Country United States
State Idaho
Area Payette National Forest / Hells Canyon National Recreation Area
Trip Month (06) – June
Report / Notes
Solitude: 6/10
Beauty: 7/10
Water: Plenty of side creeks with very cool water. The main river was sometimes hard to access.
Navigation: Simple. Despite some overgrown trails, we never had to consult the GPS/map.
It’s about a 3 or 4-hour drive from downtown Boise.
Distance: Approximately 23 miles over 2 days.
Map: [https://caltopo.com/m/1LDR5](https://caltopo.com/m/1LDR5)
Video: [https://youtu.be/L4T1FCHmS1k](https://youtu.be/L4T1FCHmS1k)
We began at Pittsburg Landing with the plan to catch a boat ride 25 miles upstream to Granite Creek. Fate, however, had a detour in mind; a navigational error landed us at the Hells Canyon Visitor Center on the Oregon side of the river instead. Despite the mere 25 river miles separating our intended and actual location, the journey would have taken a six-hour drive. Serendipity smiled upon us as the boat we were supposed to meet encountered us at the visitor center. The boat captain kindly ferried us back to Kirkwood Ranch, where we started our trek to Granite Creek. We went upstream instead of downstream. Upon our return, we were picked up by the same boat and shuttled back to our vehicle.
The boat was Hells Canyon Adventures, [www.hellscanyonadventures.com](http://www.hellscanyonadventures.com/).
The hike was enjoyable. Initially, the river seemed crowded with jet boats and rafting trips, but these activities did not disturb us once on the trail.
Late June, midweek, meant we came across numerous snakes (Western Diamondback), overgrown paths, and scorching heat. But we had the entire trail to ourselves, without crossing paths with any other hikers.
Overall, a very pleasant little hike.
