Snake River - Murtaugh Canyon

From I-84 in Southern Idaho take exit 188 on head east on Tipperary road to the Murtaugh Road.  Turn south on Murtaugh and follow the road over farmlands until it drops down into the Snake River Gorge.  There is a road before the bridge that heads to the river, where you can put in.

The take out is right above Twin Falls (the actuall waterfall).  There is a boat ramp that boats and jet skis use.  This is the take out ramp.  Unfortunately to get here on the river you will need to paddle the length of the reservoir, which is about 1.5 miles of flat water.  Make friends with some boaters and get towed out or man up and paddle it.

To get here follow the signs to Twin Falls (waterfall).

This rapid hits you right out of the gate on this run.  Once you pass under the Murtaugh Bridge this rapid will appear.  Below the rapid is a small pool followed by another little drop/rapid.

You can scout this rapid from the bridge if you wish.

This rapid consists of 3 waves/drops.  Look at entering the top drop on the right.

Another rapid with 2 waves/drops.  Run this towards river right and follow the wave trains.

A smaller class III is here

This is the first big drop you will encounter on this stretch.  The river is calm and pool like for a stretch above this rapid.  Many people run this just left of center down the tongue and punch through the wave/hole after the drop.  Then ride out the wave train

You can pull over on the left bank and scout

This is downstream of Maybelline Rapid and is a fun surf hole for the kayakers.

This is a double pool drop.  These 2 rapids are about 4.5 miles in from the put in.

Read and run

Look at running center down the tongue and riding the waves and holes out.

This wave series is above a large pool in the river where the river widens.  Pulling left below this rapid is a good place to pull over for a breather or lunch.

Look for a rock arch on river right before Misty.  At 6-9K it goes easy on the left/center, has big hits down the middle, and has a big hole on the right.

Probably better to scout from right if you need to.

Class IV.  You should know it when you see it, the name makes sense.  This is after Misty and before the Hwy 50 bridge.  Scout or portage river left.  The right has one of the most impressive and dangerous hydraulics around.  Supposedly people boof the left side of it at low flows.  Mortals should stay left and scout.  The rock on river left makes a great lunch spot.  If you opt out of POD you can at least get a fun seal launch in from the lunch rock.  This would be a difficult portage for rafts.

River left

A large s-turn move or try to sneak it on the right (at 6K) or left (at 9K) with a sizeable hole in the center of the rapid.  This was the site of a rafter fatality in 2009.  AWW has a detailed report on their site http://www.americanwhitewater.org/content/Accident/detail/accidentid/3059/.  

Let's Make a Deal comes right after Hooker.  The river widens and then drops through a series of "doors," numbered from left to right.  

At 6-9K door 2 is relatively easy... It is bony at 6K, with a small pour-over to avoid at 9K.

Door 5 is also open at 6-9K.  It is a fun ride, but worth scouting if you haven't seen it before.

Tough, but river right is probably best.

Big water class III+ read and run.

Big water class III+.  Center line has big hits and is a blast at 6-9K.

An incredible surf wave on river left.