Payette River (South Fork)

Prepare yourself for a challenge as you take a whitewater rafting and kayaking trip down the South Fork of the Payette River with an American Outdoors outfitter!

If there is a better river for all-around family fun, we don't know where it is. The popular Payette offers every kind of experience from placid Class I and II water to thundering Class V+ -- all within a short distance from Boise, Idaho.

Some have compared the Payette and its tributaries to the public school system: the Main Payette provides a basic education in whitewater technique; the Cabarton stretch of the North Fork is high school material; sections of the South Fork will earn you a college degree in whitewater; and if you can master the daunting Class V+ waters of the North Fork below Smith's Ferry, you've got yourself a phd in whitewater rafting!

For intermediate boaters, the Payette's best whitewater lies in the South Fork Canyon; there you will find several Class IV rapids, including a mandatory portage around the 40 foot Class VI Big Falls. You will also enjoy a wilderness experience (at least for a few miles) complete with hot springs!

Further downstream, near the South Fork's confluence with the Main Payette, boaters can challenge themselves on Staircase Rapid, a long Class III-IV rapid, which has taught many boaters the value of staying in their rafts.

• RAPIDS:  Class III to IV (Medium to Difficult)
• LENGTH:  23 miles