Here’s a photo of the Wind River Bridge that I wrote about last week. The bridge crosses the Salmon River and offers access to hiking and pack trails going into the Gospel Hump Wilderness. It is located about 23 miles east of Riggins along the Salmon River Road where there is plenty of beach camping. Don’t you just love pack bridges.
Beaches along the Salmon River upriver from Riggins are inviting in the summer with plenty of swimming and paddling.
Photo by Pete Zimowsky
Here’s a photo of the Wind River Bridge that I wrote about last week. The bridge crosses the Salmon River and offers access to hiking and pack trails going into the Gospel Hump Wilderness. It is located about 23 miles east of Riggins along the Salmon River Road where there is plenty of beach camping. Don’t you just love pack bridges.
Beautiful beaches go on for more than 20 miles upriver from Riggins, making the area one of the best places for swimming and sandbar camping.
The Salmon River from Riggins upriver to Carey Creek reveals even more white, sandy beaches this time of the year as the river’s water level continues to recede.
A lot of the beach camping is undeveloped, meaning there are no facilities. Bring along a porta-potty, privacy tent, sun shade, portable camp tables and fire pan for your campfire. You don’t want to blacken the beach with a campfire. Pack out your trash and pick up other’s trash if you see it. Let’s keep these valuable beaches clean by using Leave No Trace practices.
There are several popular areas along the way that do have outhouses and there is one developed campground called Spring Bar with 18 tent-style campsites, tables and vault toilets. Smaller RVs can fit in the campground but there are no RV hookups. Wheelchair accessible picnic facilities are available at Allison Creek, to the west of the campground.
The river offers lots of paddling and swimming in the calm areas and eddies, making it really popular in summer. Even though the flow of the Salmon River is going down, it is still a strong river and life jackets are a must when swimming and paddling. Children should not be left unattended.
Be aware. It’s darn hot this time of the year and one of the key pieces of camping equipment is a lawn chair that you can put in the river and sit down and relax.
Getting there: Drive to Riggins, about 150 miles north of Treasure Valley, and turn east on the Salmon River Road. Start looking immediately for a vacant spot on the many beaches along the way.
Pete has been writing about the outdoors in Idaho and the Northwest for decades. Give him a shout at mountaingoat@centurylink.net.
