Getting out in nature, without electronics, is a great way to reconnect with your teens and tweens and to bring out the kid in everyone. The Mitchell family, from northern Iowa, has been joining Salt Lake City-based Holiday River Expeditions for family river rafting adventures in Idaho and Utah for almost a decade. Their favorite destination is the Main Salmon River trip in Idaho.
Main Salmon River Trip Highlights
The Main Salmon River trip is usually a 5 or 6 day journey that starts with a stretch of rapids with names like Gunbarrel, Ranier and Devil’s Teeth. Day 2 often includes time for a short hike and soaking in natural hot springs, in addition to shooting rapids near Salmon Falls. Day 3 is billed as the most exciting day with a run of classic Salmon River whitewater including Bailey Falls, Split Rock, Big Mallard and Elk Horn. A stop at Jim Moore’s historic log building is usually included on this day. Jim Moore came to the Salmon River from Kentucky around the turn of the century and lived a colorful life until 1942.
Holiday River Expeditions on the Salmon River, photo by John Telford
Day 4 features a visit to Buckskin Bill’s homestead (Buckskin was the last of the Mountain Men) and the running of Jackson and Ludwig rapids. Later the group floats past the confluence with the South Fork of the Salmon River. Day 5 wraps up with the Vinegar & Chittam Creek rapids before take out and the bus ride back to Boise,.
Salmon River Rapids, photo by John Telford
Most Holiday River Expeditions trips include 10-25 people with families of teens and tweens well represented. Each day, the group covers 20-30 miles of varied riverways ranging from flat water to hair raising rapids. Everyone pitches in to set up camp each night, and pack it up in the morning, while the guides cook up hearty breakfasts and dinners.
Guides Go All Out for Teens and Tweens
Evening entertainment includes camp fires, games, songs, storytelling, and even a make-your-own costume night. Mike Mitchell says, “the guides really knock themselves out to bond with the teens. They stay up late talking to them and invent games that everyone enjoys. The river brings out the kid in everyone, even jaded teens.”
Mike’s 17- year old daughter Kelly says that her friends think she is crazy. but. to her river rafting is the high point of her year. “It is so much fun, particularly when we get to meet other teenagers on the river,” she explains. Kelly and her siblings have developed lasting friendships on the trips and Kelly has been so taken with Idaho that she hopes to go to college there, and perhaps work on the river during the summer.
Local Knowledge Counts
“You really can’t undertake this type of trip on your own. You need an outfitter with the permits and the local knowledge”, Mike explains. The Mitchells give Holiday River Expeditions high marks for handling the complex logistic and permit processes required to transport and support groups of 10-25 people deep in the wilderness for a week or more. Holiday picks up guests for the Main Salmon River trip in Boise, Idaho. From there, a private charter plane takes the group to the small town of Salmon, where a bus meets the group and takes it the last 2 hour drive to the put in spot deep inside Idaho national forest land. The guides, rafts, food, tents and other supplies are ready to go when the bus arrives.
Running the Salmon River rapids, photo by river guide Zack Rogala
Mike Mitchell explains that his family, including three teens ages 15, 17 and 19, has joined Holiday River Expeditions on a wide range of trips starting when their youngest was about 10 years old. He values the company’s attention to safety and willingness to adjust to the specific interests and athletic abilities of the families on each trip. Pre-trip communication helps to make sure that everyone in the group has opportunities to balance paddling, hiking, wildlife watching and daydreaming.
Disclosure
We’d like to thank Holiday River Expeditions for sponsoring this review and putting us in touch with the Mitchell family. After talking with them we knew this tour would be of interest to our readers. We welcome the opportunity to feature reviews about more real families that have great teen and tween travel stories to tell. For more information on the Teen ‘n Tween Approved Review program click here.
