Your Second Middle Fork Trip: How to Make It a Different River

You know how the first morning goes now. You know the cold of that first splash, what the dutch oven smells like at the end of a long day, and how strange it feels to check a phone that has had no signal for days. Plenty of our trips fill with people who have done all of this before. That raises a fair question about a second Middle Fork trip: if you go back, how do you make it new?

The river helps a lot. It's a different river in June than it is in August, and it feels different from a paddle raft than from an oar boat. Here are the ways returning guests change things up.

Change the season

The water and weather change enough over a single summer that a second trip in a different month can feel like a second river.

• Early June: The snowmelt is at its peak, and so is the whitewater. Trips run five days because the water moves faster. Drysuits are provided, and the weather can swing from warm to chilly within hours. The minimum age on high-water trips is 14. More detail is on our high water trips page.
• Late June into July: The water drops and warms, and wildflowers come out. Days can reach 80°F, with nights in the mid-40s to around 50.
• Mid-July through August: The water runs clear. Swimming and fishing are at their best, and the lower water makes the boating more technical. In the low-water weeks, usually in August, the trip often starts at Indian Creek instead of Boundary Creek.

If your first trip was in midsummer, an early June trip is the biggest change you can make without leaving the Middle Fork. If your first trip was early season, coming back in August shows you a calmer, clearer river. Our post on choosing the right time of year goes deeper on this.

Change the boat

Many first-timers spend most of their trip in one kind of boat. Next time, try the one you didn't use.

• If you rode oar boats, try a paddle raft. You'll feel every rapid and work them with a crew.
• If you paddled, take an inflatable kayak when conditions allow. You'll be running the river yourself.
• If you did everything, consider adding a fishing boat and spending some days with a fly rod.

You can still switch from day to day, as you could on your first trip. For the differences between boats, read oar raft, paddle raft, or inflatable kayak. Fishing upgrade details are on fishing on the Middle Fork.

Change the people

The quickest way to make the Middle Fork new is to show it to someone else. Returning guests bring the friend who has been hearing about the trip for two years, a sibling, older kids, or parents. Watching someone else's first morning on the river brings back part of your own.

If enough of the people you want to bring are interested, a charter puts the whole trip in your hands with no strangers on board.

Change the purpose

A custom trip can be built around something specific, which changes what the days feel like.

All of these are on our custom and charter trips page.

What stays the same

Some things don't change, and returning guests usually tell us they're glad of it. Camp is set every night. The food comes out of dutch ovens and off the grill. Every guide is trained in CPR and First Aid and holds a Swift Water Rescue certification. You still have no cell service, which gives you several days of your own attention back.

The hard parts stay the same too. The water is cold, it may rain, you sleep in a tent, and the shower is a solar bag if you ask for one. A second trip also won't repeat the first one exactly. Water, weather, and the group are always different. Most returning guests would say that's the reason to go back.

Planning a return trip

We run eleven trips a season, and the 2027 calendar is up now. If a date you want shows as full, call anyway. Plans change, and spots sometimes open up. You already know the river, so when you call, tell us what you'd like to do differently this time.

See 2027 Dates & Rates

Questions about seasons, boats, or custom trips? Call (208) 221-7935 or email mfwo@idahorapids.com.