Cascade Raft and Kayak

Big groups, big rapids, big smiles! We loved hosting 180 teenagers from Eagle Christian Church on the Payette this week. Youth groups — this is your sign to book a summer trip!

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By the early 1900s, the Payette wasn't carrying rafters — it was carrying logs.

In 1902, the Payette Lumber & Manufacturing Company picked up 33,000 acres of timber up in Long Valley and built a massive splash dam below Smith's Ferry. Twice a year, they'd open the gates and send millions of board feet of Ponderosa pine roaring downriver to the mills in Payette. Wild to think the same water we're paddling today used to be choked with logs headed for railroad ties and lumber yards across the West.

The river has stories. We just borrow it for a few hours at a time.

Your team meeting could happen in a conference room.
OR it could happen 30 feet up in a Ponderosa pine. 🌲

Our ropes course + zip line is built for groups — corporate retreats, sports teams, scout troops, friend groups. 17 elements that force people to actually communicate, trust each other, and laugh out loud.

Try doing that in PowerPoint. Group rates available.

Friday = pool night.

Roll session at the West Y — every Friday, an hour of focused pool time, our instructors on deck to help you nail it. Whether it's your first roll or your hundredth, it's the best way to spend a Friday evening if you ask us.

Bring your self. We'll bring the boats and the coaching.
https://bit.ly/47z6u1k

First-time rafter? Here's the deal. 🚣

👉 We provide all the gear (PFD, paddle, helmet and wetsuit if needed)
👉 Trips run from half-day floats to full-day Class IV
👉 Family stretches for younger kids, bigger water for ages 12+
👉 Just bring sunscreen, a swimsuit, and a sense of adventure

We've been doing this since 1985 — you're in good hands. The Payette doesn't disappoint.

Looking for a birthday party that DOESN'T involve a trampoline park? 🎂

Our ropes course + zip line in Horseshoe Bend is a 2–3 hour adventure your kids (and their parents) will actually remember. 17 elements, four tree-to-tree zip lines, and a forest full of "I can't believe I just did that" moments.

Group bookings available — call us and we'll set it up.

One more reminder — pool's open tonight. 🛶

Roll session at the West YMCA, every Friday evening. Come dial in your roll before river season really hits. New paddlers welcome, ages 10+.

See you on deck.

Long before the wetsuits and the rafts, the Payette River was a winter refuge.

In 1862, prospectors heading for the Boise Basin gold rush hunkered down in a quiet bend of the river to wait out the snows — and that's how Horseshoe Bend got its name. The same river they used to access the goldfields and float supplies is the one we're rafting today.

Same water. Different gold. 🏔

Got an old Payette River photo or family story? Drop it in the comments — we'd love to share it.