Hughes River Expeditions

Hughes River Expeditions

Salmon River Rafting Trips

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Selway River

The Selway River Trip is a premier mountain wilderness, whitewater, camping, and fly fishing trip that flows through beautiful forested canyons.  It is easy to consider the Selway to be the ultimate rafting trip.  River banks are lined with Grand Fir, Douglas Fir, Cedar, Ponderosa Pine, Hemlock… Rapids are challenging, the area is remote, and the scenery and water quality are outstanding.

For 47 river miles from Paradise launch site to take-out at Race Creek the river descends over 1300 feet for an average gradient of 28 feet per mile.   There are countless tributary creeks, and the Selway’s volume grows quickly. At Mile 26.5 Moose Creek joins the Selway.  Rapids that follow the confluence with Moose Creek are renown as “Moose Juice”.

Great time with Hughes River Exp…. Thanks again.”

G. Coker, Denver, CO

Rafting the Selway

There are plenty of calm stretches, however, the Selway is a whitewater trip. There are 38 named rapids including the well-known Galloping Gertie, Washer Woman, Cougar Bluff, Ping Pong Alley, Goat Creek, Bear Creek, Rodeo, Pettibone, Dog Creek, Magpie, Ham, Tony Point, Divide, Double Drop, Grizzly Saddle, Ladle, Little Niagara, Puzzle Creek, No Slouch, Miranda Jane, Osprey, Tango, Wolf Cr, Jims Creek, Cupboard Creek, and more.  Difficulty ranges from Class II to Class IV+.  Goat Creek, Ham, Double Drop, Ladle & Wolf Creek are highlights.

The trips are outfitted with self-bailing oar and paddle rafts.

Fly Fishing on the Selway River

Blue ribbon fly fishing for wild Westslope Cutthroat Trout.  Catch and release regulations with single barbless hooks on both the Selway and tributaries.  Check with the Hughes Office for details.

Limited Use

Your trip will encounter few if any other river runners.  Selway River Management by the Bitterroot National Forest limits use to a single launch per day.  There are only four outfitters permitted for the river.  We are privileged to be one of the four.  Group size is limited to 16 total people, including guides.  Check with the Hughes Office for details.

Off the River

Camps are incredible.  Many among the best in the West.  A river trail and side trails offer hiking opportunities.

Wildlife includes elk, mule deer, black bear, cougar, otter, beaver, mink, osprey, eagles, and a variety of song birds.

Wild and Scenic Rivers and Wilderness

The Selway River is protected as one of the “original eight” National Wild and Scenic Rivers.  On the Selway we float inside the vast Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness (1.3 million acres, 2,094 square miles).  Special Use Permit by the West Fork Ranger District, Bitterroot National Forest.  The Selway trip travels through the Bitterroot and Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forests.  Hughes River Expeditions, Inc. is one of only four outfitters permitted and licensed to outfit trips on the Selway River.

The Selway-Bitterroot and Frank Church Wilderness Areas are practically contiguous. Barely separated by a 95 mile rugged winding gravel road called the Magruder Corridor.  The Frank Church totals 2.36 million acres (3,698 square miles). The Gospel Hump Wilderness includes 205,796 acres (322 square miles) and is adjacent to the Frank Church. Combining the Selway-Bitterroot, Frank Church, and Gospel Hump Wilderness areas creates a vast 3.87 million acre (6,114 square mile) wilderness complex. This is the largest intact piece of wild land in the United States outside of Alaska. Idaho’s Selway, Middle Fork of the Salmon, and Main Salmon – River of No Return flow through these wilderness lands. Hughes River Expeditions, Inc. is thrilled to outfit for the public on each of these spectacular Idaho rivers.

Hughes River Expeditions, Inc. is one of only two river companies to hold Special Use Permits to outfit rafting trips on both the Selway River and the Middle Fork Salmon.  We are convinced they are the best wilderness rivers in the USA.  We take this opportunity seriously.

River Trip Schedule and Rates

2023 Selway River Trip

Dates Length Adult / Youth
Availability
June 18-22* 5 Days $3,750 Full
June 26-30* 5 Days $3,750 Full
July 14-19* 6 Days $4,250 Full
July 25-30* 6 Days $4,250 Full
Early August Fishing Trip** 6 Days $4,750 Inquire

2024 – Selway River Trip

Dates Length Adult / Youth
Availability
June 18-22* 5 Days $3,999 Full
June 26-30^ 5 Days $3,999 Full
July 14-19* 6 Days $4,350 Full
July 25-30* 6 Days $4,350 Full
Early August Fishing Trip~ 6 Days $4,900 Full

