So today chad once again we are not technically in Boise but we are doing
something that a lot of Boise residents do a nice
day trip along the Payette River. You thought
that Boise only had one river to recreate on, no!
There's another river, it's the Payette River.
It runs along highway 55 many people know this road as the road you take to
McCall but you don't have to go all the way to
McCall to kind of get out of town. This is Banks Beach probably the most
popular spot to come. It's got a nice big beach here that you'll see.
It's got bathrooms, got plenty of day use area that goes up the river.
Today it's going to be 96 degrees in Boise and I think it's going to be a
perfect day on the river. It's already getting warm and it feels
super nice just to put my feet in water. I didn't know actually about the
Chief Parrish site. It's a little bit more hidden
if you're looking for the Chief Parrish site it's between mile marker
74 and 75. If you're coming from Boise it's on the left-hand side.
It's kind of tucked away in the trees, there are picnic benches,
a grill, a lot more shade. You can walk down to the beach a lot more shade.
One thing is both these day use spots and pretty much
any day you spot along this river it's gonna cost just a few bucks for
parking. Just make sure you bring a couple
dollars in cash. For here it's three dollars.
What else do we have planned for the day Chad? I'll tell you Jon what we have
planned for the day. We're gonna have a nice picnic here which is a lovely
picnic site. I'm gonna eat my sammy and then
we're gonna visit the quirky cool little bank store in Banks
Idaho. Very small tiny town which basically
consists of some residents and one store. And then Cascade Raft & Kayak
is going to give us a nice splishy splashy ride down the main Payette.
And we're going to be back by six o'clock tonight back in Boise.
So I mean when we say day trip we're gonna do all that within one day
but okay i'm already burning up even though this is a nice spot
to put my feet in. So I'm gonna jump in, you're gonna go eat,
and then we will reconvene here at the Payette River.
So about a half a mile up the road from Banks Beach which is where we were
is Banks Idaho and the cafe. Now Banks Idaho is a town that has a population of
17 people. So not a lot of people here but there's
a lot of culture it's a big kayaking town.
Really big kayaking all the south fork and north fork of the
river systems here and a big rafting community as well.
So let's say you forget your picnic you don't want to bring a picnic
we have ice cold beer which is bonus. We also have follow me this way a nice
little rustic bar atmosphere with lots of
different local beers on tap and then if you come further out here
and you just want to leave the beach for a little while and
get in the shade there's this cool little cafe
with a patio. Just for Jon they have all kinds of coffee and tea.
They have local coffee from Garden City which is
cool you've been in the sun all day you can come here to relax in the shade
or you can step out onto the balcony here
and enjoy your lunch or dinner or beverage coffee beer what have you
while you're watching people float down the Payette River. So I'm gonna sit here,
enjoy my beer, you should take a break and have one too.
We'll be right back, we'll be right back with some big white water and some fun
splashing. It's the Boise Convention and Visitors
Bureau's mission to enhance the economy by promoting the Boise area as a
destination for conventions, corporate meetings, trade shows, leisure
travel, sporting and cultural events. Visit Boise.org and start planning your
next visit today. Ranked as one of the top 15 health
systems in the U.S St Luke's is home to Idaho's only
children's hospital, largest cancer center, and amazing people
dedicated to your best health and life. Learn more at stlukesonline.org.
Welcome back so as we said we are in Banks Idaho
and this is the main section of the Payette
which we are about to get on with Cascade Raft & Kayak.
Cascade Raft & Kayak. I got it right the first time.
So Cascade Raft & Kayak has been here in business for a long time
and their entire family is involved in this operation. So it's a very much a
family oriented operation. They have this amazing customer service
this amazing way out and their guides are great and we're
gonna run down with them today. So this is about a two hour float. This
is a really cool day trip. What do i need to bring Chad if I am not
a river extraordinaire. Let's say you
pop into town and you've never been on a river before.
Some things you might want to bring would be river shoes not flip flops.
Other than that all you really need to do is bring sunblock
because they provide you with water, rafts,
life vests, paddles, everything you need to do the river.
As well as we talked about earlier do not get on this river without experience.
They provide you well experienced, professional guides to take us on the
river. Well cool I'm excited this is one of the
best river day trips in all of Idaho.
It's perfect for the summer. It's great, it's toasty out right now
and that water is gonna feel awesome. All right let's get on the river.
We have been operating this company since 1991.
We are under 45 minutes from Boise. It's an
easy drive, it's a straight drive, it's not a windy drive.
You come up over Horseshoe Bend hill and then you're in our valley and you get to
get away from the heat, get on the water. So we have full and half day trips and
basically with each length of trip we have our families and first timers then
we have the more adventurous. So for the families and first timers on the
half day is the Main Payette which goes from Banks down to our office. It's about
three hours round trip. Great for families, great for groups,
great for everybody. It's got some fun whitewater it's not a
snooze fest but it doesn't have the continuous
big rapids that we do on our class three and four stretch. We have one of the
most unique river systems in the world in that if you are in Banks Idaho you
have white water in every direction it's unbelievable and it's such a fun
area because like you said we're making the transition from high desert to high
timber forest. So as you progress even on the Main Payette
when you put in you're surrounded by trees and
then you float and you get to see the ecology change on your way out.
So what do you love about the Payette River Chad?
What part of this float makes it so cool for you?
It's close to town, fun white water, flat stretches to play on,
beaches to get out and go to, a rope swing you can go off of.
I like how quick it is too it's nice to
get up here, it's a pretty simple drive, you're out of town,
and then it's a two-hour float. By the time you're done you've had enough white water,
you've had enough sun, you're ready for lunch, it's a perfect
half day trip. Man this property is amazing.
Incredible you know they've got this thing dialed.
The fact that you can come back, you've been on the river for a while,
you're hot, they've got cool stuff, cool drinks, adult
drinks, kids drinks, smoothies, milkshakes, there's a cafe with food to eat.
As soon as you get off the river you can just be like
oh this is nice and they've got this you know, all these nice areas to hang out
that are right overlooking the river. So if you want to book your own trip with
Cascade Raft & Kayak go to CascadeRaft.com
and if you want more tips on how to plan your own Idaho adventures make sure you
subscribe to the channel. Follow us on social media. Big thanks to
our sponsors they are truly what makes Boise special.
Thanks for watching and we'll see you next time.
Okay I think I'm just gonna float the river back to Boise. Okay I'll catch you later.