Salmon River Traverse Hike

Overview

Hikers seeking a long summer/early fall day hike with a car shuttle can traverse this isolated reach of the Salmon River's course. Alternatively, you can do this as a more leisurely backpack. There are plenty of campsites on the lower river (these tend to fill up on weekends); past Goat Creek the opportunities are sparser but far better situated for those seeking solitude. For example, there are great campsites on the Salmon River at the junction with the Linney Creek Trail, near Wolf Creek, and not far east of Wolf Creek right on the river. This is good backpack early or late in the season because the trail only gets over 3,000 feet at its far eastern end. Especially in spring and fall, start at the west end if you're not doing the shuttle in case you encounter windfall and snow higher up and can't reach the east trailhead. The entire trail is a designated National Recreation Trail. From the west trailhead, the trail parallels the pristine, shaded Salmon River and cuts across a bend in deep woods. Then it swings out to the river again and cuts off another bend. After a small boardwalk, you'll note some large Douglas-firs and cross a plank bridge over a gully. Hike under a maple-cloaked cliff at another bend in the river, and pass a large cedar on the left. The route continues through lush woods of cedar, Douglas-fir and hemlock. Oxalis and sword fern are the main ingredients in the forest carpet. After crossing a bigger creek on a log bridge, you'll pass a wilderness permit box and map board and then the wilderness sign. From now on, spurs to the right lead to numerous campsites as you hike close to the river. Old-growth Douglas-firs dominate a stretch where you cross three small creeks and pass by a small boulder field. Now you're high above the river, and you'll come to a split in the trail. The right track crosses an exposed meadow below the Salmon River Viewpoint and then switchbacks up to rejoin the main trail. On the return, you can take the "inland" trail, which prefers the shady woods with some deto

Trail Stats

Photos

800px-SalmonRiverTraverseMap

800px-SalmonRiverTraverseMap

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250px-Footbridge_over_Mud_Creek%2C_Salmon_River_Trail

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250px-Linney_Creek_Camp%2C_Salmon_River

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250px-Drops_on_Kinzel_Creek%2C_Salmon_River_Trail

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250px-GreenCanyonSalmonRiver1

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250px-Ocean_spray_%28Holodiscus_discolor%29%2C_Salmon_River_Trail

400px-GreenCanyonSalmonRiver6

400px-GreenCanyonSalmonRiver6

TKO put tools to trail here.png

TKO put tools to trail here.png

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