WRO’s Top 6 Hikes
June 9, 2023
If you’ve been on a WRO trip, you know we love to hike! Hiking has always been a core component for our company, as we feel it helps to foster a greater connection to where you are, contributes to a sense of adventure, and gives some pretty spectacular perspectives to some of our favorite places.
In celebration of going out next week with our “hikers’ special” group on the Main Salmon, we compiled a list of some of our favorite hikes from across our trips.
While these are some of our highlighted hikes, all of our rivers hold plenty of opportunities for those who like to venture on foot! Contact us today to ask about which trips may be best for you and your hiking goals, or to arrange a hiking-focused charter trip!
- Goatherd Mountain, Upper Alsek
The hike up Goatherd Mountain is genuinely a once-in-a-lifetime experience. This is the kind of scenery that photos can’t do justice, with a full day adventure that rewards you with a bird’s eye view of the cascading path of Lowell Glacier and blocked ice dams framed by delicate fluorescent pink River Beauty flowers. From starting off scrambling up intense metamorphic rock that resembles abstract art, increasingly better views of Lowell the higher you get, glassing curious mountain goats, to finishing off with snow gliding, there’s few places on earth that can compare.
2. Cave Draw, Bruneau
This hike provides a serious bang for your buck, with a short 20 minute walk up a draw that provides solitude, incredible avian acoustics, and a great hang out spot to take in all of the beauty that the Bruneau canyon has to offer. It’s a great opportunity to further admire the cathedral-like spires of the ancient rhyolite, explore hidden caves and arches, and try out your raptor identification skills.
3. Veil Cave, Middle Fork Salmon
Veil Cave is one of the most popular hikes of the Middle Fork Salmon, and we can’t deny that it’s for good reason. With a short but steep scramble up the Impassable Canyon, you quickly find yourself tucked away in a magical oasis. Sit back and enjoy the calming white noise of the “veil” pulsing from above the grotto alongside the canyon wrens, or venture down and rinse off in Mother Nature’s refreshing shower (which you might need by day 5 of the trip!) You might even be able to collect some fresh Idaho mint for your evening cocktails!
4. Sediments Creek, Tatshenshini
Sediments Creek is another full day alpine hike that offers a worthwhile challenge to experience Alaskan grandeur in all of its glory. Enjoy watching the ecosystems change as you wander through gravelly Arctic drias fields, beautiful aspen groves and old growth cottonwood, stunning examples of metamorphic rock, and steep glacial scree fields. From the top you have an all-time perspective of the rich glacial history of the area.
5. Bradley/ Vinegar Peak, Middle Fork Flathead
We love a good layover hike, and this is definitely one of our absolute favorites. While it can be physically demanding spending most of your day trying to scramble up a Montana-sized peak, the rewarding view at the top is absolutely worth the effort. While enjoying a summit beer amidst stunning high-alpine views, sit back, relax, and reward yourself with the Glacier Park scenery without any of the crowds.
6. Warren Creek Overlook, Main Salmon
The Main Salmon holds some of Central Idaho’s most classic wild landscapes, cutting deep into the Idaho granite walls peppered by pine forests and white sandy beaches. Warren Creek is an impressive tributary, and meanders all the way to Warren, Idaho if you wanted to venture that far. But by cutting downriver, this well-established trail offers a chance to get a birds-eye view into one of the most spectacular canyons of the whole Main Salmon. With an early morning start from camp, there are few better ways to start your day than sipping coffee taking in all the beauty.
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