Hells Canyon Snake River Permit

About this permit

The Snake River through Hells Canyon runs a primary permit season from the Friday preceding Memorial Day through September 10. For 2026 that is May 22 to September 10. A secondary season runs September 11 through the Thursday preceding Memorial Day.

During the primary season the river allows three private launches and two commercial launches per day. Outside primary season the same rules apply with no limitations on the number of launches per day, and permits are self-issued Monday through Thursday during the primary season and throughout the secondary season. Scenic floats launching from Pittsburg are separately limited to two per day on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and holidays during the primary season.

Party size cannot exceed 8 craft or 24 people, and the permit holder must be 18 by the launch date. Fees are a $6 non-refundable application and reservation fee, and there are no per-person recreation fees at all.

Unconfirmed, declined and cancelled dates released on March 16, 2026 at 8:00 am PST, and those are the openings a cancellation alert catches. They came out of the 2026 lottery, which took applications from December 1, 2025 to January 31, 2026 at 11:59 pm PST, with results on February 14 and confirmation by March 15.

Required equipment: firepans, with no cutting or gathering of firewood allowed; a personal flotation device for each person, worn by children 12 and under; washable, leakproof toilet systems, with human waste packed out; and an aquatic invasive species permit or sticker from Idaho or Oregon. Wood fuel is prohibited from June 1 through September 30.

Camping limits differ by section: three days and two nights per site on the Wild River from the dam to Upper Pittsburg; four days and three nights on the Scenic from Upper Pittsburg to Cache Creek; one night at Upper and Lower Granite and at Oregon Hole. In the secondary season the limit rises to 14 days and 13 nights, and the maximum trip length is 14 days.

In early July 2026 the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest's alerts page showed no Hells Canyon-specific closure and moderate fire danger, plus a forest-wide 14-day camping limit order starting May 26, 2026. Check the forest directly before you drive.

The route

The agency divides the river in two. The 31.5-mile section between Hells Canyon Dam and Upper Pittsburg Landing is designated Wild, with rapids varying from Class II to Class V. The 36-mile section downstream from Upper Pittsburg Landing to river mile 180.2 is designated Scenic. Heller Bar at mile 168.5 is the final public launch.

It names two rapids: Wild Sheep Rapids, which it uses as the boundary of the non-motorized zone, and Granite Creek rapids, about seven miles downstream from Hells Canyon Dam.

Motorised traffic is part of this river and the rules around it are worth reading before you book. Floatcraft operators may carry a kicker motor of 15 hp maximum, but operating a motor on the Wild River section is prohibited except in emergencies. Motorized operation is banned Monday through Wednesday on alternating weeks from the first Monday of June through August between Wild Sheep Rapids and Kirkwood. For 2026 those dates are June 1-3, 15-17 and 29-30; July 1, 13-15 and 27-29; and August 10-12 and 24-26. Launching floatcraft from private powerboats is prohibited year-round on the Wild River and on Friday, Saturday or Sunday on the Scenic. No-wake zones apply within 200 feet of developed sites.

Why it matters

The Snake through Hells Canyon is the biggest water in the Pacific Northwest and one of the few great multi-day rivers that costs nothing beyond the $6 application. The Wild section from Hells Canyon Dam to Upper Pittsburg Landing carries rapids the agency rates as high as Class V, and the Scenic section below it runs another 36 miles.