Floating and Boating in Idaho

July 6th, 2021

The weather was going to be perfect for our day of kayaking down Henrys Fork of the Snake River in Idaho. We have a Hobie Mirage Oasis, which is a tandem (two-person) kayak with pedals. Sue and Toni have the same kayak. So, it was four of us in two kayaks. We inflated them back at the motor home, and we were able to secure them to the boat trailer for transport because the boat was tied to a dock in Island Park Reservoir. It worked perfectly.

The drop-in spot by the dam wasn't too busy, so we were in the water soon after we got there. The water was moving, but it wasn't too fast. We only found a couple spots with some bumps.

It was tough to keep the kayaks together, so we spent most of the float as a single kayak on the water. It promised to be a fantastic day, but we had one issue. Though the kayaks have pedals so you use your feet to propel them, they also have regular paddles hooked to the sides for emergencies or tight maneuvers. We ended up losing one of ours pretty early in the float. Check out this 360-degree video of our entire float, and watch the left side of the kayak at five minutes and 45 seconds in to watch the paddle drift away. So sad. Use your mouse or move your phone to look around.

The trip was awesome, but we didn't go for long. Margot, Sue, and Toni would do another float on another day that went farther down the river, but on our first day we were just getting our feet wet, so to speak. We pulled the kayaks out on a busy boat ramp, and then we were back at the motor home.

We were looking forward to checking out more of Island Park Reservoir with the rest of our day, so we took advantage of the long days of summer. We explored inlets and rode along the shores. There were some beautiful homes on one side of the lake, and on the other side of the lake we found the motherlode of dispersed camping.

We were cruising down an inlet and saw what we found to be a dock and a boat ramp. It felt like we were in the middle of nowhere, so that was surprising. We tied up to the dock and walked up the ramp, only to discover dispersed camping and pit toilets. Looking around, we saw RVs here and there. You accessed the area via nice, dirt roads, and there were shade trees everywhere. It seemed like an awesome place to camp.

We also found a quiet place to beach the boat, and we got out to let the dogs run. We'd found a place where you could leave the dirt roads and cruise across grass to find a campsite with a private beach and campfire ring. Surprisingly, there was no one in the spot. So we hung out and just soaked in the views and the quiet. The dogs loved running around.

We took a 360-degree video of our time on the lake, up until we beached the boat in the private area. Move your mouse pointer to click and drag the video, or move your phone to look around.

The reflections on the water were amazing, and we took a lot of pictures. When we got back, we still had daylight left. So we went to the restaurant on the island for dinner and drinks. Sitting on the patio, we were treated to a beautiful sunset. It couldn't have been a better day.