2025 – Selway River Trip

Dates Length Adult / Youth
Availability
June 18-22* 5 Days $3,999 Full
June 26-30^ 6 Days $4,500 Full
July 14-19* 6 Days $4,500 Full
July 25-30* 6 Days $4,500 Full
Early August Fishing Trip~ 6 Days $5,100 Full

2026 – Selway River Trip

Dates Length Adult / Youth
Availability
June 18-22* 5 Days $4,200 Inquire
June 26-30^ 6 Days $4,600 Inquire
July 14-19* 6 Days $4,600 Inquire
July 25-30* 6 Days $4,600 Inquire
Early August Fishing Trip~ 6 Days $5,500 Inquire

* 10 Guests/6 Guides
^11 Guests/5 Guides
~ 8 Guest/8 Guides (Fishing Trip)
Deposit: $750/person for 5 Day and 6 Day Trips

Depending on water levels and road conditions, flights may be required to reach the river. When required flight cost is $150/person payable to pilots at the time of your flight.

This institution is operated under Special Use Permit from the Bitterroot National Forest. This institution is an equal opportunity provider.

Selway Group Size

The US Forest Service management plan for the Selway limits trips to 16 total people – including guides.  Our normal group size for Selway trips numbers 10 clients and 6 guides or 11 clients and 5 guides.  This guest to guide ratio helps HRE provide a variety of river craft that match up with river conditions on various flows.

During early August HRE outfits a special Fly Fishing Trip with 8 anglers and 8 guides.  One angler per raft and guide.  This early August trip is during the Selway “post season”, and the dates will vary somewhat year to year.

Selway River Trip Information Documents

  • Trip Details
  • Gear List
  • Missoula Services
  • Missoula Airport Services

This institution is operated under special use permit with the Bitterroot National Forest.  This institution is an equal opportunity provider.

Selway River

  • Selway Gear List
  • Selway Photo Gallery
  • Selway Trip Details
  • Testimonials

Book your trip online!

Questions about a trip?

Call 406-540-4450
We’re here to answer any and all of your questions or send us an email.

Selway River Map

Client Testimonials

Thanks for the great trip… It is spectacular country and great service. Paddling the kayaks through the rapids and falls was so invigorating. I need to get those juices flowing every couple of years. I hope to repeat the trip with Mary…
D. Curran, Ballwin, MO (2015)
I just wanted to thank you for the wonderful time we had floating the Middle Fork. The guides were terrific!
T. Miller, Rancho Santa Fe, CA. (2012)
I want to express my sincere appreciation to you and your crew at Hughes River Expeditions for a first-class trip down the Salmon River last week…. (It) left me with a strong desire to trade in the tie and computer for a kayak and oar!
R. Sherwood, Portland, OR (1991)
“We took your Middle Fork trip in late June.  It was wonderful.  The crew is among the nicest young men we ever met.  There were several children aged 10-14 years with our friends.  Those kids got to go kayaking through some exciting water with the guides and adults nearby in the rafts to help….  Those kids and their parents will have some great tales to tell when they get home.  The guides also helped the grannies clamor up the rocky river banks, and are great cooks.  The sleeping pa… Read more
E. Chehey, Boise, ID (2016)
I wanted to take this opportunity to tell you that our trip down the Middle Fork was such a very, very special time for us that it will remain in our hearts and minds for years to come. Very seldom does a week go by that we don’t mention something that we did or learned on the river, and as the years turn to decades… I know we will always cherish your companionship.
J. Lehman, Dallas, TX (1986)
Just a quick note to let you know that we had a wonderful trip. The most important factor was the quality of your guides…We will see you again.
J. Maine, Belvedere, CA (2005)
I’m writing to thank you and your crew for our experience on the Salmon, Middle Fork, August 1-6, of this year. Your crew was beyond merely profession, rather somewhere over in the superb…. Not only the gourmet food… and the stacked Dutch ovens and all so tasty – Wow! I understand why so many among the guests were ‘old timers’ with you on that River….with wonderful memories.
E. Kehret, San Leandro, CA, (2014)
Thanks so much for a great trip down the Middle Fork! Please relay my gratitude to all the guides who worked so hard on this trip. The rafting was wonderful as was the food and friendship. Sean and I are coming back next year with my parents and all three of my sons, the week of July 8th. Hope to see you then.
D. Mulkey, Athens, GA (2010)
Hi all!  The trip was great!  Thank you!
Johnson, Pacific Palisades, CA (2021)
We of Camp Campbell are still talking and laughing about our wonderful trip with The Hughes Group. Thanks – to all could not have been better.
P. Campbell, Detroit, MI (2015)
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© 2023 Hughes River Expeditions
406-540-4450 • email us • 6400 Caras Lane • PO Box 218 Lolo, MT 59847-0218
Hughes River Expeditions, Inc. is operated under special use permits through the Bureau of Land a Management & United States Forest Service.
This institution is an equal opportunity provider.