Salmon River

About this place

This is the upper Salmon, Stanley down to North Fork. A long stretch of water with a road beside most of it, so you get the scenery without the walk in.

Highways 75 and 93 run alongside. The towns along it are Stanley, Clayton, Challis, Ellis, Salmon and North Fork.

People raft it, float it, fish it, camp beside it, picnic on it and sit in the hot springs. Look around and you'll see bald eagles, deer, elk and bighorn sheep.

The water is clean and the banks green enough to support dozens of bird and animal species. Three kinds of sea-run fish come up it as well: chinook salmon, sockeye salmon and steelhead.

The river splits into four stretches. The water is different on each one, and so is the office in charge. The Forest Service runs the top stretch, and two Bureau of Land Management field offices run the rest. Work out which one you're on before you plan anything else.

The headwaters down to Torrey's Hole

The top of the river starts inside the Sawtooth National Recreation Area, which the Forest Service runs. This is the roughest water on the whole stretch, class I up to class IV.

Check before you commit to this stretch. Part of it closes every year, from the Sawtooth Hatchery at mile 0 down to Torrey's Hole at mile 21.4. The Sawtooth National Recreation Area will tell you the dates: (208) 727-5000.

Torrey's Hole to Challis Bridge

This stretch runs from mile 21.4 to mile 58.5, managed by the Challis Field Office of the Bureau of Land Management. The water calms right down here, class I and class II.

Get on and off at Torrey's Hole, South Butte, East Fork or Spud Creek, Deadman Hole, Bayhorse and Challis Bridge. The Challis Field Office is on (208) 879-6200.

Challis Bridge to Kilpatrick

This one runs from mile 58.5 to mile 94.7. Still Challis, still class I and class II. This stretch has more ways on and off than any other. If your plans change, this is the easy one: Challis Bridge, Challis Hot Springs, Pennal Gulch, Tappans, Watts Bridge, Cottonwood, Ellis, Deer Gulch, Cronk's Canyon, McKim Creek and Kilpatrick. The phone number is the same, (208) 879-6200.

Kilpatrick to North Fork

The last stretch, mile 94.7 to mile 148.6, run out of the Salmon Field Office. Class I the whole way, so it's the one to take somebody who hasn't done this before.

Get on and off at Kilpatrick, Elk Bend, Waddington Creek, Camp Creek, Elevenmile, Eightmile, Shoup Bridge, Salmon Island Park, Carmen Bridge, Morgan Bar, Tower Rock, Red Rocks, Bobcat Gulch and North Fork. The Salmon Field Office is on (208) 756-5400.

At the boat ramps

Ramps are where arguments start. None of this is difficult.

• On and off the ramp quickly. Rig up somewhere else.
• Park away from the loading area, not across it.
• Give other boats room.
• Steer well clear of fishing lines.
• Keep the noise down going past another party.
• Leave the wildlife alone.

The facts

Cost

Free to camp

Roads around it

Some need four-wheel drive

Stay limit

14 days

Toilet

Yes, vault toilets at the recreation sites

Type

Specific campsite

Managed by

Bureau of Land Management

The roads around this place are not maintained for a regular car. That comes from the Bureau of Land Management, who record the kind of vehicle that uses each route. Those records cover the roads nearby. They do not cover the last stretch in to the campsite, and nobody has checked that part. Treat this as a warning. We are not promising what you will find when you get there. If you have driven it, tell us what it was like and we will say so here.

Rules and restrictions

On the Sawtooth stretch at the top of the river you use the designated put-ins and take-outs. A put-in is where you get a boat into the water. A take-out is where you get it back out. You don't pick your own.

Camping without leaving a mark

• Take every scrap of trash out with you.
• Bring more drinking water than you think you'll need.
• Fires go in a fire pan or on a blanket. Never straight onto the ground.
• Don't cut or break vegetation, living or dead.
• Use the vault toilets at the recreation sites where there are any. Where there aren't any, carry a portable one that seals properly.

Getting there

You reach the river from Highway 75 and Highway 93, in Custer and Lemhi Counties.

Coordinates 44.698481, -114.04844

Open in Google Maps Agency page

What is near here

There is another spot of ours within reach, and some better-known places further out.

• Goldburg Wilderness Study Area 33 miles by road · wilderness · free camping here too Directions
• Big Creek Peak 34 miles by road · mountain Directions
• Flatiron Mountain 34 miles by road · mountain Directions
• Beaverhead crater 40 miles by road · crater Directions
• Borah Peak 54 miles by road · mountain Directions

Every distance on this page is the driving distance. A short distance can still take a long time. The road may be closed for the season, covered in snow, or washed out. Many of these roads are dirt. Plan your route before you leave home. Out here there is often no phone signal to look it up on the way.

Nearest town and supplies

• Challis, ID nearest settlement · 18 miles by road · about 940 people Directions
• Salmon, ID big enough to expect fuel and a shop · 41 miles by road · about 3,300 people Directions

Salmon is big enough that you’d normally expect fuel and somewhere to buy food. Nobody from here has been to check, so don’t count on it if you’re running low.