Salmon River
(Level 2)

The Salmon River is a beautiful river that cuts a path through the center of Idaho. Driving up to the trail head you are sure to see some wildlife: elk, deer, moose, and eagles. The trail itself is a 2 out of 5 because of length. It follows the river into the back country several miles. In 3 days, I hiked maybe 12 miles in (total 24); however, for this I am only interested in the first 5 miles of the hike. I picked up a free trail map at the ranger station before I drove to the trail head. Anyone can do this; however, it is not a topographic map; if you want that, you will have to purchase one. It’s helpful because it marks the trail very clearly, but there are a lot of trails in the area so having the map is fun.

The hike is smooth and relatively flat. The trail is well taken care of.  The slight variation in the hike is nothing to be overly concerned with; I would say you could bring almost anyone on this trail.  There are also no river crossings that I came into contact with; the Salmon River is large and fast so if you did want to cross, a river crossing would NOT be recommended.

 

The trail has beautiful scenery, but it’s all the same, so it becomes repetitive after a while,  but it’s still worth seeing.  You should always bring the 10 essentials anytime you camp or hike.  If you plan on camping for the weekend, there is a designated campsite 5 miles in right next to the river.  It is in great condition and it’s designated for livestock.  I would recommend that you review the leave no trace principles as well, so that you can keep the campsite and area looking good for future generations.  There is fishing on the Salmon River; the river itself would be ok for fishing.  But the many streams that dump into the Salmon River didn’t look that great for fishing from what I saw. 

I would recommend this hike to anyone looking to get away.  During the spring there is little traffic, so it’s also good for family trips.  I wouldn’t recommend this trip to anyone who wanted to just do a nice day hike; it’s more designed for someone looking for a nice camping trip for the weekend or more if you want to hike further in. 

One last thing to think about is the abundant wildlife. There are bears in the area, mostly black bears.  There are a lot of wolves, the entire hike will have signs of wolf activity, prints, howling at night, and if you’re lucky (or not lol), an actual wolf sighting.