BOISE, Idaho — Although Wednesday marks the official start of summer, Boise River’s float season might not start for a few more weeks because of high water levels. Right now, the river is flowing around 2,500 cubic feet per second. Doug Holloway, Boise Parks and Recreation director, said the ideal float season is between 500 and 1,500 CFS.
Holloway said 2,500 CFS is even too high for Boise Fire’s dive team to get on the river and make sure it is safe for the summer. The divers and forestry department cannot start clearing out fallen trees and other hazards until the river hits about 2,000 CFS.
Those mitigation efforts take about 10 days, he said.
Typically, float season starts in late June. But it did not start until after July 1st in 2019 and 2020. John Tullius, Boise River Runners general manager, said he hopes the season starts sooner than later.
The outfitter runs the tube and raft rentals at Barber Park as well as the shuttle service from Barber to Ann Morrison Park. Tullius said they have more than 90 employees on board for the season.
“This is probably one of the years that we've had the most new hires,” he said. “But we have such a strong group of returners that everything is just working like a well-oiled machine this year.”
Tullius said staff have spent the last few weeks training, de-winterizing all the tubes and rafts, and cleaning everything. They are even upgrading the concession stand at Barber Park so it is more frequent for floaters.
This year, the City of Boise and Ada County put all the information about floating the Boise River on a new website. Updates are also posted on Facebook.
The website includes an interactive map that shows all of the possible hazards. Tullius said once the river opens up for floating, people should always let officials at the park know about any dangerous situations.
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