*** Please Note 2019-12-31 *** ** I have not floated the river since 2012. I do not know if any of the information on this page has changed. ** ** I only leave the page up in case someone still finds it useful. ** ** Have fun floating the Boise River without me. I do miss it! ** General disclaimer: This page is just an attempt at being useful. Using Google Analytics, I noticed that many people find my website while looking for information about floating the Boise river. Since I have floated it exactly 115 times over 11 summers (as of September 2012), I thought maybe I could give some helpful information. But be careful, I have always been good on the water, which means I may not be providing enough caution for those who are inexperienced. There is plenty of other information on the internet and even videos on YouTube. I have some maps and pictures on this page, closer to the bottom. The maps were made using Google Earth and have markers and descriptions. Here's a downloadable brochure from Epley's: http://epleys.com/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=OUWAMAAPn5Q%3d&tabid=101 And Epley's has a floater map: http://epleys.com/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=zehrVTE9KoY%3d&tabid=101 No glass allowed on the river and no alcohol. Maybe no smoking too. There are rules about wearing life vests too, but I have not noticed them being enforced (inner tubes and beach toys are exempt). I see people getting tickets, especially on busy weekends, but probably for alcohol. Go to this website for information, tips, and rules: http://parks.cityofboise.org/parks-locations/floating-the-boise-river and visit: http://barber-park.com/floating.html Float time: It takes 1.5 - 2.0 hours to float the river unless you stop. Add more time for filling rafts, deflating rafts, and travel. I leave home, walk into Ann Morrison Park, take the shuttle bus, fill my inner tube, float, maybe stop to jump off the concrete platform at Warm Springs Municipal Golf Course, finish floating, and walk home in less than three hours. Quick Tips for Floating the Boise River1) stay in the middle of the channel mostly because you need to 2) stay away from trees. They hang low and scratch you, maybe tip you over. 3) Don't grab a tree branch; the water can pull your raft out from under you, plus they scratch your hands. 4) Lift your butt when going over diversion dams and rocky places, especially if in an inner tube. 5) Go over the diversion dams front first; if sideways you can more easily tip over. 6) After you fill you raft, and especially black inner tubes, don't leave it in the sun; they heat up and sometimes pop.What to Wear, What to Bring: Clothes That Can Get Wet and a Cup to Bail Water There are a couple miniature waterfalls where the river goes over short "diversion dams." These are safe, but you may tip over if you go over sideways; go front first. And maybe lift your butt so it does not hit any rocks on the way over, especially in an inner tube. But water is likely to splash in so wear clothes that can get wet and maybe bring a cup to bail water out of the raft. My other page and pictures below show both a diversion dam waterfall and a calm section. Most people seem to wear regular swimwear, especially the young and good looking. But clothes and looks don't stop anyone from going. One time I floated with a date who wore a dress. Only seen that one other time. A couple times, I have seen a rather pot bellied man wearing only a thong. FootwearYou can make the trip barefoot because there are concrete steps at the put in point and mostly sand at the take out. But shoes are good because if you need to walk on the river bottom elsewhere, it hurts to walk barefoot even though the rocks are not sharp. But a lot of people lose one or more flip flops, so maybe wear something that is more attached to your foot. Only the deep places are muddy (actually rotten leaves), the rest of the river is rocky or sandy. And if you pop your flotation device or otherwise lose it, you may have to walk a distance along the Greenbelt, which is mostly paved.Sun ScreenThe sun in Boise can be brutal. Bring sunblock. And drinking water is good. I really dislike and avoid sun screen and lotions, so I wait until after 5:00 so I can float with little or no burning. But later float times can leave you looking down river into the sunset, so I wear sunglasses sometimes, cheap ones that I can lose. Polarized sunglasses are best for sun on the water (light reflecting off the water is partially polarized, so the glasses, polarized in the opposite direction, are especially good at removing the reflected glare).Rafts and Inner Tubes, But Maybe Not Air MattressesThe water is cold, especially in July, so most people prefer using rafts rather than inner tubes. The rental rafts are quite sturdy, professional quality. The cheaper ones from, for instance Walmart, work fine but are more susceptible to popping while filling them and to holes from tree branches. PLEASE NOTE: the cheaper rafts can not hold as many people as they claim to hold. I would only put TWO full size adults in my FOUR man raft! Some four man rafts can hold three people. Don't show up with an unknown raft and end up putting too many people in it.Floating in inner tubes are considerably warmer than swimming since only part of the body is submerged, but most people in inner tubes are shivering cold long before the end. So using an inner tube isn't as bad as you might think when you start out, but many need to stop along the way to warm up. Bigger inner tubes hold the floater higher out of the water, so they are a little warmer. I'm weird, so even though I have big inner tubes, and a large plastic tube, and a raft, I use my small inner tube from a 13 inch car wheel. People often buy plastic paddles for their rafts and break them. I find 'em in the trash at the take out point. I use the short broken paddles with my inner tube and give them to other people using tubes. Using your arms to paddle works but 1) is colder because your hands are in the water and 2) causes chaffing where your arms rub against the inner tube. Several stores and drugstores sell large plastic tubes. They seem to work fine but I see some popped ones on the bank; people probably got into some tree branches that popped them. Rubber (butyl?) car tire inner tubes are tougher than plastic but not foolproof. Some people use air mattresses, but they seem to have trouble staying on them while floating. Kids on the River - With and Without ParentsHmmm. I won't be giving advice on your child rearing. But I usually see teenagers floating without parents on the river. They are less attentive as far as avoiding trees and