and an extension of our family-owned and operated company. We'll answer your questions, feed you well, show you a good time and share with you our passion for the world's waterways.
Our Pledge
Outdoor adventure vacations are our specialty, and we work hard to provide our guests with the best travel experience of their lives. If part of your trip under our control wasn't everything you expected, we will work with you to make it right.
Responsible Travel
Environmental stewardship is nothing new to O.A.R.S. We've been at it for four decades. In partnership with our guests, we have contributed more than $3 million in donations and fees toward the preservation of the environment and to environmental and wildlife conservation initiatives. For a detailed account of our environmentally responsible practices, check out our Responsible Travel page.
Don't Just Take Our Word for It
O.A.R.S. has been routinely recognized by adventure industry experts, media and our guests for our commitment to excellence and innovation in travel. In both 2008 and 2009, National Geographic Adventure magazine selected O.A.R.S. as "The Best River & Sea Outfitter on Earth" based on their criteria including education, sustainability, quality of service, spirit of adventure and references. Since 2007, Condé Nast Traveler's Wendy Perrin has recognized our Reservations Manager, Mindy Gleason, as the "Top Travel Specialist" in the River Rafting category for her unique ability to offer O.A.R.S. travelers "the best blend of expertise, access, and good value." Additionally, year after year magazines such as National Geographic Traveler, Outside, Men's Journal and Sunset along with NBC, CNBC, Forbes Traveler and SmarterTravel.com have all recognized O.A.R.S. for serving up some of the "Best Trips on the Planet."