Eager to float the Boise River? Hurry up and wait, because it’s still going to be awhile

Usually June marks the time of the year when floaters — sunscreen on hand and beverage in hand — begin to cruise the scenic Boise River via raft, tube, kayak, canoe, or even inflatable air mattress.

The float is approximately 6 miles, from Barber Park to Ann Morrison Park, and typically takes 2-3 hours to complete.

This year, adventure seekers eager to engage in a summer tradition are going to have to wait, a result of dangerous conditions on the river, according to officials.

Significant swaths of the Greenbelt (2.67 miles in total) remain shut down because of flooding, and the river is still flowing at a higher rate than normal. People are urged to respect the closures and refrain from recreating in the water, which has claimed a life this spring already.

What are we waiting for on the float?

Simply put, the Boise River is still running much faster than the rate needed for folks to recreate safely.

River flows are measured in cubic feet per second (cfs), which notes the volume of water flowing past a stationary point each second. A single cubic foot of water is roughly 7.5 gallons.

During a typical summer float season, the river flows range from 500 to 1,500 cfs. Flows on the river have decreased the past few weeks, but they were still approximately 2,500 cfs as of Friday.

Jon Roberts, water management lead for the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers’ Walla Walla District, said in the phone interview that the season generally can start “once the flow gets around 2000 cfs, (but before that) we’ll have to go in and do a lot of cleaning trees and flagging new hazards,” such as fallen trees and branches.

The Boise Fire Department is awaiting further reductions in river flows before crews can start hazard mitigation.

According to a news release from Boise Parks and Recreation, “the Float season won’t happen until that mitigation is completed and river levels are projected to stay consistently within typical float season ranges.”

So when can we expect the season to begin?

Officials say it remains uncertain when the river will be ready for recreation, “but all partners are hopeful that river and weather conditions will align for a start date in early July.”

July 4 is a Tuesday this year, so floaters can cross their fingers that perhaps the holiday will mean freedom to bust out the rafts. But nothing is certain.

There have been seven years when the official float season started on July 1 or later, and it has happened recently — in both 2019 and ‘20. It seems as if 2023 will be the eighth.