Guide rowing a raft full of guests through a big rapid on the Main Salmon River

Main Salmon River, ID

Salmon River 13-Day Full Salmon Row Your Own

13 days / 12 nights

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From $3,499
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Thirteen days on your own oars

TRIP TYPE

Row Your Own

Whitewater class

Class II

Class III

Class IV

See all

OVERVIEW

Thirteen days on your own oars

Row your own boat from Corn Creek to Heller Bar, with our guides leading the lines, cooking every meal and a restock in Riggins.

13 days / 12 nights

Duration

12

+

Min Age

Row Your Own

Trip Style

DATES

Upcoming Dates

Mon

23

Rogue River Lodge

8:00 AM

Wed

25

Rogue River Lodge

8:00 AM

Fri

27

Rogue River Lodge

8:00 AM

Highlights

Best Parts of The Trip

  • Rowing experience required This is not a rowing school, and you row your own boat the whole way.
  • Corn Creek to Heller Bar Row the Main Salmon, the Riggins stretch and the Lower Salmon in one trip.
  • Restock in Riggins Around Day 7 we pick you up in our van to restock in town, and some groups take a hotel night.
  • You row, we cook Our guides cook breakfast, lunch and dinner every day and bring the kitchen and toilet.
  • Main Salmon history Pictographs, pit houses, standing cabins and Buckskin Bill's museum, with ice cream.
  • You choose the stops Your group decides each day whether to stop for a history site, a side hike or a swim.

INSIDER TIP

From Our Guides

Share a boat with your friends and family. Having your own space with the people you love on a guided river trip, with all the not-so-fun stuff taken care of for you, is the real magic of this trip.

Your boat

Boats on This Trip

Oared Raft

Oared Raft

Ages 5 and up on Oregon day trips

Your guide rows

Your guide rows, you ride and get splashed

MORE INFO

ITINERARY

Day by day

No items found.

Inclusions

What's Included

Guides and gear

  • The Main Salmon permit
  • Guides for the lines and stops
  • Full camp setup, with the kitchen and toilet

Meals

  • Breakfast, lunch and dinner daily
  • Beer or wine, 3 drinks per person per night, and you are welcome to bring more
  • Plenty of group water at camp

Getting there

  • Van ride into Riggins to restock around Day 7
  • Tow behind our motorized gear boat to Heller Bar

Bring or rent

  • Raft with a rowing frame, 4 oars and a spare oar lock
  • Quality PFDs for everyone (helmets advised)
  • Tents, sleeping bags, pads and camp chairs
  • Any extra drinks and a refillable water bottle
  • A 5-gallon water jug for refills on the water
  • Your own shuttle (we suggest All Rivers Shuttle Service out of White Bird)

From $3,499

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ACCOMMODATIONS

Row Your Own

Nights are a mix of historic lodge rooms and guided riverside camps, depending on the launch.

Rogue River

Lucas Lodge

Sadie Lucas built this lodge around 1912 on a ranch where the Illinois River meets the Rogue, and her family has welcomed guests for seven generations since. Your last night on the river ends here with a prime rib dinner served family style.

See the full stay

Owyhee River

Owyhee Camps

Desert canyon camps on the Owyhee, set below rimrock and red rock spires that light up at sunset.

See the full stay

Lower Salmon River

Lower Salmon Camps

Every camp is a big white sand beach with a good swimming hole, and your tent is up before you arrive.

See the full stay

Main Salmon, River of No Return

Main Salmon Camps

Big sandy beach camps under the pines. When you pull in, your tent is already set up, your sleeping pad is in it and your dry bags are stacked and waiting.

See the full stay

Snake River in Hells Canyon

Hells Canyon Camps

Riverside camps below the walls of Hells Canyon. Your tent is up before you arrive, and evenings start with a cold drink under the shade tarps.

See the full stay

Rogue River

Rogue River Camps

Riverside beach camps on the Rogue. Your gear boater runs ahead so camp is ready when you pull in, with tents up and dinner served family style.

See the full stay

Rogue River

Paradise Lodge

Paradise has the big deck where we do movie night, with lodge cooking and a real bed. Every room has its own hot shower and private bathroom.

See the full stay

Rogue River

Black Bar Lodge

Black Bar sits right on the water. You pull in at the end of Day 1 to a home-cooked dinner and a real bed, and every room has its own hot shower and private bathroom.

See the full stay

Food & Drink

What To Expect During Meal Time

A light breakfast on Day 1, then breakfast, lunch and dinner every day. You bring your boat setup, tent, sleeping pad, cot, chair, snacks and any extra drinks, and your own shuttle. Around Day 7 we restock in Riggins, so you never carry two weeks of food.

Every morning we go over what we will come across that day as a group, the history stops, hot springs and side hikes, and decide what is a must-do.

Meeting Logistics

Where & When To Meet

The night before, meet us at the Corn Creek Campground and Boat Ramp between 6:00 and 7:00 PM MT. Look for the guides and the orange boats, we will most likely be rigging. It is a quick orientation to meet your guides and go over what time we get going and when coffee and a light breakfast are out in the morning. You camp on your own that night, and your boats go in the water the night before so you are ready to row away after breakfast. All of our Idaho trips run on Mountain Time.

Around Day 7 you pull up at our shop in Riggins, and we pick you up in our van to restock in town. Some groups take a hotel night in Riggins.

On the last day, shortly after lunch, you tie off to our motorized gear boat for the slow section of the Snake to the Heller Bar boat launch near Asotin, Washington. You handle your own shuttle. We suggest All Rivers Shuttle Service out of White Bird.

