Wild & Scenic Raft Highlights
A wild and scenic river awaits, don’t miss the boat on this trip, it’s a water and nature lovers dream!
Dates
Jul 28 - Aug 08, 2023Ages
12-14 (enter 7th-9th)Tuition
$3845 (airfare not incl.)Destination
IdahoStatus
Please Call- 5-day Main Salmon River Trip
- Lavender farm stay activities
- Intro to inflatable kayaking
- Hike and SUP in central Idaho
- Horseback ride in Sawtooths
- Swim in rivers, lakes, streams
- Soaking in natural hot springs
Hi I’m Margaux, I’m from Puerto Rico and I’m 17 years old, my first year at Alpengirl I was 12 years old. I traveled to Montana my first year all alone and i had no idea what I was expecting when I got to the airport. When i got there I met my group and I was really shy. None of...
Trip Description
A Whitewater Rafting Teen Summer Adventure Camp in Idaho
An Idaho summer camp for those water lovin' campers who want to splash around in rivers, lakes and streams and do anything and everything that has to do with being in cool, clear, fresh water! In addition to the multi-day wilderness rafting trip campers will enjoy hiking, stand up paddle boarding, kayaking, hot spring soaking and horseback riding.
This camp features a 5-day class III raft trip on the Main Salmon River in Idaho. The Salmon River is the longest free-flowing river within one state in the lower 48, the river canyon is the second deepest gorge in North America, and the 80-mile wilderness river section that we’ll be rafting features forested canyons, pictographs, large sandy camping beaches, historic Buckskin Bill's Museum and Jim Moore's cabin, a natural hot springs to soak in with your camp friends, and exciting rapids spread all throughout the trip such as Gunbarrel, Rainer, Little Stinker, Growler, Whiplash & Big Mallard. It's a trip to remember!
Trip Itinerary
Day 1: Arriving at Boise Airport, your Alpenguides will greet you and introduce you to the rest of your camp group. Name games and icebreakers abound before we all hop into the van and drive to our first campsite nestled in the spectacular Rocky Mountains of central Idaho, near Sun Valley. Once we learn how to set up our tents, we’ll continue to get to know each other, then enjoy the first of many delicious and fresh camp meals.
Day 2: Rise and shine Alpengirls! Bring your sleeping mats from your tents and gather in a forest clearing for an introduction to our daily Alpenyoga. Wrapping up our fun and calming yoga, we'll enjoy a fresh, hot breakfast - perhaps warm Strawberry Stuffed French Toast (YUM!) Then we'll learning more about camp living skills before heading out by foot to explore the local area on a day hike with picnic lunch and a swim at a local hot spring.
Then we'll drive further north to the Stanley, ID area. Tonight we’ll get wild with an Alpenolympic event and perhaps even a themed costume party dinner.
Day 3: This morning we're going to Redfish Lake, where we’ll meet our horseback riding outfitters, saddle up and ride out on our steeds for a western style trail ride in the Sawtooth National Forest. On the ride, we'll traverse trails in mountainous pine forests and across cold, clear water creeks.
Just as the afternoon is warming up, we're ready to jump into some fresh cold water! It’s Ladies Choice Day - a watercraft day where you can try kayaking, canoeing, and stand up paddle boarding, we’ll have an assortment to choose from. Today is all about lake life - enjoy a swim, learn basic paddle strokes and watercraft handling skills and compete in totally fun and optional Alpenolympic water events.
Day 4: It's a travel day to get closer to the remote river wilderness area near Salmon, ID. We'll drive, re-supply food, and get our gear ready for 5 days in the wilderness. Upon our arrival at our private Lavender Farm campsite, we'll be greeted by our camp hosts and we'll cut lavender and learn how to use it to make our own soap and beeswax lip balm that we can use on our upcoming river trip!
Day 5: This morning our camp hosts will provide us with a 1 hour hands on cooking class - well learn chopping and whipping and other new cooking skills: homemade whipped cream, hand spun butter, value added pancakes (chia seeds, cinnamon, flax, nuts, berries), learn to set fun table scapes from recycled items, how to set a table and serving etiquette, followed by eating up our yummy pancake creations!
Then, we'll complete our final raft trip packing and enjoy showers before driving into the remote and off-grid valley where our raft trip starts deep in the Frank Church Wilderness. We'll meet our professional raft guides tonight at our river launch campsite and learn more about the upcoming river trip before we snuggle up in our sleeping bags with a book and headlamp for some down time in the tent with friends and get some more giggles out before a good nights sleep.
Days 6-10: Let’s launch! And so it begins, our awesome and much anticipated 5-day whitewater rafting trip, where we raft 15-25 miles every day and camp on a sandy beach every night!! Together with our rafting outfitters, we’ll experience one of Idaho's best-known and most popular white water rafting rivers - the Main Salmon River through the 2.3 million acre Frank Church - River of No Return Wilderness.
Our Salmon River raft trip is the ultimate in adventure travel camping and offers exciting and exhilarating rapids for the thrill-seekers. We’ll enjoy the ride on rapids such as Salmon Falls, Big Mallard, and Growler. The many white sandy beaches and heavily forested canyons captivate us while we search for wildlife as we float 80 miles of the Main Salmon River.
Other highlights of the raft trip include soaking in a natural hot spring, trying some dutch oven cooking, enjoying s'mores and pocket stew over a charcoal pit, stopping river-side to grab an ice cream and explore Buckskin Bill's homestead, taking photos of pictographs, hamming it up the Alpenolympic Talent Show, playing bocci ball or perhaps beach volleyball, and trying inflatable kayaking in your own boat - so much FUN!
Day 11: An unforgettable trip so far, it’s hard to believe all the adventures we've had. We’ll freshen up again with showers and laundry when we get off the river, before our final day together in McCall, Idaho. We'll enjoy the downtown area and a stop at the ice cream stand for a scoop of local huckleberry ice cream! This evening we'll have our end of session awards ceremony and exchange contact information with our new friends.
Day 12: It’s time to go home! Exchanging hugs with your friends, you’ll depart from Boise Idaho Airport, knowing that you’ve had a ton of fun and accomplished great things as an Alpengirl and will be a part of our fantastic community for life. See you next summer!
PLEASE NOTE: Alpengirl reserves the right to cancel or alter any aspect of a program before or during a program, including program itinerary, activities or location for reason including but not limited to weather, environment, logistics or health hazards. If itinerary changes occur, we will substitute comparable alternatives, if possible. If there are significant itinerary changes, parent will be notified by email.
Trip Campsites & Amenities
Seven nights are spent in tents in public “front country” campgrounds where we have pre-assigned campsites with neighbors and campground hosts nearby, running potable water, and private outhouses or flushing toilets.
Four nights are spent in tents in wilderness “back country” areas where we will purify our water before drinking and learn and practice basic Leave No Trace camping skills such as how to select a campsite, how to go to the bathroom, and how to keep clean outdoors.
Why Choose This Trip
It’s perfect for water-loving campers who want to be immersed in a wilderness expedition without backpacking. It’s totally amazing to be on a wild and scenic designated river - the Main Salmon is on many peoples' lifetime bucket list of things to do and places to GO! There's beach camping, hot springs, hiking, horse riding, inflatable kayaking and more. This trip offers lots of group time on the river, great for girls who love socializing and making lasting memories with new friends during a solid chunk of uninterrupted time in the wilderness backcountry. Limited to 13 campers in the group.
