Call it eastern Idaho’s Route 66. The South Fork of the Snake River is 66 miles of wet highway flowing from Palisades Dam in Swan Valley to its confluence with Henry’s Fork near Menan. Plan the trip right, and you’ll have the best three-day, do-it-yourself trip of the summer.
Day 1:
You’ve spent weeks setting items aside for the float. There’s a pile of supplies scattered around your boat in the parking lot below Palisades Dam. Think about what you’ll need during the day, keep that accessible and stash the rest away. Tents, bags and dinner don’t need to be reached. Lifejackets, lunch and rods do.
“If we really have the luxury of time, I love starting at Palisades and camping two nights,” says Kate Salomon, lifelong South Fork floater. “Then you can take it easy and stay in the most beautiful parts of the canyon.”
Make sure you arrange for shuttle of your truck and trailer to float’s end before you launch. You want your ride at the bottom when you get out in three days. The driver needs keys and money so leave both before launching your drift boat or raft.
Launch early. Like right after breakfast. You have a lot of miles to cover before reaching the canyon stretch where camp is. If you want to fish any of those miles, you’re going to need time on your side, especially if the rower needs to stop for some rod time.
You want one night in the canyon stretch because it’s undeveloped and glorious. The canyon stretch is roadless and reserveless. That means no cars. It also means no camp if you launch on a busy day and roll in too late. Camp spots vary in size. Choose one that matches your party’s size. There’s nothing worse than two people in a 20-man camp when a large group floats by in search of a spot. Well, there’s one thing worse than that. Indecision. Passing up spots for something better then running out of spots at the bottom of the canyon.
“The hardest thing anymore is getting a camp spot,” Salomon says. “We like to send down an early boat with kids and wives and get a spot while fishers take their time behind us.”
Pack playing cards. You can teach the kids to play rummy around the fire after dinner while you talk about all the wildlife you see during daylight. Birds of prey, big game and native fish.
“Hands down. Yellowstone cutthroat trout are my favorite,” says Kelly Glissmeyer, South Fork floater for 15 years. “I love catching those fish. They’ve been through a lot and they’re still here.”
Day 2:
You’re camped within steep rock walls so sunrise is slow to reach your tent in the canyon. Dress warm for breakfast, enjoy the natural quiet over coffee then start packing up your house. It all has to go with you. Literally all of it. Fire pans, port-o-potties, paper plates. Litter is a constant problem on the South Fork. Have everyone in your group play garbage man before launching on day two. Leave nothing behind. The next river campers want to feel like their camp is untouched just like you did. There are bathrooms and dumpsters at Byington boat ramp if you need to lighten your load. It’s a well-developed ramp below the canyon stretch.
Once out of the canyon, finding a camp turns tricky. No trespassing signs start popping up because private property is creeping close. What isn’t private, changes rapidly with the river’s mood, but don’t fret. Public property extends to the river’s high water mark so you have some breathing room. And camping on a mid-river gravel bar in late summer can be a viable option. Spend a lot of time day tripping from Heise Bridge to the take out at Lorenzo near Highway 20. You’re going to want to know this stretch well and have camp options scouted before your multi-day trip. Day two is long and not finding a camp makes it even longer. You don’t want to be rowing in the dark.
“Safety is always on your mind,” Glissmeyer says. “Whenever we float, we’ve got life vests on or next to us. Not stowed. It’s a powerful river and I guarantee people underestimate it.”
Day 3:
The South Fork of the Snake is an intimidating river. Even more so on the lower stretch, which you’ll run on the third day. Around Lorenzo, the river turns from flat to braided. This is a dynamic place. Whole cottonwood trees topple in and tall willows hide bull moose. Be alert. Only kids are required to wear lifejackets on the South Fork, but there’s no shame in always wearing one as an adult too. The South Fork isn’t sympathetic to weak swimmers.
The landscape turns from forest to farm with desert sage sprinkled about. Black lava rock starts taking over the closer you float to the confluence with Henry’s Fork. Your truck and trailer are in the downstream parking lot on your left. Henry’s is calmly dumping in your right to form the main channel of the Snake River. Row a few backstrokes up into Henry’s just to say you rowed the South Fork and Henry’s Fork both in one day, but never let that northern fork overshadow your do-it-yourself adventure on the Snake’s south end.
“A lot of people pass over the South Fork for the Henry’s Fork,” Glissmeyer says. “And that’s great. Let ‘em go.”