Salmon Whitewater Park

The Salmon Whitewater Park has been thoughtfully designed to provide river access to a diverse set of river users. With a focus on safety, river stewardship, anadromous fish, river recreation, swimming, and local history, the park provides something for everyone. The park includes an in-river wave feature for a variety of users to enjoy, a “beach” area, and terraced rocks for spectating or enjoying the view. Signage on either side of the park provides insights into local history, fish, and river safety.

Welcome to Salmon, Idaho. A River Town!

Salmon’s river history runs deep. The river has always been the focal point of human settlement and exploration in this area. Long before recreational river sports, Indigenous mandan boats and 19th-century wooden scows were used to move goods and equipment along the river corridor.

The Lemhi and Salmon River Valleys possessed an exceptional habitat and an abundance of salmon, which were important to the Nimiipuu (Nez Perce) and Agaiidika & Tukudika bands of the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes. In 1805, the Lewis and Clark Expedition arrived in the Lemhi Valley and the homeland of Sacajawea. It was their plan to use the river system to reach the Pacific Ocean—a plan that could not be realized.

Later, Salmon City, as it became known, became a bustling community, providing supplies, accommodations, and whisky to trappers, miners and those in search of their own piece of the American West.

The Salmon River is aptly named the “River of No Return” in reference to the scows that navigated Idaho whitewater through deep wilderness canyons. These scows were dismantled after the long river journey from Salmon City to Lewiston and sold for lumber. Crews would often not return until the following year, some not at all. In the 1960s & 70s, Salmon became a hub for recreational and commercial boating and was home to many whitewater pioneers, including Dr. Walt Blackadar. Blackadar created prototype kayaks and led the sport into more technical whitewater rivers. His daring accomplishments were widely known and he was inducted into the Whitewater Hall of Fame in 2005. In 1980, the Salmon River received protection under the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act. This Congressionally-mandated multi-use river corridor will preserve—in perpetuity—these free- flowing waters and their remarkable scenery, recreational opportunities,  geology, fish and wildlife, and history. It affords generations the chance to enjoy the river’s gifts and appreciate the cultural contributions of river systems.

Today, the Salmon River remains famous for its deep and rugged canyons, incredible fishing opportunities and hundreds of miles of wild, undammed whitewater. Today’s modern version of the traditional scows are called sweep boats, and are historic in their design. They are almost exclusively used on the Salmon River system by commercial outfitters because of the Salmon’s ideal volume, flow, gradient, and geologic characteristics and the sweep boats’ ability to haul large amounts of gear.

Today, the Salmon River continues to be a focal point for recreation by both local and visitating river users, making it a cornerstone of the local economy in Central Idaho.

SWPA

The Salmon Whitewater Park Association (SWPA) is a 501C-3 non-profit whose mission is to facilitate the fundraising, maintenance, and longevity of the Salmon Whitewater Park in Salmon, Idaho. With proper management, the Salmon Whitewater Park will boost the local economy and increase opportunities for river based recreation in the community. SWPA board members meet quarterly in an ongoing effort to make the whitewater park an asset to the local community.

Additional Objectives

Promote river education and safety messaging to ensure proper use of the park
Provide information about river running history on the Salmon River, including historical uses, indigenous inhabitants, and pioneers.
Manage a maintenance fund to ensure that any future needs are addressed
Organize an annual Riverfest Event to promote the park and the river running community in Salmon

SWPA 2026 Board Members

Seth Tonsmeire, President
Lisa Beyers, Secretary
Tessa Sever, VP
Jonas Seiler
Amy Tonsmeire, Salmon Riverfest Chair
Chris Gaughn
Tully Mackay, Treasurer
Craig McCallum
Courtney Frost

Whitewater Park Timeline

2008
Local Salmon River runners Chase Slavin, John Slavin, Russ Chinske, Mark Troy, and Breann Green get an initial 5k grant from the Hemmert Foundation for conceptual drawings of the park.
2008
The city of Salmon adds the development of a whitewater park to the city comprehensive plan.
2010
SWPA (Committee operating under LCEDA starts Grassroots fundraising.
2013
First Riverfest. The board spends the next seven years fundraising and building community support for the future Salmon Whitewater Park.
2019
The engineering for multi-feature park in both channels of the Salmon River is completed. Unfortunately, the permit was denied by NOAA due to concerns over anadromous fish. The project was downsized to its current form; a single wave feature and terraced river access in the east channel of the river.
2020
SWPA becomes a standalone nonprofit as a 501(c)(3). The Salmon Whitewater Park is generously gifted an anonymous 4-1 match (up to $800k) by a kind member of the community. SWPA begins a broad fundraising push to achieve the full match. The community of Salmon shows up! In about 6 months, SWPA has raised $200k to achieve the full match.
2022
Construction begins in the east channel.
2023
On June 3rd, the Salmon Whitewater Park holds a ribbon cutting ceremony at the annual Riverfest. The park opens to the public.

