Main Salmon River Permit

About this permit

Permits are required year-round to float the Wild section of the Salmon River, from Corn Creek to Long Tom Bar. The lottery control season runs June 20 through September 7, and during it no more than eight float boat parties, commercial and non-commercial combined, are allowed to launch each day. Outside the control season the number of launches is unlimited, but you still need a trip permit before launching.

A maximum of 30 people is allowed per group, with trip length scaled to it: 1 to 10 people up to 8 days and 7 nights, 11 to 20 up to 7 days, 21 to 30 up to 6 days. Outside the control season the group cap stays 30 and the maximum trip length is 10 days.

Fees are a $6 non-refundable reservation or lottery application fee plus a $4 per person per day special recreation fee, with a 50% reduction on the per-person fee for Senior or Access Pass holders.

From March 16 at 8:00 am MT, anything declined, cancelled or unaccepted from the lottery goes back on sale, and later cancellations are randomly released within 24 hours. That is what a cancellation alert checks. The lottery itself takes applications from December 1 at 8:00 am Mountain Time through January 31 at 11:59 pm MT; results post February 14, and successful applicants must confirm by March 15 at 11:59 MT.

Required equipment is specific: a portable toilet, fire pan, fire blanket, ash container, shovel, bucket, mesh strainer and the appropriate aquatic invasive species stickers. The Forest Service spells out a metal fire pan of at least 144 square inches with 3-inch sides, carried even if you do not plan on having a fire, an ash container carried on the same basis, and a mesh strainer fine enough to filter coffee grounds. The portable toilet must have enough capacity for the group; no wipes, sticks or rocks go in it. Bag systems are only acceptable for self-contained kayak groups or as a day potty, and WAG-bag style systems for self-support trips must be carried in a waterproof hard-shell container.

Every boat must be clean, drained and dry on arrival, carry an Idaho AIS sticker, and (this is the part people miss) all watercraft must be inspected by Forest Service staff before going into the river.

The route

The Forest Service publishes the run as 79 miles of free-flowing river between Corn Creek and Long Tom Bar. Note the boundary: the permitted section ends at Long Tom Bar, not at the road take-outs further down. From North Fork, Idaho, you turn off Highway 93 onto the Salmon River Road, Forest Road 030, and follow it 47 miles to the Corn Creek launch.

Trip length is tied to party size: 1 to 10 people get up to 8 days and 7 nights, 11 to 20 people up to 7 days, and 21 to 30 people up to 6 days. Outside the control season the maximum group is still 30 but the trip can run 10 days.

The agency describes the experience as moderate to fast-paced depending on flow, and when water levels exceed 5.0 feet at the Corn Creek gauge you can cancel three days out without a late penalty.

Why it matters

The Wild section of the Main Salmon runs from Corn Creek to Long Tom Bar through the heart of the Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness. It is the classic multi-day family river in Idaho: big enough water to be interesting, forgiving enough that the Forest Service describes it as a moderate to fast-paced whitewater floating experience rather than a technical one, and long enough that eight days feels earned.