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Rafting trips rapidly becoming family adventures

Idaho river rafting guides have become masters at making remote wilderness trips luxury events, complete with fine meals such as grilled steaks. (Associated Press / The Spokesman-Review)
From Staff and Wire Reports The Spokesman-Review
Idaho river rafting guides have become masters at making remote wilderness trips luxury events, complete with fine meals such as grilled steaks. (Associated Press / The Spokesman-Review)

SALMON — Top outfitters on Idaho’s Middle Fork of the Salmon River, long considered innovators of America’s premier wilderness rafting vacations, have been at the forefront of the “specialty rafting trip” trend, offering creative and diverse trips that have caused this category of adventure travel to surge in popularity.

With rafting vacations designed to appeal to audiences of various ages, hobbies and special interests, the Middle Fork now boasts trips specifically geared towards families, gourmet fare, fly fishing, natural history and music.

“Our biggest market by far is families,” comments Middle Fork outfitter Jerry Hughes of Hughes River Expeditions. This is no surprise, considering that attending social/family events and participating in outdoor activities rank second and third in a listing of top 20 travel activities by U.S. travelers (Travel Industry Association, 2004).

“We plan each trip based on the matrix of our guests, with activities like sand castle building contests, interpretive hikes, scavenger hunts and water games for kids, musical entertainment in the evenings and a variety of both gourmet and ‘kid-friendly’ selections at each meal to appease every palate.”

The Coeur d’Alene-based River Odysseys West also has a range of specialty trips based on the Middle Fork and Salmon rivers.

“We have quite a few guests who are specifically interested in fishing, in gourmet cuisine or in learning the history of the Middle Fork,” adds Les Bechdel of Canyons, Inc., another Middle Fork rafting outfitter. “We have responded to a changing customer base by enhancing camp comforts, creating imaginative menus, adding interpretive hikes and serving as unofficial ‘docents’ for the Frank Church Wilderness.”

Idaho’s Middle Fork of the Salmon offers 100 miles of crystal-clear water teeming with cutthroat trout, diverse and stunning scenery, no motorized boats, hiking, wildlife, sandy beaches, dozens of waterfalls, soothing natural hot springs, Native American pictographs, rapids and a riverside “luxury camping” experience catered by guides.