Hells Canyon Gear Checklist
A Hells Canyon permit is a float permit for the Snake River, so the gear that matters is river gear, not hiking gear. The Forest Service sets four hard rules at launch: a permit in hand, a life jacket for each person, a watertight toilet system and a fire pan. Beyond that, the private boaters and guests we read describe the same few problems: heat with little shade, poison ivy on the shore, rocky camps and a river that rises and falls by thousands of cubic feet per second overnight.
What shapes your gear on Hells Canyon
- Seasons and party limits
- The primary season runs from the first Friday before Memorial Day through September 10, and the secondary season runs from September 11 to the Thursday before Memorial Day. A party can be up to 24 people with up to eight float boats, and a reserved trip has to start on the permitted date.
From USDA Forest Service
- Camp limits above Pittsburg Landing
- In the Wild Section during the primary season, a party gets at most three days and two nights at one campsite. Upper Granite, Lower Granite and Oregon Hole are limited to one night per trip.
From USDA Forest Service
- Rapids people scout
- Jake Castle of Colorado Kayak says Wild Sheep and Granite are the big ones, Waterspout turns hard at low water, and Rush Creek is the last one that needs attention. Two 2023 private trip reports scouted Wild Sheep, Granite and Waterspout, and both ran them without trouble.
- The flow changes overnight
- On a July 2023 three-day trip, the flow was about 10,000 cfs at launch and rose to 14,000 cfs by camp, then dropped to 8,500 cfs by morning. Another July 2023 party saw 12,000 to 20,000 cfs and said Granite had flip potential near 20,000 cfs because of dam releases.
From American Whitewater
- Heat
- Castle reports it was over 100 degrees every day of a July 2020 trip and says you spend most days hiding from the sun. A forum poster who rafts the river most years says summers get really hot and suggests early summer or late spring.
From Confluence Kayak and Ski and Rokslide Forum
- Camps
- Castle describes camps above Pittsburg Landing as rocky, with few flat tent sites and none marked. He suggests camping on river left for some afternoon shade.
What the agency requires on Hells Canyon
Your launch permit
Permits are required year-round for float and power boat launches on the Snake River in the recreation area. The trip leader has to carry the permit and show it to a Forest Service officer on request. In the primary season each float boat also displays a reservation tag on its bow.
From USDA Forest Service
A life jacket for every person
Everyone on a float boat needs a personal flotation device, and you are asked to show one for each passenger. Children 12 and under must wear theirs whenever the boat is underway.
From USDA Forest Service
A reusable, watertight toilet system
All solid human waste has to be carried out in a dedicated system that is reusable, washable and watertight. You are asked to show it before you start your trip.
From USDA Forest Service
A fire pan, with no wood fires in summer
A fire pan is required to hold any camp or cooking fire and its ashes, and all ashes leave with you. Wood fires are banned from June 1 through September 30, and firewood may not be cut or gathered within a quarter mile of the river at any time.
From USDA Forest Service
A way to carry out all garbage and strain dishwater
All garbage, including micro trash, is packed out. Soap and detergent stay out of the river, and dishwater is strained and thrown 100 feet from the edge of camp.
From USDA Forest Service
What hikers carry on Hells Canyon
Shade you set up yourself
Castle tells private boaters to rig biminis, shade shelters and umbrellas on the boats. A guided guest on a July 2021 trip sat under big umbrellas on a beach with no trees. A forum poster who planned a fishing trip there was weighing a tarp mainly for shade.
From Confluence Kayak and Ski, Addison Independent and Rokslide Forum
Sandals for the sand
Dickerson describes the sand at one camp as scalding hot and too hot to cross without sandals. Bare feet were not an option after the boats landed.
From Addison Independent
A poison ivy wash
One July 2023 trip report tells readers to bring Technu for the poison ivy. A guest on a five-day guided trip came home with a poison ivy rash on both knees, so it grows where people walk to the river and to camp.
A helmet
Dickerson and his wife wore helmets over their hats in tandem inflatable kayaks on class III water, and the helmets mattered when his paddle came up out of the water and hit his wife. The 2023 private parties saw flows up to 20,000 cfs, with Granite near flipping at that level.
From Addison Independent and American Whitewater
A light load you can carry to the water
A father and sons on a three-day trip found their raft high and dry two mornings in a row when the flow dropped to 8,500 cfs. They had loaded it lightly, so carrying it to the shoreline was no trouble.
From American Whitewater
A thick sleeping pad
Castle calls the camps above Pittsburg Landing rocky with few flat sites. The 2023 family trip slept on a small patch of sand at one camp and on a very rocky shoreline at the next.
A tent that holds in a gust
A ten-minute microburst on the first night of a five-day trip blew down half the tents in camp. Dickerson's group ran for shelter in a strong thunderstorm on another night.
24 people can go on one permit. Split this list between them so nobody carries two stoves.
Plan a trip hereWhat hikers regret or leave behind on Hells Canyon
Counting on trees for shade
Dickerson notes that his camp had no trees at all, and he calls the clusters of trees near the bottom of the canyon rare. Castle's answer was to camp on river left and bring your own shade.
Bare legs on the shore
The poison ivy rash on the knees from a 2024 guided trip is a reminder that the plants grow along the walks to camp and to the river. The 2023 boaters packed a wash for it.
Clothes that never dry
A guest on the five-day trip finished with a duffel bag full of damp clothes. With wave trains drenching boats all day, a dry set for camp is worth its own waterproof bag.
Gear questions for Hells Canyon
Do I need a fire pan on a Hells Canyon float trip?
Yes. The Forest Service requires a fire pan for any camp or cooking fire, and all ashes must be packed out. Wood fires are not allowed from June 1 through September 30.
From USDA Forest Service
What toilet do I need for Hells Canyon?
A dedicated system you can reuse, wash and seal against leaks. Solid waste is carried out, and the Forest Service says you may be asked to show the system before you launch.
From USDA Forest Service
How hot does Hells Canyon get in summer?
Very hot. Castle recorded temperatures over 100 degrees every day of a July 2020 trip, and a forum poster who rafts it most years suggests going in early summer or late spring.
From Confluence Kayak and Ski and Rokslide Forum
Which rapids should I scout in Hells Canyon?
Castle says gear boats should scout the big class IV rapids at every flow, including Wild Sheep and Granite, and Waterspout when the water is under about 10,000 cfs. Two July 2023 private trips scouted all three.
Sources
- HCNRA Conditions of Use · USDA Forest Service · Agency
- What to Know about Boating Hell's Canyon, Part II · Confluence Kayak and Ski, Jake Castle · Blog
- Hells Canyon: Trip Reports · American Whitewater · Trip report
- Matthew Dickerson: Four days on the Snake River, Part 2 · Addison Independent, Matthew Dickerson · Trip report
- Ten memorable moments from a Snake River rafting trip · Austin Travels Magazine, Pam LeBlanc · Trip report
- Anyone hiked or fished Hells Canyon Idaho? (page 2) · Rokslide Forum · Forum thread