Printer Friendly Middle Fork of the Salmon River

Middle Fork of the Salmon River

Stretch:	Shortly below Dagger Falls to Main Salmon confluence
Difficulty:	Class III at most flows, with two class IV drops (one on Main Salmon)
Distance:	100 miles (including 4 on the Main Salmon), 5 to 8 days
Flows:	700 - 6000 cfs. Current USGS mile 34 gauge
Gradient:	27 fpm overall, 40 fpm initially, 23 fpm below Indian Creek
Put-in:	Boundary Creek Ramp
Take-out:	Ramp at Cache Bar on the Main Salmon
Shuttle:	210 miles (4.5 hours) one-way, some on dirt roads
Season:	spring into late summer, from snowmelt and springs
Written:	© 2006
Featured in Video Twelve.

For information on rafting the Middle Fork of the Salmon please check out (click for link):

Update 2018:

Ledge (III-).

Lunch was had on a straightway on the right side, not a beach though because we were resituating a raft.

Sulfur Slide (III).

Ramshorn (III-).

Velvet Falls (III+).

Powerhouse (III+).

Scout Camp. There is a trail just up the embankment which heads downstream to a hot springs. The main springs are not that great but apparently there are a number of pools below the main one, some of which are classics apparently.

Pistol Creek (III+).

Lunch was had just after Pistol Creek Rapid at the creek itself on the left shore, a nice spot.

Marble Creek (III).

Marble Camp #2. Just down and around the bend from Marble Rapid on the right. A nice camp but camp #1 would be much better for kayaking as it is right at the wave so you can surf up to dinner, then again after, then again in the morning with no hassle at all.

Sunflower Flat. Hot-springs on the right side. Made up of 4 or 5 small pools, the last of which has a bark plank coming out of it making a natural shower for those down at river level.

Jackass Rapids (III-).

Whitey Cox Hot-Springs. On a big bend with a nice large eddy on the right, park on the right beach and hike up to a nice large hot springs.

Cow Camp. On the right bank in a long and narrow stretch. Very cramped camping, but a nice hour hike across a ranch, down to the creek, up the creek and up to a hot springs (Loon). Loon Creek also looked fine to kayak, class II+ or so.

Hospital Bar Hot-Springs. This spring is located on the left side just before a large campground backed by a small hill on the left. If there is highwater this springs wont be there as the source was only 4 feet out of water with 3.8 feet, and the pool was a mere inch out.

Tapan I (II).

Tapan Falls (III+).

Tapan II (II+).

Tapan III (II+).

Camas Creek. Camas Creek comes in on the right side just before a turn, it is a fairly large tributary and has a nice beach just before it. You can hike up the trail (upstream side of the creek) and run this fun class III- creek.

Apareja (III-).

Sheep Creek Camp. Kind of a dry camp, no eddy surface for our off day, the only way we were able to keep ourselves occupied was by hiking up the peak just downstream of the camp. The creek we had hoped was kayakable, but was not.

Flying “B” Ranch. Fill up on reasonably clean water, ice cream, ice and ridiculously expensive beer. Located on the left side of the river.

Haystack (III-).

Jack Creek (III-).

Rattlesnake Cave/Creek has pictographs on the right side of a left turn.

Big Creek. Big Creek comes in on the left. The creek itself has some fun kayaking on it and an easy trail to access it. As far as the surrounding stretch on the Middle Salmon itself, there are numerous III-.

Veil Falls is high up on the right cliff. A “hike” up the boulder field is worth the effort as the view from below the falls is amazing.

Redside (IV-).

Weber (III).

Ship Camp on the left provided a long sandy camp to end our trip with. One of the best on the trip.

Cliffside Upper/Lower (III-).

Rubber Rapid (III+).

Confluence with the Main Salmon River.

Cramer Creek (IV-).

Take out on the right shore at the boat ramp.

View Middle Fork of the Salmon River in a larger map

HTML Comment Box is loading comments...

A Wet State - Home Page