A rafting trip with my grandchildren had been on my bucket list since they were born. As soon as my youngest grandson was 7, we signed up. The trip fulfilled all my expectations and more. I wanted my grandchildren and their mom to appreciate the grandeur of our great country, see the stars, imagine how our great explorers and settlers went through the wilderness and have a great outdoor experience in a different part of the country from our home which is Miami.
We had been on a rafting trip in the Grand Canyon with our children 30 years ago but since we had never been to Idaho, we chose Salmon Raft and the Salmon River. What a great choice we made! Lauren and Chris, the owners, have assembled an amazing crew of boatmen/women. They were competent, patient, intelligent, athletic, great cooks, handsome and beautiful—I would have been thrilled to have them as my kids! They were also great teachers about the environment and our responsibilities to keep it pristine. The leader, Tanner, is an EMT so right there you feel safe. The rest of the crew, Medda,Jasper, Blaine, Esme, Olivia and Rachael, all had a wealth of experience and were young and fun!!
Our grandchildren are 10 1/2 and 7 1/2 and luckily, the three other families on our trip had children the same ages so one of the rafts became the kid’s raft. If we weren’t going over rapids, you could hop off the rafts for a swim or use one of the rubber kayaks. There were plenty of thrilling rapids each day but I never felt in danger as I had total confidence in the crew.
The days started off with packing up our dry bags and clearing out our tents. Let me back up. The equipment raft has gone ahead each day and had the tents and pads set up before the rafters arrived. After a hearty breakfast, we were off. There were 4 rafts in addition to the equipment raft. Usually there was a stop in the morning for a short hike or for jumping off the rocks. The kids loved that but one of our group tried to use her go-pro to film herself jumping and that ended with no more go-pro which was a shame. After lunch and another stretch on the river, we were always greeted with a great campsite and our little tents awaiting us. There was time for a swim (usually with “beverages” for the adults) before dinner. Our group bonded so there was great conversation and joking. There was constant ribbing about our outdoor “facility” nicknamed “The Groover”.
We were on the 3 night/4 day trip so we rafted the lower Salmon and the Snake after the two rivers came together. I would give this trip a 100 star recommendation. It is not a “glamping” trip but it is not hard core roughing it either. You have to like the great outdoors and be a good sport but if you don’t have that mindset you probably aren’t looking at this trip.
This was the best family trip ever and will be one of those trips you and your children will never forget.