Middle Fork & Main Salmon River Rafting CME

The itinerary below is subject to change based on factors such as weather. Internal flight schedules are also subject to change. Overnight in Stanley is not included.

JUNE 11-15 We meet this morning at 8am at the MFRE warehouse and depart 1-½ hours by bus to the river. You can leave your car parked at the MFRE warehouse in Stanley during the trip. Upon launching our rafts at Boundary Creek, 6000 feet above sea level, you’ll enter an enchanted forest of fir and spruce that scents the high mountain air. Sparkling clear waters careen through boulder-choked rapids with names such as Sulpher Slide, The Chutes, Velvet Falls, Powerhouse, Pistol Creek and Tappan Falls. Stops at mountain hot springs and pioneer homesteads provide the perfect balance to the on-river excitement. Evenings find us eating gourmet river meals relaxing by the campfire, playing horseshoes and listening to the river and watching for shooting stars!

As we drop in elevation, the river widens and the spruce forest opens to vistas of pine-studded mountains and we enter Impassible Canyon, where no trails can be cut as the sheer walls go up over 3,000 feet. This section of river is deeper than Grand Canyon. We will navigate fun whitewater such as Haystack, Bernard, Earthquake Rock, Jack Creek, Cutthroat Cove, Redside and Weber rapids. Between rapids, you’ll drift quietly over deep pools of transparent water, home to native cutthroat and rainbow trout. Hikes underneath Waterfall Creek and up to Veil Falls are highlights for many of our guests.

The last day on the Middle Fork has some of the best and biggest rapids of the trip, including Hancock and Rubber rapids before reaching the confluence with the Main Salmon. We run Cramer Creek Rapids before waving to the normal Middle Fork take-out and we continue downstream past the normal put-in point for the Main Stem. We will encounter also Killum, Gun Barrel and Alder rapids today, which are all fun class III wave trains. We plan on taking a dip in Barth Hot Springs before heading to camp. This is one of the finest hot springs anywhere with incredible views of the river from above.

JUNE 16 Big rapid day: exciting rapids like Black Creek, Bailey, 5 Mile, Split Rock, Big Mallard, Elkhorn and Growler rapids, historical sites such as Yellowpine Bar, Campbell’s Ferry, Buckskin Bill’s homestead, Jim Moore’s place (maybe you’ll find the fortune he buried in the hillside. We may stop and visit with several families that live along the river year round and they will share their stories of living “off the grid” in the wilderness and take us on a tour of their homesteads. Visit with Sue and Greg Metz at Yellow Pine homestead, Doug and Phyllis Tims at Campbells Ferry homestead and Five Mile Bar, the home of the river's most famous resident "Buckskin Bill". Hike up Indian Creek to visit very rare 2,000 year old Yew trees, also called the immortal tree, which the Plains Native Americans used to make longbows from the wood.

JUNE 17 We float for ~20 miles this morning and run challenging rapids like Chittam and Vinegar Creek and arrive at the take-out at Carey Creek around 12 noon. We will do lunch at the boat ramp and take a school bus to McCall about 2 hours away. We can drop you off at your vehicle you had shuttled to McCall from Stanley or we can drop you off for a 3pm flight to Boise or back to Stanley thru Sawtooth Flying Service. ‭They can be reached at (512) 657-9115‬.

If you choose to shuttle your rig and not fly please arrange with River Shuttles to shuttle your vehicle from the MFRE Warehouse to McCall. The cost is ~$300/car and $50 gas deposit. Please make the reservation for this immediately after booking your trip to be sure they have enough drivers to do your shuttle. www.rivershuttles.com