such, but seem to survive just fine. But I saw a rather young pre-teen who was taking an even younger brother and sister with him. That seemed a little beyond his level of responsibility. I stayed close to them for their safety, plus reducing some fear in the younger ones. Following the law and having children under 14 WEARING a vest may be good. I have read: "Do not take infants or small children on the river." I mostly agree. Definitely don't try to both paddle and watch/hold an infant. If a younger child falls out of the boat, obstacles and moving current could easily separate the child from the rescuing parent. There are occasional drownings, but obstacles are have been removed much better in recent years compared to the past. There are other places along the river where kids can wade and swim and jump off the bank without the dangers of navigating past trees. And public pools have life guards.Dogs Rafting the Boise RiverI have seen a number of dogs floating with their owners on the river. They generally seemed happy to be along, seeing the people, seeing new sights, and sniffing the air. The shuttle does not allow non-service dogs on the bus. I am unclear about service dogs.There are dogs and people along the shore having fun and barking. If your dog disobediently leaves the boat to join them, it could be difficult to get them back into your raft before floating out of their reach while swimming. Swimming dogs don't stop paddling when there get to you, so they scratch you up. So I would not advise taking them on an innertube. There are life jackets for dogs and a few dogs on the river wear them, but I haven't noticed them for rent. Make sure your raft could handle any sharp claws you pet has. There are waves and bouncing so the dog is likely to "dig in" a bit with its feet. Rental Equipment From EpleysFor renting information here is the website of the current rental company: http://epleys.com/boiselocation.aspx They rent out large rafts, less large rafts, inner tubes, and life vests. ID and credit cards are needed for deposits. You can return the rentals to Ann Morrison Park rather than back upriver at Barber Park. And they sell innertubes. So do other places like tire stores and even drugstores.Shuttle Bus and ParkingThe shuttle bus costs $3 and goes from Ann Morrison Park (about midway in on the north side) to Barber Park, which is about six miles upriver. See the above website for shuttle and air station times! The shuttle, a white school bus, has a few seats taken out, so there is extra space in the back, but probably NOT enough for already inflated rafts or tubes. It just has more space for big folded rafts that you can not fit in a regular bus seat.Parking in Ann Morrison Park is free, if you can find a space, but parking at Barber Park is not free. So it's cheapest, and arguably easiest to park at the end of the trip and have someone or the shuttle take you to the beginning. Or park at Barber Park and have the shuttle take just one person back to retrieve the car. BUT... Barber Park closes at sundown, so get your car before that. I don't need to drive to float the river, so maybe find a more experienced source for that information. Weekends are busy, weekdays less so. The shuttle runs once an hour, at the top of the hour, on weekdays. There are about three shuttles per hour during weekends. I have read that 100,000 people float in a year, but I doubt it. I would guess that at most 2000 on weekend days and 500 on week days. But don't trust that guess. Opening and Closing for General FloatingUsually the rentals and the air stations, which are needed to fill your non-rented inner tubes and rafts, begin in early July, but I have seen them open a week before or two weeks after July fourth. The start date generally seems tied to when they reduce the water flow to a safe quantity. Flow is quite high and dangerous in the Spring. The rentals and air stations close after Labor Day. However, they are also closed the five week days before Labor Day. School starts that week, so there is little demand then. Supposedly, it also needs to be warm enough, but I have never noticed it closed for that reason. I use this website to determine how high the water is: http://www.usbr.gov/pn-bin/graphwy.pl?bigi_q This graph is for farther down river, at the Glenwood bridge. There is a closer gauge just below Lucky Peak dam, but some of that water gets diverted into New York Canal.Jumping into the River and WadingSee the maps below for several places where I see people jump into the river, either as their main activity or as a stop while floating. Other places are marked as common wading locations. Recently, jumping from the bank and bridges has been made legal, just not within 50 feet of people floating by. The water below some of the bridges is dangerously too shallow for jumping. Check it out first by wading where you want to jump.Wildlife I Have SeenI see mink (yes, the fur coat kind) along shore about half of the times I float. Some people seem to think they are weasels. They are a little bigger than squirrels, with dark fluffy fur. When wet, they look scrawny. They eat other things too, but the mink dive in the water and catch small fish. I seem better than average at noticing wildlife, so many people never even see them. Here is a link that has some general pictures and information about mink: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_MinkI have seen several white tail deer along the river. One time there was an elk. It may have been the famous Ernie the Elk who has since died. Most elk prefer to stay farther from town. I have seen beaver about five times. They are secretive and I have only seen them at dusk. One time, I believe I saw an otter; only the head was visible, so I won't claim positive identification. Osprey have been common in the last few years, especially closer to the Barber Park end, away from the city. Sometimes hummingbirds just hover above the water. And there are plenty of other birds drawn to the water or the trees along it. Maps of the Heavily Floated Sections of the Boise RiverIf you have Google Earth on your computer and want the markers that I created so you can zoom or whatever, here are those Google Earth markers: RiverMarks.kmz
Pictures of Floating and Rafting the Boise RiverHere are some miscellaneous picture from along the float route. They have some explanations with them. Click to enlarge them. Notice that most of the route is fairly calm. I enjoy the peacefulness. But on your first float, don't relax too much. Keep watch for where the current is taking you. After you get to know the river, then enjoy the peace.
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