Idaho's River of No Return, the Salmon River

The Salmon River is the longest free running wild river left in the Continental United States.  With no dams, it runs from the Bitterroot Mountains on the Idaho-Montana border west all the way across the state of Idaho.  Then, it turns north and runs parallel to the Snake River which forms the Idaho-Oregon and Idaho-Washington borders.  Near the corners of Idaho, Oregon, and Washington, the Salmon joins the Snake River at the bottom of Hell's Canyon, the deepest gorge in North America.  The Salmon River Canyon forms the second deepest gorge on the continent.  The Grand Canyon is fourth.

Our trip begins at Hammer Creek near White Bird, Idaho.  Our trip will take us 50 miles down the Salmon to its confluence with the Snake River and then 25 more miles to the Snake's confluence with Oregon's Grand Ronde River.  Our take-out is at the mouth of the Grand Ronde at Heller Bar, Washington.

Additional information about the Lower Salmon River from the Bureau of Land Management can be found at www.blm.gov/id/st/en/fo/cottonwood/recreation_sites_/lower_salmon_river.html.  In the dialog box on the right hand side of that page, you will find Boater's Guides for the Lower Salmon from Hammer Creek to Heller Bar.  This guide include strip maps, historical, and natural history sections.

The Salmon River is famous for its white sand beaches, its wilderness character, and its whitewater.  It is known as the River of No Return, since it has carved a deep gorge and its character is so steep that there is no good way to travel upriver.  Lewis and Clark avoided this passage on their way to the Pacific Ocean on the advice of the local Indians because of the numerous rapids and the impossibility of returning that way.  On the way home from the Pacific, they sent Sergeant Ordway on a scouting expedition up the Snake River to the mouth of the Salmon, a place where we will spend a night camping.  Upon viewing the Salmon's steep gradient and deep gorge, he decided to return to the expedition and they travelled overland to return to the Missouri River drainage on the east side of the Continental Divide.