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Browse Our OARS Salmon River Rafting Trips and NOLS Idaho Backcountry Skiing and Backpacking Courses

The River of No Return and Hells Canyon. Demon’s Drop and the Seven Devils. You’d almost think Idahoans invented these place-names to keep their natural assets to themselves.

You won’t blame them, though, when you first come upon Idaho’s Wild and Scenic Salmon River. On this one waterway, you can find adventure in Class IV rapids — and in ripples so calm that children can stand up and paddle board.

The Salmon River is home to some of the nation’s most beautiful inland river beaches and landscapes. Super-sandy and sprawling alongside clear, mellow pools, the Lower Salmon River makes Idaho rafting a feat easily achieved. Or tackle the Salmon River’s more raging personality in places such as Demon’s Drop and Snow Hole; in an oar boat one day and a wooden dory the next. Then challenge the white water (and yourself!) in a paddle raft or inflatable kayak.

Some say, however, when you visit Idaho, a must is rafting Hells Canyon, home to the mighty Snake River and the deepest gorge in North America. Marking the border between Idaho and Oregon, the canyon plunges nearly eight thousand feet between the Seven Devils mountain range to the east and Oregon’s rim country to the west. Through this tremendous gorge, the Snake River’s warm, clear waters yield some of the best big waves and white-water rapids in the Northwest.

Idaho backpacking delivers just as many thrills. The forests and mountains of the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness — the largest single wilderness in the Lower 48 — is home to gray wolves, peregrine falcons, black bears, bighorn sheep, moose, and bald eagles. Follow in the footsteps of mountain men such as Sylvan “Buckskin Bill” Hart and improve your wilderness skills.

Winter Idaho hiking takes you to a whole new realm. Imagine two feet of fresh powder and a sky blanketed in endless stars. In such a snow-covered wonderland, you can learn how to construct snow shelters and travel responsibly in avalanche terrain — important know-how for backcountry skiers and snowboarders who want to venture into untamed areas.

Hell’s Canyon and River of No Return? Let’s just say you’re not one to stay away because of a place-name; and — regarding that second designation — not likely.