Welcome back:) You ever gone river rafting? I’ve only been twice. Both times were on the iconic Lochsa river. I’d now like to call myself an expert, so here I am, laying out all the juicy little trip details including price breakdowns, what to bring, and where to rent gear, so you can have this experience too. Folks, let me tell you, if you’re gonna pick any of my posted trips to go on, this should be the first.
Rafting Lochsa Falls—your adventure planned for you
Lochsa Falls is iconic as far as river rafting goes. If you go to YouTube and type in, “rafting Lochsa falls” tons of compilation videos of people wiping out on this river are gonna pop up. It has class 4+ rapids, and when the water level is high the waves can be class five. For reference, the scale only goes up to class 6, so 4+ is getting up there for sure. The river is straight snow runoff, so it’s freezing cold, and the best time to raft it is around labor day, when things are still warming up in Idaho. There were some hypothermic people after the first river run. But there are hot springs nearbye so problem solved:)
Getting a crew and a river guide
The odds are high that you don’t have a raft. The odds are higher that even if you have a raft, you don’t have a full crew to raft with. Raft guides are often trying to fill raft seats for a safer, less expensive trip. You just need to know where to find them. Don’t worry, I got that covered 🙂 Go to facebook and join the Utah River Rafting group. Every once in awhile someone will post that they are going on a rafting trip and are looking for a full crew. Our boat floated the river with 3 other crews that found eachother on this group.
Most people will float the river around Memorial day because the water is running high around that time, so for the weeks leading up to it, keep your eyes open for posts about Lochsa falls. If you’re not seeing much, make a post yourself. Let people know you’re looking to raft Lochsa and need a boat, and the chances are high that someone will have space for you and maybe some friends. Typically the only thing these guys will ask is that you bring your own gear, (more on where to get that later) and to split gas and food costs with the rest of the crew. They should also know where the put-in and haul out is so you don’t have to worry about if you’re on the right part of the river.
Getting there
The drive from Provo to lochsa falls is a solid ten hours. you’re gonna want to get an early start on this one. I super recommend you bring a friend with a feul efficient car, and another friend with tetris packing talents. And, if you’re the shortest one in the group, make sure there’s one other person there who is close to your height so you can take turns getting squished in the back seat with all of the gear. I owe my life and my legs to Addie, who switched places with me half-way through the drive. Addie, my great grandchildren will be writing you thank you letters.
To get to the campsite you’ll pass through Missoula, and that’s just about the last place you’ll have to get gas and food before you drive about an hour into the canyon. There IS an emergency gas station in the canyon, but the gas prices are insane so I would fill up in Missoula for sure.
Where to rent gear
You have a couple of options. Option 1: BYU’s gear rental store: Outdoors unlimited. A wetsuit and wetsuit boots were a little more than $20 for the weekend. Lightwork. You can add rafting gloves if you want, I didn’t use them but the people who did said they were super nice. My fingers were definitely numb for most of the trip, so might be worth it. That river is crazy cold. Also, you might want to check if they have lifejackets and helmets, we borrowed these from a friend. Option 2 has you covered if they don’t.
Option 2: renting from love boat and paddle co. These guys are located in Missoula. The prices are about the same, but they have the option of renting drysuits. The name is pretty self explanitory: it’s a suit that seals up around you and doesn’t let any water in. They’re really nice. They’re also pretty expensive to rent: about $100 for the weekend. We went with the wetsuits:) The other nice thing about renting from Love Boat is that you can get rid of your wet gear before the long road trip home instead of trying to find space for it in the car. The only downside is that if you rent from them, you have to leave Utah pretty early in the morning to pick up your rental before the store closes.
Cell service
Once you get to the canyon, you’ll loose service almost immediately. Service is also pretty spotty on the way to missoula, so I would make sure you bring a book or download some movies for the road. Just plan on not being able to contact anyone for the days you’re up there.