Thanks!

Gina Knudsen, Don Stamp, Jo Philpott, Matt, Adrienne, Mark Troy, Preston Rufe, Russ Chinske, Chase Slavin, John Slavin, Chris Healy, Breann Green, Frank Garrett

Founding Fish Wall

In 2020, The Salmon Whitewater Park Association was given an anonymous 4-1 match, up to $800k, to build the Salmon Whitewater Park. The local community in Salmon, paired with the support of the river running community statewide, made a huge effort to raise the full $200k for the full match.

In recognition of the generous people that made the construction of the whitewater park possible, the Salmon Whitewater Park Association designed a “Founding Fish Wall.” The Fish Wall consists of an installation of bronze, life size fish that are anchored to the boulder terracing on the east bank of the park. These fish have been hand created by local youth, local artists, and park supporters. Each species is associated with a different donation tier. Those who donated smaller amounts (Sculpins) are recognized on signage at the park.

In addition to being a reminder of the generous donations and effort put forth by many in the local community, the Founding Fish Wall will serve as both a unique art installation and an ode to the many native fish species that call the Salmon River home.

If you look through the boulder terracing at the whitewater park, you might find the following fish that are native to the Salmon River:

Sculpin: This stealthy little creature can be found near the bottom of stream channels hiding between rocks or burying themselves in the cobble. They can blend in with their surrounding due to their tremendous camouflage. Their fins have soft spines and they have prickles on parts of their bodies. Prehistoric looking and well camouflaged, the presence of these shy fish indicate a healthy stream habitat. An essential component of the overall ecosystem, sculpin remind us that great things can happen when we all contribute.

Bull Trout: These native Idaho predators are the force of high altitude rivers and creeks. The adults spawn in clean, cold waters in the late summer and early fall. They migrate from their larger feeding streams to smaller tributaries to spawn. At the top of the food chain, bull trout can grow up to 30 pounds and have the longest life span of any trout. Your purchase of a Bull trout will benefit the Whitewater Park visitors for years to come.

Westslope Cutthroat Trout: These stunning and colorful trout are the state fish of Idaho! Cutthroat are fun to catch with dry flies on warm summer days. They are often found in the Salmon River in the winter months and go into tributary streams in the spring to spawn and stay there through the fall for the colder water temperatures. Invoking playfulness yet challenging your skills, they are a worthy target for anglers.

Steelhead: Aptly named for their athleticism and determination and known worldwide as a premiere sport fish, the Salmon River is widely known as a stronghold for Steelhead. Traditionally, they have been the recreation and economic cornerstone of the angling community in Salmon. These fish are actually rainbow trout that have adapted to migrating to the ocean for growth, then return to fresh water to spawn. Depending on how many years they spend in the ocean, Salmon River steelhead can reach up to 38 inches.

Chinook Salmon: These are also known as king salmon; and for good reason! They are the largest of the salmon species, often measuring close to 3 feet in length and powerful enough to travel from Salmon River to the ocean and back again (over 800 miles each way!). Before European settlers came to the Pacific Northwest, the Chinook salmon that called the Lemhi Valley their home were some of the largest within the Columbia River Drainage. These fish still persist today throughout the Upper Salmon Basin, albeit in smaller numbers, spawning in late August through September. Their offspring utilize these clean, cold waters to grow before taking on the long journey to the ocean.

Sockeye Salmon: There are not many of these brilliant red salmon left in the West. Once prolific but now rare, these gems are Idaho’s only anadromous lake spawners. Like the rest of this basin’s salmon and steelhead, our Sockeye are in peril. They were the first to be listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act in 1991. While Sockeye are no longer common, the clean waters of the Salmon River offer some of the best remaining habitat in the lower 48.