# Wyoming Boaters - Snake River & Idaho - South Fork of the Snake Float Trip Beta?



## bikesandboatsCO (Jul 22, 2020)

We are headed to Jackson for a week the third or last week of June this year. We are a family of four from Colorado and primarily raft Class II / III sections of water in a 14' boat. A friend from the Victor, ID was able to acquire some maps from a local fishing outfitter and send them my way they are single page tri-folds with roads and boat ramps but do not go into any detail on rapid location or classification like our beloved RiverMaps (shout out to those guys!).

We are an adventurous family and want to raft, ride, and hike on our trip and have no problem towing the boat for 2 to 3 days of day-trip scenic flat water or low class rapid runs. I have been digging around outfitter sites to try and get beta around put-in / take-out locations but everything feels like the commercial groups rightfully so hold this information close to the chest. 

Would anyone have any beta on great single day / 1/2 day float trips with put-in / take - out ramps. For example, one 10 mile 1/2 day we found was from Deadman's Landing to Moose (Raft Launch 970). 

Also, any referrals to companies that do car shuttle would also be of help to us as we plan. 

Finally, any referral to maps with a higher degree of details would also be helpful.

Stay safe and keep those fingers crossed during permit season!


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## snapdragon (May 14, 2011)

bikesandboatsCO said:


> We are headed to Jackson for a week the third or last week of June this year. We are a family of four from Colorado and primarily raft Class II / III sections of water in a 14' boat. A friend from the Victor, ID was able to acquire some maps from a local fishing outfitter and send them my way they are single page tri-folds with roads and boat ramps but do not go into any detail on rapid location or classification like our beloved RiverMaps (shout out to those guys!).
> 
> We are an adventurous family and want to raft, ride, and hike on our trip and have no problem towing the boat for 2 to 3 days of day-trip scenic flat water or low class rapid runs. I have been digging around outfitter sites to try and get beta around put-in / take-out locations but everything feels like the commercial groups rightfully so hold this information close to the chest.
> 
> ...


It is definitely worth bringing your raft. The float between Schwabakers (sp) to Moose is one of the most scenic floats in the Jackson Hole region. It is a easy 1/2 day trip. You will need to stop and get a sticker for you raft in Moose before you head to the put in. This is also where you will be taking out, so take a quick look around, as the ramp is small and that time of year there is still moving water. The biggest challenge in this stretch is choosing which Chanel goes through. Many boats end up blocked my log jambs or constrictions that require portage, in very cold water. Down stream is another fun stretch, Rendevous Park to South Park. Also know as Wilson Bridge to S.P. This s another scenic stretch with class 2. You don’t need anything to run this stretch. If you so choose, you can continue to float further down the snake, but is gets slow, and not as scenic. Lastly if your looking for more excitement, what they call the daily, West Table to Sheep Gulch to a a fun white water section with lots of 2’s and 3’s. 
The main attraction being Big Kahuna into Lunch Counter. There will most likely be a lot of people at Lunch counter, as it is a standing wave zone where people love to surf. (On surfboards)
All of these stretches are very easy to find and access. There is a couple private companies who will do your schuttle. They seem to change annually, so I would just stop into Rendezvous River Sports as you enter town and ask the guys in there for a referral. 
Have fun, and good luck in the lottery this year.


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## Utah78 (Apr 28, 2018)

I will add a few things to snapdragon's good suggestions. 

I love one other section in Teton National Park, which is Pacific Creek to Deadman's Bar. It is only class I with maybe a class I move here and there to avoid a log. I suggest launching around 4 or 5pm and floating until 8 or 9pm (just don't get stuck after dark). The wildlife will come out around 6:30pm. Last time we saw deer, elk, bison, eagles, osprey, and beavers all in the last hour or so, including a male bison that stood in the middle of the channel we were heading down (we had to make a hard landing to stop before we got to him). In addition this has beautiful views of the Tetons in late evening and you can see 7-10 sun-rays coming off of the Teton mountains. . There are a few braided channels, but not bad. I think this section has considerable less danger of a channel blockage compared to the Schwabakers to Moose section, but I agree with snapdragon that schwa backers section is excellent too as long as you ask the rangers about blocked channels (long ago I was on a raft that went under a sweeper on that section and everyone was raked out of the boat into the water - take-home is be careful, especially at higher water when logs are moving around).

