WRO Kayaking Skill Requirements

Vacation should be all about having fun. In order to do so, we want to make sure that you pick the best trip possible that fits with your personal experience and skill level. We have trip options for all abilities, and are happy to discuss where we think your best fit trip is.

Though we offer safety kayakers on many of our kayak-support trips, we currently do not have the ability for one-on-one instruction. Considering that there are often many different paddlers in the group, for safety reasons ask that all paddlers have the following skills:

Relaxed/ Moderate Adventure Trips: (Class II-III)

Basic class II-III whitewater abilities
- Wet exit, basic downriver paddling skills
Proficient roll
Basic ability to read whitewater on the fly
Comfort swimming class II-III pool drop

*For Main Salmon and Lower Salmon trips, these are our best “beginner trips,” mostly because of the recovery pools and warm water temperatures in the summer. We encourage beginner paddlers to have practiced their roll, but these are great trips to hone in skills in fairly low-stress situations, especially if you have other more experienced paddlers with you.

Moderate/ High Adventure Trips: (Class III+-IV)

Solid class III+-IV whitewater abilities
Consistent, confident roll
Experienced ability to read whitewater on the fly
Comfort swimming swift current
Big water experience recommended (High water Middle Fork Salmon)

*All rivers with class V whitewater have options for portaging.

Kayak Trip Filters by Skill:

Relaxed/ Moderate Adventure Trips:

(Class II-III)

4-5 Day Lower Owyhee (Rome to Birch)

April
Class II-III+
Spring run-off dependant
Pool drop, wave trains at higher flows, tight and technical at lower flows

6 Day Main Salmon

June-September
Class II-III (<20,000 cfs); Class III-IV (20,000-50,000 cfs)
Big water, pool drop rapids, wave trains
Playboating
Consistent flows all summer/ fall

5 Day Lower Salmon

July-September
Class II-III (3000-12,000 cfs), Class III-IV (12,000-25,000 cfs)
Big water, pool drop rapids, wave trains
Playboating
Consistent flows after July (Slide rapid unrunnable above 30,000 cfs)

*Note that while the rapids are often larger, the Lower Salmon has significantly longer sections of flatwater than the Main Salmon.

6 Day Middle Fork Salmon (Summer)

July-August
Class II-III+ (1.5’-4.0’)
1.5-3’: More technical, rock-dodgy, 3’-4’: pool drop (Continuous and more challenging on upper section)
Playboating
These flows are considerably slower, more spread out, and have more opportunities for playboating than at higher flows (optimal intermediate level probably between 3-4.5 feet). We stop running the upper 25 miles (Boundary Creek to Indian Creek) commercially around 2-2.5 feet, and would not recommend kayaking that section unless you want a real scrape-fest. We can make arrangements for your boat to meet you at Indian Creek if you are interested in doing a later season kayak trip.

Moderate/ High Adventure Trips:

(Class III+-IV)

4-8 Day Owyhee (Upper, Middle)

April
Class III-IV (V-V+)
- Duck Valley to Crutcher’s Crossing: (III-IV(V+))
- Crutcher’s Crossing to Three Forks: (II-III+ (V))
- Three Forks to Rome: (III-IV (V) )
Spring run-off dependant
Technical, continuous, challenging pool drop, portages
We are able to customize these trips based on desired length of trip and desired sections