#Snake river rv park homedale idaho full

Those aren't the only places, but it's a good place to start. Remember smallmouths like current, boulders and a cobble bottom. I've rarely been skunked fishing on the Snake, but at times I've done a lot of casting to land a few fish.įish aren't evenly distributed in the river, and it may take some searching to find them.

I've even caught a trout there, but that's a rarity. It also has a big catfish population and tons of carp.

#Snake river rv park homedale idaho full

The Snake is chock full of bass, mostly smallmouths, but some largemouths, too. But if you're fishing, plan a shorter float or you can run out of daylight before you reach your destination. For a day float, about 10 miles is plenty. There's also a constant threat of upstream winds (rarely downstream), which will further hamper your progress. Not so on the Snake.Īt times, it can be like a lake, and when you stop rowing, you stop moving. My rule of thumb for floating most rivers is the current will carry me about 2 miles an hour. There's still time to float it this year, and you won't have to deal with punishing summer heat. The water trail is divided into 11 reaches, and the website provides information about each reach, including boat ramps, mileage between points, campgrounds, drinking water, restrooms, photos and more.īecause the Snake has a mild climate, it has a long floating season. The Snake River Water Trail begins at Three Island Crossing State Park near Glenns Ferry and ends at Farewell Bend State Park in Oregon. During the 24-mile float, my father-in-law and I saw two other boaters. In fact, you will likely find more solitude on the Snake than on Idaho's famous wilderness rivers. The river meanders, splits around islands, has numerous side channels and canals, and takes its sweet time flowing from point to point.ĭespite never straying far from a paved road, the river has some secluded spots that make you feel much farther from civilization than you are, and it has a surprising variety of fish and wildlife.Īdd to that camping spots along the way, and you have interesting opportunities to explore without drawing a permit, driving long distances or jockeying for campsites.

Instead, I relied on faulty memory, guesstimation and my GPS, which showed a straight line of 15 miles between the two points.īut anyone who's spent time on the Snake knows it's anything but a straight line. Had I gone online to and done simple math, I would have known it's 24 miles from the Homedale boat ramp (river mile 416) to the Hexon Road boat ramp (river mile 392). The irony is, one reason for my journey was to highlight the 'Snake River Water Trail' and the good work done by a coalition of partners to show the recreation opportunities on a 206-mile section of the river in Southwest Idaho and Eastern Oregon. What I didn't do was my homework, which meant my casual float turned into a rowing marathon of about 24 miles to avoid floating in the dark. I've been exploring different sections of the river for many years, and this summer I decided to float the section between Homedale and Fort Boise west of Parma.

It's adjacent to Idaho's most populated area, so it's not remote. There are no big rapids to speak of (but there are rapids farther upstream), and as I learned the hard way, it barely flows some places. I love whitewater and remote, rugged, wild country, but I find the Snake in Southwest Idaho interesting because it's so different.