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Island Park to Carmen Bridge2023-05-15T18:28:21-07:00

“S14” Salmon River

The BLM calls this section S14 of the Upper Salmon River, which is from Island Park in Salmon, Idaho, down to the Carmen Bridge River Access, just a handful of miles downstream. This section is a scenic and mellow float.

salmon idaho float
carmen bridge takeout salmon river

About this guide

This guide outlines “S14” from Island Park to Carmen Bridge River Access. Notes were taken during low water at approximately 700 CFS at the Salmon, ID gauge.

River Info

This is a short and sweet local run that takes about 2 hours during low water, and is considerably faster at higher flows. It’s worth doing if you’re in Salmon and looking for something to do, but is not a destination trip. The BLM has a PDF guide that outlines this section, which can be downloaded here.

Permits

Permits are not required.

There’s a river gauge located half a mile downstream from the put-in. This gauge is located here.

Doing just this section at medium or higher flows isn’t worth the short trip, so we suggest only going during low water.

“S14” Salmon River Comprehensive Guide

WARNING: Conditions change frequently and may make this guide useless. This guide is NOT a replacement for sound judgment, experience, or skill level. 

Class II Rapid

Class II rapid or river feature.

Put-In / Take-Out

The most commonly used access points.

Point of Interest

These include confluences and diversion ditches

Island Park to Carmen Bridge – Class I & II

This guide outlines S14, from Island Park in Salmon, Idaho to Carmen Bridge (near the fairgrounds)

Length

Island Park to Carmen Bridge Access is 4.3 miles.

Difficulty

Beginner

Shuttle Time

Island Park to Carmen Bridge is 10 minutes round trip.

Mile 0 – Island Park Access: River Right. The ramp put-in is just upstream of the larger bridge, however, you can put-in below here too.

Mile 0.1 – Diversion Ditch: River Left. Right away, there’s a diversion on river left. Stay to the right of it.

Mile 0.2 – Alternate Ramp: River Right. There is another ramp towards the end of the island that works for putting in too, if the upstream ramp is crowded.

Mile 0.5 – River Flow Gauge: River Left. The monitoring station “13302500” is located here.

Mile 0.6 – Small Riffle: Class II. Most of the water pushes towards the right in this small Class II riffle.

Mile 0.7 – Tree in Channel: River Right. Located towards the right, an upright, living tree is in the channel.

Mile 0.75 – Lemhi River: River Right. The Lemhi River meets the Salmon here.

Mile 1.1 – Abandoned Car: River Right. As the river makes a jog to the left and the cliffs on the right begin to pass, look towards the right and you’ll spot an old car that was pushed off the hill.

Mile 1.55 – Island: Take the left channel around the island for the deepest water. The small Class I/II riffle is in this channel.

Mile 3 – Hole #4 Frisbee Golf: River Right Just a short ways off the river you’ll see a frisbee golf hole. This is hole #4 from the course called “The Killer Course” and features 18 holes. One reviewer calls the course fun but “…dangerous for kids.”

Mile 4 – Diversion Ditch: River Right. A diversion creates small wave features from center to river right.

Mile 4.3 – Carmen Bridge River Access: River Left. This is a nice river access point. Carmen Bridge has pit toilets and limited camping.

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