Complete Guide to Floating the Boise River from Barber Park – Idaho

Boise, Idaho can get extremely hot in the summer – temps in the 90s and low 100s aren’t uncommon. Cooling off is a must and one popular way to do this is to rent a raft and float down the Boise River. You will float six miles along the Boise River – from Barber Park to Ann Morrison Park. Read on to see what to expect when floating down the Boise River! Is it for you? Let’s find out!

Quick Facts & Items Needed for Floating the Boise River

The stretch of river you’ll float is 6 miles long. It will take you about 2-3 hours to complete this.

There are restrooms available in Barber Park. During your float, you can use the restroom at the Golf Course or later down the river at Julia Davis Park. Restrooms are also available at Ann Morrison Park when you’re done.

Items to bring:

• Dry bag if you want to bring your phones
• Sunscreen
• Sunglasses
• Swimsuit
• Watershoes
• Non-alcoholic beverages – alcohol is illegal on the river – you will be cited!
• If you are renting, they will provide a life preserver for you. If not, don’t forget it!
• You will probably get wet – while it’s unlikely that you’ll fall out of your raft, your butt will get wet for sure.
• Cash for the shuttle bus ($3 per person)

Parking at Barber Park

You will need to park at Barber Park – parking is $7 per vehicle.

Address: 4049 S Eckert Rd, Boise, ID 83716

Map:

Shuttle Bus

Most people who do this will take advantage of the shuttle bus that runs between Barber Park (the starting/put-in spot) and the take-out spot at Ann Morrison Park to get back to their car. The shuttle bus is $3 per person and runs from 1pm – 8pm during the floating season. It runs every 20 minutes.

When can you float the Boise River?

The floating season varies from year-to-year, depending on water levels of the river, as well as time for the Boise Fire Department’s dive team to clear the area of debris, such as snags and branches. Both of these things must be done before the float season begins – sometimes it doesn’t open until mid-July! You can check the Ada County website to find current information for the float season. We floated the river in mid-July during our visit.

Renting a raft to float the Boise River

We rented the raft from Boise River Rafts and Tube – they have a station set up right in Barber Park for you to rent. Initially, I wanted to just rent the plain black inner tubes and float down the river that way, but my sister twisted my arm and suggested that we rent the 4-person raft. In hindsight, I am extremely grateful we made this choice; if I had the black inner tube, I would’ve been absolutely terrified!

If you’re not renting a raft or tube, you need to make sure you’re using the correct equipment. Because you’ll be going over actual rapids, you’re not going to want to do this in a flamingo pool float!

Here are the available options for rentals.

Rentals are on a first-come, first-serve basis – they do not take reservations. We arrived at Barber Park about an hour after opening on a Saturday and had no issues getting a raft. Rentals typically have a 3-hour time limit. You can return your rental equipment at Ann Morrison Park before boarding the shuttle bus.

Rafting down the Boise River from Barber Park

Once you’re on the river, you’re on your own. I’ve done whitewater rafting before, but obviously with a guide. Here, it’s all up to you.

I expected a leisurely float down the river but that’s not what I got. On this “float”, you go over a few diversion dam “waterfalls.” When the lady at the rental station mentioned the waterfalls, I almost backed out (that’s also why my sister, who’s much more apt at watersports than me!) insisted that we get a raft instead of a tube).

To me, it was absolutely terrifying when we went over our first diversion dam. I can swim, but I am not good at watersports – I’m useless at paddling and steering – frankly, my sister did most of the work. I kept screwing up on how to paddle.

But as soon as we went over it, I laughed and thought it was thrilling! Granted, this isn’t anywhere near like a Class 3 Rapids but it was a blast! From then on, I relaxed and looked forward to the next diversion dam waterfalls.

The height of the diversion dams/weirs varies throughout the summer. They’re typically the highest (so you’ll have the biggest drops) in July – when we went!

You do have to keep steering as you go along – like I said, this is no “Lazy River” so you have to be mindful that you’re not going to bump into any trees or large rocks that might pop your raft. I’m glad I had my sister along because I still don’t know how to steer this son-of-a-bitch!

If you get too scared or you’ve had enough, or you’re too cold – you can pull over to the riverbank on the left side and walk the Greenbelt to Ann Morrison Park – but this could be challenging hauling your equipment! But it’s always an option!

As mentioned before, this float will take about 2 – 3 hours at the most. We didn’t stop anywhere along the river and it took us almost exactly 2 hours to do this.

As you approach the end of the float path, you’ll see signs along the way to remind and direct you to the take-out spot in Ann Morrison Park. You cannot go any further! There is a very large, very dangerous diversion dam just past Ann Morrison Park – people have died going over it. Just pay attention and you’ll be fine.

After your float, you can return your equipment at Ann Morrison Park and board the shuttle bus if you chose to do so.

You can also stay and enjoy the awesome Boise park system. Ann Morrison Park is a huge, amazing park (with an awesome dog park too!), as well as Barber Park – both offer picnic areas and grills if you want to have a summer cookout after your float.

Floating the Boise River – Final Thoughts

This was a lot of fun and we had a great day on the river, but it wasn’t what I expected. I felt like we were on our own, unguided whitewater rafting trip – something us dolts had absolutely no business doing! This isn’t a float; you need to work the raft and steer as you go over the diversion dams, plus deal with river currents. Would I do this again? Absolutely! Especially now that I know what to expect – it was a ton of fun; I just thought this would be more lazy river-style!

Have you ever floated the Boise River? What did you think?