Where to camp
There are a lot of camping options up the canyon. When you’re picking a place to camp you need to figure out: if you want to be close to the boat launch and lochsa falls, or if you want to be close to the hot springs. It’s not super fun to have a long drive to the campground while you’re sitting in a cold wetsuit, but my vote is that you camp next to the hot springs. There are two hot springs in the canyon, and one of them is super crowded and the other on is a better kept secret. I’ll give you the run down of both.
Jerry Johnson warm springs
True to the name, this little pool isn’t hot. When we drove to it we were concerned that it was just going to feel lukewarm and not do much about how cold we were. But it’s definitley pretty warm and we all left feeling nice and cozy.
There are three pools, a super small one that is the warmest, and right next to it there is a big pool that is a little cooler. Over a small ridge, there is a third and I was told it feels about the same as the big pool. It’s located in a clearing of trees and is close to a campsite, though you can’t see the camp from the springs. It feels really secluded and peaceful, and it hit the spot after we all froze rafting lochsa falls. The cons: it’s a long-ish walk to get there, (maybe 15-20 minutes?) so if you’re freezing your buns off it’s not very fun to try to get to. It’s also pretty shallow, so you have to be almost laying down to be submerged. Overall we just really liked how peaceful the location was, and the fact that we pretty much had the whole springs to ourselves.
Weir creek hot springs
This hot springs looks like something straight out of a luxury resort. You know, the kind where they try to replicate the outdoors so you feel like you’re roughing it but actually it’s still just perfect? The hot springs are located on a moutainside that overlooks a river and it is STUNNING. The pool was pretty hot but not scalding, and man we were cold that day so it felt amazing. There are multiple smaller pools surrounding this one big one, and they vary in temperature and size. The main pool is the only one that will comfortably fit a group though.
The walk to this one is significantly shorter than to Jerry Johnson springs, which is a big win. The only con about the springs: everyone knows about it. It was really crowded when we got there, and people just kept coming. We missed the seclusion we felt at the other hot springs for sure. I still liked this one more though, so I would recommend you just go earlier in the day so you can get a spot with your group.
Packing list:
Let’s jump right into the packing list because it’s a bit of a beast.
- Super warm clothes to sleep in: it get’s quite cold in the canyon at night
- Obviously cooking utensils
- a lighter
- flashlights
- a sleeping bag and sleeping pad
- a water bottle with a caribeaner to attatch to the raft
- a lifejacket
- A helmet (or lochsa falls will eat you alive)
- a wetsuit and wetsuit boots
- food!!
- a towel
- portable charger
- I think that’s it
- There is a bathroom at the campsite, but there wasn’t always toilet paper in it, so maybe bring some wetwipes or something
- Mint oreos (non negotiable)
- That’s actually it
Total cost
The total cost for this trip was only about 110$. That included gas there and back, food, camping fees, and the gear rental. This price is amazing for the trip. Your price will vary on how gas efficient your car is, if you decide to eat well or eat cheap (honestly I think ramen falls into the category of eating well but you be the judge), and how many people you are splitting those costs between. Ultimately though, Lochsa falls is THE quintessential rafting experience. Class 4+ rapids, hot springs, great vibes, come one. If you have the opportunity to go, it’s definitely worth it.
That’s a wrap on lochsa falls
I do believe that’s everything you need to know about rafting lochsa falls. I didn’t talk a lot about my experience on this trip because this post is long enough just with the information you’ll need, but I loved it. The adrenaline factor, the jokes, the hot springs at the end of a freezing, kind of scary but super fun day, it just is all so good.
And now you know how you can have the same experience! I just want you to know that I hate compiling information and researching things but you’re so welcome because that’s what I do here for you. So, I want to see some real gratitude for my efforts, and by that I mean go on this trip and then tell me all about it after please and thank you 🙂
Oh! And if you’re looking for an adventure a bit closer to home, click here for the perfect overnight backpacking trip.
Safe adventures and thanks for reading!
I’m glad you’re here 🙂