The Alpine Canyon (West Table to Sheep Gulch as snapdragon mentioned) section is super fun class III and we go run it every year. The end of June can be a great time, but if it is a high water year and flows are above 18,000 cfs, it is much more difficult and scary and you should be very careful and DO NOT take young kids or weak swimmers as it is hard to recover if you flip when the river is raging (even the 15k-18k can be a bit too much for many people). At high/mid water in June it will likely only take 1.5 hours, so we usually do 2 runs in a day. At August low water it can take just under 2 hours, and we still make 2 runs. My favorite flow levels for taking my family are 10,000-12,000 when lunch counter is big but the run is not too fast and unruly. Hard to know what flow level it will be, but do be careful if its above 14k and reconsider running it above 18k unless you are really up for it.


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## rswebb (Aug 27, 2013)

bikesandboatsCO said:


> We are headed to Jackson for a week the third or last week of June this year. We are a family of four from Colorado and primarily raft Class II / III sections of water in a 14' boat. A friend from the Victor, ID was able to acquire some maps from a local fishing outfitter and send them my way they are single page tri-folds with roads and boat ramps but do not go into any detail on rapid location or classification like our beloved RiverMaps (shout out to those guys!).
> 
> We are an adventurous family and want to raft, ride, and hike on our trip and have no problem towing the boat for 2 to 3 days of day-trip scenic flat water or low class rapid runs. I have been digging around outfitter sites to try and get beta around put-in / take-out locations but everything feels like the commercial groups rightfully so hold this information close to the chest.
> 
> ...





snapdragon said:


> It is definitely worth bringing your raft. The float between Schwabakers (sp) to Moose is one of the most scenic floats in the Jackson Hole region. It is a easy 1/2 day trip. You will need to stop and get a sticker for you raft in Moose before you head to the put in. This is also where you will be taking out, so take a quick look around, as the ramp is small and that time of year there is still moving water. The biggest challenge in this stretch is choosing which Chanel goes through. Many boats end up blocked my log jambs or constrictions that require portage, in very cold water. Down stream is another fun stretch, Rendevous Park to South Park. Also know as Wilson Bridge to S.P. This s another scenic stretch with class 2. You don’t need anything to run this stretch. If you so choose, you can continue to float further down the snake, but is gets slow, and not as scenic. Lastly if your looking for more excitement, what they call the daily, West Table to Sheep Gulch to a a fun white water section with lots of 2’s and 3’s.
> The main attraction being Big Kahuna into Lunch Counter. There will most likely be a lot of people at Lunch counter, as it is a standing wave zone where people love to surf. (On surfboards)
> All of these stretches are very easy to find and access. There is a couple private companies who will do your schuttle. They seem to change annually, so I would just stop into Rendezvous River Sports as you enter town and ask the guys in there for a referral.
> Have fun, and good luck in the lottery this year.


The south fork of the snake from Palisades Dam in Swan Valley has no rapids it is primarily a fishing trip. We take the kids down it a few times a year in the summer. The canyon section has some good over night camp spots. I have never done it but below the canyon so I don’t know anything about that area.


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## bikesandboatsCO (Jul 22, 2020)

Snapdragon and Rswebb, Thank you fo the info, I went ahead and labeled this and will connect with the crew at Rendezvous River Sports for more up to date conditions the week prior to arrival.

Are the "ramps" at Deadman's Landing or Schwabacher's Landing and the take out at Moose, walk-in or accessible with a trailer?

It looks like the other ones you provided are labeled on the map I have as "name/ ramp" but the upstream sections are 'landing'. Just trying to plan for rigging and carrying the boat, the 14' with xd frame is fairly heavy for the family for an extended carry. 

All and all thank you community for helping this is so much faster that the traditional interwebs.


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## LSB (Mar 23, 2004)

I always wanted to float through that Ansel Adams photo. Does anyone know what stretch that is? Putins, takeouts milage etc?


