Idaho holds one of the most celebrated collections of Wild and Scenic Rivers in the American West. The interactive Idaho Wild and Scenic Rivers map below plots all 22 designated rivers and 38 protected segments — 906.2 miles of free-flowing water spread across 15 counties in the rugged central and southern parts of the state. The US Forest Service administers roughly 495 miles, the Bureau of Land Management another 332 miles, with the remaining mileage under joint administration. Wild segments account for 590.8 miles, reflecting how genuinely remote these canyon and mountain corridors remain. Click any segment for details on classification and managing agency.

Wild and Scenic Rivers in Idaho at a Glance

Idaho’s Wild and Scenic designations are concentrated in the vast roadless core of the state — the Frank Church–River of No Return Wilderness and the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness hold much of the protected mileage. The Middle Fork of the Salmon River, at 104 designated miles through one of the deepest gorges in North America, is the premier river in the system and one of the most celebrated wilderness float trips on the continent. The federal system added rivers in Idaho across several legislative rounds since the late 1960s and through the 1980s, covering the Salmon drainage, the St. Joe in the Panhandle, and the Owyhee canyon system in the state’s remote southwest corner.

Classification Breakdown

Wild segments account for 65 percent of Idaho’s designated mileage, an unusually high share reflecting the state’s roadless wilderness core. The Middle Fork Salmon transitions through Wild and Scenic reaches as it descends from its headwaters near Stanley to its confluence with the Main Salmon. Recreational segments are generally found near road corridors — the St. Joe river road follows part of the St. Joe Wild and Scenic corridor through the Panhandle, for example — while the deep canyon Wild reaches of the Owyhee drainage in the southwest are entirely trail-free.

Managing Agencies

The Forest Service manages the Salmon River system rivers and the St. Joe in the Panhandle, where corridors fall within Nez Perce–Clearwater, Salmon–Challis, and other national forests. BLM administers the Owyhee drainage rivers in the state’s southwestern high desert — the Owyhee, North Fork Owyhee, and associated small Wild streams — where BLM manages extensive canyon country without a national park or forest overlay.

Longest Designated Rivers in Idaho

The Middle Fork Salmon is the crown jewel: 104 miles from Boundary Creek to its confluence with the Main Salmon, dropping through the Frank Church Wilderness with no roads, no bridges, and more than 100 named rapids. A USFS permit lottery controls summer launch dates. The St. Joe in the Panhandle offers a very different experience — the upper Wild section near Heller Creek is trail-accessible old-growth forest country, while the lower Recreational reach parallels a forest road and is popular for day-use fishing. The Owyhee cuts through remote basalt canyon country near the Idaho-Oregon-Nevada tri-corner, requiring a multi-day float with Class IV water at Three Forks in a high-water year.

Where to Run, Hike, or Fish Idaho’s Wild and Scenic Rivers

For multi-day whitewater

The Middle Fork Salmon (Boundary Creek to Cache Bar, roughly 100 miles over five to seven days) is the premier permitted wilderness river float in the lower 48 — Class III–IV whitewater, hot springs, pictographs, and no mechanized access. Immediately downstream, the Main Salmon’s designated stretch through the Salmon River Mountains offers a longer, more relaxed trip. The Selway, west of the Lochsa on the Montana border, is even more strictly rationed: one launch per day from Selway Falls during peak season, making it one of the most sought-after permits in the country. The Lochsa corridor, though not itself designated, parallels Highway 12 and connects to the designated Selway headwaters.

For hiking and access

The Middle Fork has a parallel trail system (the Middle Fork Trail) that follows the river for long stretches and is used by both backpackers and horse parties. Boundary Creek and Indian Creek airstrips inside the Frank Church Wilderness are the primary access points for floaters. The St. Joe River road (Forest Road 50) parallels the lower Wild and Scenic reach through the Panhandle from St. Maries to the Montana border, making it one of the few Idaho WSR corridors accessible by ordinary vehicle for day hikes and fishing access.

For native fish

The Middle Fork Salmon is one of the most important Chinook salmon and steelhead spawning rivers in the entire Columbia River basin. Designated reaches of the Salmon system provide critical cold-water refuge for these stocks during their long migrations from the Pacific. The St. Joe is renowned as a wild cutthroat trout fishery, particularly in its upper reaches above Avery. The Owyhee canyon rivers in the southwest support native redband trout populations in a near-roadless high-desert setting rarely visited by anglers.

Maps for Neighboring States

For Wild and Scenic River coverage across the broader Pacific Northwest and Intermountain West, see our maps for neighboring states: Oregon, Washington, Montana, Wyoming, and Utah. Nevada has no designated Wild and Scenic rivers. For the full national picture, see our US Wild and Scenic Rivers map covering all 249 rivers across 42 states and Puerto Rico.

Data Sources

River segment geometry, classification, mileage, and managing-agency attributes come from the US Forest Service Enterprise Data Warehouse, specifically the National Wild and Scenic River Segments dataset jointly maintained by the USFS, NPS, BLM, and US Fish and Wildlife Service. Source service: USFS EDW Wild Scenic River Segments. Authoritative national index: rivers.gov. State recreation and fish-management context: Idaho Department of Fish and Game, Idaho Parks and Recreation, and the relevant National Forest and BLM district offices.