BOISE, Idaho — The official Boise River float season opened at the end of June and so far it has been a record setting season with more than 30,000 people floating the river.
During the first 18 days there has been popular an 18 percent increase at the popular put-in at Barber Park with 11,133 vehicles, more than 16,800 people have rode the shuttle bus and last weekend was the busiest of all-time.
This weekend the hot weather remains so we went to check out what it's like to float on a Saturday from Barber Park to Ann Morrison.
We found the early bird gets the worm as we showed up around 11:00 a.m. We paid for our parking spot at Barber Park and carried our already inflated tubes down to the water.
By the time we returned at 1:30 the parking lot was full, people were spilling over into adjacent neighborhoods and the park was packed.
When this happens floaters are encouraged to cool off in a different place as the ponds in Esther Simplot Park are an option, there is Lucky Peak and Arrowrock Reservoir and Roaring Springs to name a few.
It is important to respect the river and each other, but we didn't see any trash in the river although that hasn't been the case on some of the other floats I've done this year.
As we move into Sunday the trash cans in Ann Morrison Park usually overflow, but it shows people are trying to dispose of their garbage properly the river has just turned into the place to be on hot summer days.
Got to float the Boise River for work today, it has been a record setting season so far so we went to see what it was like on a Saturday. pic.twitter.com/wN91Lw31lL
— Steve Dent (@idahodent) July 22, 2023
We had a lot of fun interacting with other floaters who discovered how cold the water is, people took on the small rapids at the top and we met some international students, check out the video.
The river has dropped to 635 cubic feet per second which makes the hazards easier to avoid, but the river does get shallow in places as that is something to keep in mind as the river will continue to drop as we move later into the summer.
Safety is the responsibility of the floaters and life jackets are always a good idea. Sunscreen, water and good footwear can also make your float more enjoyable.
Ada County Parks and Waterways has more information and they will also rent out tubes and rafts to people to float the river.