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## Junk Show Tours (Mar 11, 2008)

Ansel Adam's photo was taken just downstream of Deadman's Bar. The ramps at Deadman's and Moose are trailer accessible. I think that they are planning on some construction at the Moose access point so look into that next summer. In recent years, the area near the Bar BC Ranch, a mile or so upstream of Moose, has been changing rapidly and there have been some issues, so if you plan on boating it during high water try to get recent beta.


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## Ranye (Mar 20, 2018)

I would add that at that time of year, the flow through the Teton park sections is high. While it is only class I, the water is fast and cold, and depending on how the channel braids, there can be a lot of strainers and different channels to choose from. There is a fatality almost every year on this section. From the Dam to Pacific creek is a really chill class I float at all levels that might be more appropriate for a family trip when you haven't been on this section before.


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## mcfarrel (Apr 1, 2006)

Just remember that if you plan on rafting the Snake through GTNP you can not bring dogs on the river.


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## mtriverrat (Jan 29, 2012)

rswebb said:


> The south fork of the snake from Palisades Dam in Swan Valley has no rapids it is primarily a fishing trip. We take the kids down it a few times a year in the summer. The canyon section has some good over night camp spots. I have never done it but below the canyon so I don’t know anything about that area.


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## mtriverrat (Jan 29, 2012)

Loved the section from the Park to Deadman’s- one of the most beautiful floats there is. As I remember you had to get a NP boat sticker and that was a pain -along with a WY sticker. But I have to say even with all that it was beautiful. We did the canyon whitewater section with the kids and it was great fun. Know that the ramp is overrun with outfitters but then you can follow them cuz they know the lines to take. At Lunch Counter they have a photographer who takes pictures of everyone who goes by. Our pictures were absolutely fantastic and the best action photos of my family rafting we have. Overall the rafting we did was awesome, but I will never go back to Jackson. Couldn’t get ourselves back to MT fast enough. In fact we hated it so much we came back early and went to Chico instead and rafted Yankee Jim.


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## lyhfamily (May 13, 2009)

bikesandboatsCO said:


> We are headed to Jackson for a week the third or last week of June this year. We are a family of four from Colorado and primarily raft Class II / III sections of water in a 14' boat. A friend from the Victor, ID was able to acquire some maps from a local fishing outfitter and send them my way they are single page tri-folds with roads and boat ramps but do not go into any detail on rapid location or classification like our beloved RiverMaps (shout out to those guys!).
> 
> We are an adventurous family and want to raft, ride, and hike on our trip and have no problem towing the boat for 2 to 3 days of day-trip scenic flat water or low class rapid runs. I have been digging around outfitter sites to try and get beta around put-in / take-out locations but everything feels like the commercial groups rightfully so hold this information close to the chest.
> 
> ...


What may come across as a shameless plug is not intended to be - I wrote a book 25 years ago on the waters of the Snake River Wyoming and Idaho) intended for educating recreational boaters (not die hard whitewater enthusiasts or fishermen). I think it would provide you with everything you need. Snake River Secrets provides Putin’s and takeouts with mileage, float times, and River characteristics. One of the tables in the back provides the water flows over a 10 year period (?) at mid month to provide a baseline of high or low flows.

After all this, I see Amazon selling my book for $795. I could have been a millionaire! PM me and I can provide some direct information if you would like. 

My warning would echo others - fast water, braided channels, and very cold water that time of year. You would be in the spring runoff. the section from Palisades to Swan Valley has Palisades creek creating some haystack waves that are fun but I would not rate them as class 1 water. Conan’s Valley downstream of Swan Valley) has got to be one of my most Memorable Snake River floats.

Other float options exist along the North Fork of the Snake around three rivers.


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## Deagol (Jun 16, 2017)

I did the Snake River Alpine Canyon section 2 years ago in August in a tandem ducky with wife. It was quite crowded at both the put-in and take out. I had to park the vehicle along the highway maybe 1/2 mile down from the actual takeout. I rode the shuttle on a road bike that I locked-up at the put-in. I would compare it with possible the Pumphouse section of the Colorado River, but rate it as a bit more difficult ??
The bike shuttle was totally doable and saved us some hassle and money. It's a very popular run.


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