TRAVEL

Getting there

Plan to reach Corn Creek the day before launch. The campground fills early.

Meeting point

◉

Corn Creek ranger station

Corn Creek ranger station the day before launch. Camp there; sites fill early.

How to get there

✈

Fly into Boise (BOI)

Drive to Riggins, then continue to Corn Creek.

☰

Fly into Lewiston (LWS)

Drive south, then east to Corn Creek.

■

Orange Torpedo Idaho shop

Gear pickup is at the Riggins shop if you reserved it there.

Vehicle shuttle

No OTT airport shuttle. Rent a car and arrange your own vehicle shuttle.

Corn Creek is a long drive from Riggins over Forest Service roads. Leave extra time.

PACKING

What to Bring

What you need to bring

  • Raft with a rowing frame and room to pack your personal gear
  • Personal dry bags
  • 4 oars, 2 for rowing and 2 spares
  • Spare oar lock
  • Throw rope
  • Raft repair kit
  • Pump for your raft
  • Sand stake with mallet
  • Your own straps
  • Quality PFDs for each person. Helmets are advised but not required
  • Personal camping equipment, including tents, sleeping bags and pads
  • Personal chairs for camp
  • Any extra drinks you want
  • Refillable water bottle
  • One 5-gallon water jug for personal use. This is just so you can refill easily on the water. We will have plenty of group water at camp and to refill your jugs
  • A way to transport all of your gear to the river and to pack up at the takeout. Coordinate your own shuttle. We suggest All Rivers Shuttle Service out of White Bird
  • Small personal first aid kit for your boat

REVIEWS

What guests say

POLICIES

Cancellation timeline

90+ days out

Full refund of the trip payment

Minus any non-refundable permit fees.

30–89 days out

50% refund

Date changes may be available if space remains.

Under 30 days

No refund

Weather holds are reviewed case by case.

Refunds depend on how far out you cancel. Weather holds are handled case by case.

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

Are meals included?

Expand

Yes. On the Rogue Row Your Own we now cook all three meals every day and handle the cleanup (new this season). On the Idaho Row Your Own trips we serve a light breakfast on Day 1 and then breakfast, lunch and dinner every day after.

Is my shuttle included?

Expand

On Row Your Own trips, no. Rogue guests arrange their shuttle through Whitewater Cowboys; Idaho guests handle their own.

On guided Idaho trips we handle all the shuttle logistics. On the Rogue multi-day trips we shuttle you from the shop to the put-in, and you have the option of having your car shuttled to the Foster Bar takeout so you can leave straight from the river. Ask us.

Do I need my own camping gear?

Expand

On our guided camp trips, just your sleeping bag, or rent a sleep kit from us. We bring the tent, the pad and everything else, and the tents are up before you get to camp.

On a Row Your Own, yes. On the Rogue, bring your boat (or rent one from Whitewater Cowboys), tent, sleeping bag, pad and chairs, and we bring the kitchen, the toilet and the permit. In Idaho, bring your boat setup, tent, pad, cot and chair, and we bring the kitchen and toilet, plus the permit on the Main Salmon. The Lower Salmon does not need one.

Will we see wildlife in Idaho?

Expand

Your best odds are bighorn sheep, plus deer, elk, osprey and both bald and golden eagles. Black bears show up mostly in June. On the Main Salmon add mountain goats and a very small chance of a moose. There are no grizzlies on any of our trips, and birders go nuts out here.

What time zone are the Idaho trips on?

Expand

Mountain Time. Every meeting time on our Idaho and Hells Canyon trips is Mountain Time.

Do I need river experience to come on a Row Your Own?

Expand

Yes and no. If you are rowing a boat, yes. You need at least Class III whitewater experience, and this is not a rowing school. If you are riding with someone who is rowing, no experience needed.

How many guides come on a Row Your Own?

Expand

One or two regardless of group size, a gear boater and a lead boat. You follow our lines through the rapids, we stop and prep you for each one, and the gear boater is out ahead securing camp with dinner underway when you arrive.

Should I bring cash?

Expand

On the Lower Salmon, no cash needed. On the Main Salmon, bring a little for ice cream and a beer at Buckskin Bill's.

Will I be able to use my phone or the internet?

Expand

No. There is no cell reception in the canyon and no internet at the lodges. Camp trips are phone-free. Plan on a few days without it.

Do we carry two weeks of food on the 13-day Row Your Own?

Expand

No. Around Day 7 you pull up at our shop in Riggins, and we pick you up in our van to restock in town. Some groups take a hotel night in Riggins before heading back out.

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Hike the Rogue River Trail with a daypack, sleep in the lodges, and let the raft carry everything else.

Runner crosses a sunny bluff on the Rogue River Trail with blue water below

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Selling Fast

Main Salmon River, ID

Salmon River 13-Day Full Salmon Row Your Own

From $3,499

Row your own boat from Corn Creek to Heller Bar, with our guides leading the lines, cooking every meal and a restock in Riggins.

Duration

13 days / 12 nights

Trip type

Row Your Own

Whitewater class

Class II

Class III

Class IV

Need assistance setting up an itinerary?
Book a call with a head guide, call (800) 635-2925 or send us a message.

Mountain ridge divider

Need assistance setting up an itinerary?

Book a call with one of our head guides. We'll help you pick the right trip and sort out lodging, travel and add-ons for your crew.

You can also call us at (800) 635-2925.