OwSR No. 11: North Fork of the Owyhee River

Zach Collier: We were lucky to have about 6,500 cfs on the Owyhee River at Rome which is just enough to float rafts down the North Fork of the Owyhee. Most people do the whole run from North Fork Campground to Three Forks in a day but we figured we might as well take our time and do the whole run in two days. The whitewater is non-stop Class III (and a bit harder at times) until the final gorge which is mostly flatwater. We camped where Squaw Creek meets the North Fork of the Owyhee and took a nice hike up the creek where we found a route to the rim of the canyon. There were some signs of man in the lower canyon that were probably of cultural significance but we didn't have enough time to explore as much as we would have liked. There were some amazing campsites in the lower canyon so next time I'm taking three days to paddle this river.