Boise River Float

Fighting for your life while dogging trees and rocks may not seem like the best way to spend a Sunday… but if it’s while floating the Boise River, I assure you it is worth it. This past weekend my roommates and I decided to try out our water skills as we set out to float the Boise River. A seemingly simple task (you sit there and the current takes you along), it was not quite as simple for us. I’m not going to say it was because I was the one with the paddle, but I won’t deny it either.

We set out on a transportation bus provided by Boise State and headed up to Barber Park. Here we rented our six-person raft and set out for the adventures of the day. The Boise River is not a very strong current-ed river. There were parts that were faster, and it had a few drops but, after growing up on the Columbia River, it seemed pretty tame. The river was packed with people of all ages. Floating the river is obviously a very popular activity in Boise due to its relative safety and cost.

Though earlier I did make it out to sound like a scary ride, the river was a fun way to spend the afternoon. I noticed also that we were having the most issues because of the size of our raft. Parties with single or double tubes had a much easier time navigating. The overall float took about two hours to complete, which was perfect timing for us. For our raft rental, we paid about $10 a person. You could just as easily go to the store and buy a tube, or bring one from home. All in all, I would highly recommend floating the Boise River. Maybe just make sure your paddler knows what they are doing in the back 😉