From Lewiston, Idaho, I went on a 6-hour jetboat trip up the Snake River, through Hells Canyon. Hells Canyon is deeper than the Grand Canyon (when using drainages to measure the high and low points). It’s very desolate, and HOT in the middle of July, but still incredibly scenic and beautiful. We saw bald eagles, osprey, pelicans, geese, mule deer, and bighorn sheep. After the jetboat trip, I think I need to look into rafting this next summer in a multi-day trip 🙂
After the boat trip I drove from Lewiston to Joseph, Oregon, and then on Forest Service Road 39 to the Hells Canyon Overlook. There were many wildflowers blooming, but I really want to go back in springtime to see what this looks like when it’s all green. It’s a beautiful drive with several campgrounds along the way. I camped that night at Copperfield Campground at Oxbow, Oregon, but there are many areas to disperse camp along both sides of the river between Oxbow and Hells Canyon Dam.
The next morning I drove up the Idaho side of Hells Canyon, over Hells Canyon Dam, to the visitor center. The views all along this road and from the visitor center are stunning, well worth the drive 🙂 After visiting the dam I headed to Baker City, Oregon, to visit my niece, going through the small towns of Halfway and Richland along the way.
I need to go back in springtime when it’s not so hot and the canyon walls are green, and I definitely need to raft this!