A family friendly river run

The Payette River Flatwater Trail is an easy river float through the lower end of Long Valley, combined with a mountain bike ride on a gravel road as a shuttle.

It offers a gentle (no rapids) 12-mile float that takes three to six hours to paddle from the Idaho 55 bridge on the southside of Cascade to the Cabarton boat ramp off Cabarton Road.

This section is ideal for families in kayaks, canoes and stand up paddle boards.

Sometimes the wind blows upstream, so adjust your time schedule to allow for a slower trip.

Expect to see lots of birds, including a great blue heron rookery, ducks, eagles, ospreys and other birds. There is also an elk-viewing area on the river.

Read more HERE.

Tree across North Fork

Kayakers running the upper river will want to stop and take a look. A large log is across the entire river and looks to be about chest high off the water. It’s easily visible from the road and probably easy to spot from upstream, but with the continuous nature of the whitewater, getting out before it and portaging could be a challenge. I couldn’t tell how many branches were submerged, but it’s a nasty looking log that could cause some serious problems if a boater isn’t prepared to deal with it.

Read it HERE.