Outfitters predict a fun-filled summer season on Idaho rivers
BOISE — The Norwegian Snow God Ullr finally woke up in January and the Idaho mountains made a strong comeback through the winter of 2023-24 to bring us to near-normal snowpack levels in most river basins.
The Owyhee River went off the charts at 200% of normal and the Lochsa will have fewer scary whitewater peaks with less snow, officials said this week.
“To me, it feels like it’s going to be a perfectly average year with the snowpack we have and the water levels expected,” said Steve Zettel, owner of Idaho Wilderness Company, which runs trips on the nationally famous Middle Fork Salmon River. “You can’t beat average on the Middle Fork — that’s as good as it gets.”
“Considering the predictions with the El Niño winter, I thought we are coming out better than expected quite honestly,” said Colin Hughes, owner of Hughes River Expeditions, which offers trips on the Selway, Middle Fork Salmon, Main Salmon-River of No Return section and the Lower Salmon River. “I think we lucked out a little bit.”
“All signs for me point to a great season,” adds Erik Weiseth, owner of Orange Torpedo Trips in Riggins. Orange Torpedo runs trips on the Main and Lower Salmon, Riggins day stretch on the Salmon, Owyhee, Rogue and Klamath rivers in Idaho and Oregon. “Perfectly average is definitely a great level for the summer season.”
Every spring and summer, Idaho is a major go-to destination for whitewater rafting on nationally renowned rivers like the Middle Fork, Salmon River, Hells Canyon of the Snake River, Selway River and other gems like the Lochsa, Payette, Owyhee, Bruneau and Murtaugh section of the Snake, Moyie and St. Joe rivers.
On multi-day trips lasting up to a week, guests enjoy running whitewater rapids, Dutch oven gourmet meals, relaxing and camping on white sandy beaches and being unplugged deep inside the Idaho wilderness.
With robust snowpacks in the Owyhee and Bruneau river basins, and 70-degree spring weather underway, outfitters already have started their trips on those rivers this season. “The Owyhee is going to be epic this year, and a really long season,” Weiseth noted.
Killgore Adventures and River Adventures, jet boat outfitters who offer trips on the Salmon River and in Hells Canyon, are expecting a great summer season. “We’re hoping to have our busiest season yet,” said Amanda Riger with Killgore. “We just bought three new jet boats and we purchased the Salmon River Lodge in Riggins and Kirby Creek Lodge in Hells Canyon, so we’re all set up to take people for unforgettable river adventure.”
Rich Friend, owner of River Adventures in Riggins, agrees that it’ll be an average water year, “business as usual,” he said.
People are signing up for the "Bass Blast” fishing derby in Hells Canyon in May, with individual prizes for winners. “The fishing is really, really good for bass. May is a phenomenal fishing month in Hells Canyon,” he said.
On the Lochsa River, boatable flows are happening now.
“We’re looking forward to another great river season,” said Gia Fairchild, owner of Lewis & Clark Adventures. “Normal is what we like. Montana had a skinnier winter than Idaho, so we feel fortunate to have good boatable flows in Idaho. We’re still booking trips in May and early June.”
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Steve Stuebner writes for Conservation the Idaho Way on a regular basis.