The Rivers are Calling and We Must Go!

AUGUST 25-31,  2024
7 days / 6 nights

COME RAFT, CAMP, HIKE & SIT NEXT TO THE CAMPFIRE W/NEW FRIENDS 

Every Beatrice Bradley trip is crafted to maximize the experiences had during the trip.
The itineraries are specially made to allow time for engaging in conversation and having belly laughs with a new friend. We hope that the activities and experiences may allow you to come out of your comfort zone and to try new or unique things.
These trips are made to replicate a ‘friends get-away trip’. 

Day One:  Arrival Day – Welcome to Idaho!

Highlights

• Check into the Hells Canyon Grand Hotel – get settled into you room and join the group for a Happy Hour Meet and Greet
• Meet our guides and receive our pre-trip orientation packet, all the last minute questions will be answered!
• Welcome Dinner at Meriwethers: Celebrate beginnings with great food and even finer company!

Day Two:  It’s River Time – First day on the river – running rapids, fishing and beach lunch

• Breakfast is at the hotel.  Our fabulous guides will meet us at 7:00AM at The Hells Canyon Grand Hotel. Watertight bags and containers will be distributed. After breakfast we will depart from the hotel by 8:00AM to the launch site. Plan for a 2 hour shuttle drive to the put-in. The guides have the boats ready to go.  After a short safety orientation, we will finish strapping down our gear and launch for the trip of a lifetime.  The day will be spent running rapids, lunch on the beach and starting our “River Time.”  There is time for fishing from the boats, at lunch and also when we arrive at camp.  Our guides will bring all the gear to fish with them.
• We will stop for a riverside lunch break around noon.  This is a great time to fish a little and take a short hike.  Soon after lunch, the river enters “Green Canyon”  – there are exciting rapids like Wright Way Drop and Demon’s Drop.  (age appropriate rafting) We will stop for lunch on a big beach, perfect for swimming and beach games. The afternoon has a few more rapids, perfect for stand up paddle boards, peaceful drifting and the chance of seeing soaring eagles.
• We will arrive in camp around 4-5:00 PM.  You will walk up into camp to find your tents set up and your gear bags.  For us kids at heart, we will have beach games, swimming from the beach or building a sand castle!  For the adults, there is time for relaxing, hiking, fishing, or reading a book from our river library.
• Hors d’ oeuvres are served around 6ish and dinner around 7:30 PM.  After dinner and a Dutch Oven dessert, there is time around the campfire to tell stories of conquered rapids, fish tails or roasting s’mores.  The stars will start to appear, inviting conversations with old and new friends.  Soon it is time to wander off to your tent and to bed.

Day Three:  Fresh Coffee, Sizzling Bacon and Fantastic Beaches!

• You will wake up to the aroma of fresh coffee and sizzling bacon. Breakfast is served around 7:30 or 8:00 AM.   Our guides treat us like queens cooking us breakfast, taking down our tents and cleaning up after us!  We will get on the river about the same time the sun peaks over the canyon rim.  It will be about 9:30AM before we see sun on the water.  Today we will run through the ”Cougar Canyon”.  There are some fantastic beaches and more exciting whitewater!
• The beaches in this area are great for setting up a raft water slide.  We are never too seasoned to ride down a raft slide!
• By now you will have a true grasp of “River Time.”  There will be more time for playing on the beach, hanging out in the shade, followed by another evening of laughter echoing off the canyon wall and riverside bonfire!

Day Four:  A little history, LOTS of adventure and some Dutch Oven Desserts!

• After breakfast we will start into “Snow Hole Canyon”  the first rapid of the day named after the canyon.  A quick scout provides a view of the excitement to come, and a chance for the paddleboat and kayakers to receive last minute instructions. We will also explore a classic stone Chinese miner’s house.  During the late 1800’s, there were many Chinese miners calling the Salmon River their home; sometimes spending a year or more without leaving the canyon.
• After lunch, we will start into the Oxbow of the river.  This is a great time to try out the inflatable kayaks before we get to the China Rapids.  We arrive in camp around 4:30 PM. Our camp tonight is on a huge white sand beach in the Billy Creek area.  River Billy was a Nez Perce Indian that called this area home.  Chief Joseph and his followers forded the Salmon River below the mouth of this creek while fleeing the U.S. Army after the battle at White Bird.
• The big flat beach is great for beach games.  We will set up a volleyball net, play beach bocce and horseshoes.  The guides have an endless supply of games they can pull out.  You could also summit one of the many peaks around the area for an amazing panoramic view.
• After a sumptuous healthy dinner, and Dutch Oven dessert, revel around the campfire about the rapids run, huge fish caught and stories from the day.  Sleep out under the stars.  Each tent has a tarp spread out in front.  You can pull your pad out for all night or just for a little while.  There’s nothing like watching the stars with new friends.  THERE ARE NO BUGS/INSECTS ON THE RIVER SO PERFECT FOR SLEEPING UNDER THE STARS!

Day Five: Kayaks, Paddle Boards and The Blue Canyon! 

• During the morning float there are some great smaller rapids for the kayaks and stand up paddleboards to try.  There are some great spots for fishing and spotting birds of prey circling above the canyon rim.
• Lunch is just above “Blue Canyon”, named for the bluish/black tone of the igneous rock that forms the dramatic landscape. Here the river is forced into a narrower channel with several rapids in a row.  At the end of Blue Canyon we will arrive at the impressive confluence of the Salmon and Snake Rivers.
• We will camp close to the confluence.  Sleep out under the stars.  Each tent has a tarp spread out in front.  You can pull your pad out for all night or just for a little while.

Day Six:  Hells Canyon, Big Horn Sheep and Final Goodbye to the River.

• The river still has more to share.  There are small rapids and some amazing scenery as we enter Hells Canyon on the Snake River.  The canyon opens up to grassy mountainsides.  Watch for Rocky Mountain Big Horn Sheep and reflect on the journey that is coming to an end.  
• We will stop on a beach for our final lunch and group photos. 
• We will take a few final group photos and check back into the hotel and will have our final group dinner and a hot shower!

Day Seven:  Group Breakfast and New Friend Goodbye Hugs!

• We will grab a group breakfast at the hotel and enjoy some last minute photo sharing before we head to the airport!

Flexible pay-as-you-go payment plan

How it Works:

Activity Level – HIGH – you must be able to get in and out of a raft and tent.

Role of a Beatrice bradley hostess

Beatrice Bradley is an Experience Company not a Tour Company.  The role of a Beatrice Bradley Host is to be warm and welcoming. To relate and connect. To have attention to details. And to manage the behind-the-scenes magic so your experience is one-of-a-kind. They are not local experts nor are they tour guides. We hire local experts, guides, and historians as each location warrants. They are expert hosts and manage the camaraderie and logistics of the experience. Our goal is that your hostess will make you feel welcomed, comfortable, and that you will walk away with new & lasting friendships made during an unforgettable experience.

Flight Details

Airport Pick Up is included when arriving at the designated airport within the specified pick up window.

Departure Airport: Lewiston, ID (LWS) or Spokane, WA (GEG)
Departure Date:  August 31, 2024
Drop off Times: Anytime after 12pm