Print it. Bag it. Bring it.Phones die, screens crack, and most of this water has no signal. Print this map, fold it into a zip-top bag or dry bag with your license, and you have a backup your electronics can’t give you. Every marker is numbered so you can say exactly where you are.
| # | Point | Type | Lat, Lon | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Palisades Dam Boat Ramp Idaho Parks & Recreation inventory | Access / boat ramp | 43.33709, -111.20376 | Top of the float: the first ramp below Palisades Dam. Coordinates from the state boat-ramp inventory; the USFS record for this site carries a longitude copied from Alpine, on the far side of the reservoir. |
| 2 | Riverside Park Campground & Day Use Area USFS Caribou-Targhee NF · Palisades RD | Campsite | 43.34070, -111.20490 | Forest Service campground and day-use area on the right bank just below the dam. |
| 3 | Palisades Creek Idaho Parks & Recreation / IDFG | Access / boat ramp | 43.36546, -111.23778 | River access at the mouth of Palisades Creek. IDPR and IDFG coordinates agree to within 50 m. |
| 4 | The Lodge at Palisades Creek 3720 US Highway 26, Irwin | Outfitter / canoe rental | 43.37385, -111.24268 | Guide lodge with its own fly shop on the highway side of the river. |
| 5 | Hover Camp Fly Shop 3333 Swan Valley Highway (US 26) | Bait, tackle & fly shop | 43.41393, -111.30180 | Walk-in fly shop on the canyon highway. Placed from its street address, not from a mapped building. |
| 6 | Falls Campground USFS Caribou-Targhee NF | Campsite | 43.43328, -111.36097 | Forest Service campground above Fall Creek Falls. The adjoining Falls Group Campground is not listed separately here. |
| 7 | Fall Creek Falls Fall Creek, river right | Point of interest | 43.44108, -111.37715 | Fall Creek drops into the South Fork over a travertine lip — the best-known landmark on the canyon reach. |
| 8 | Conant Boat Access (Spring Creek Boat Ramp) BLM Upper Snake Field Office | Access / boat ramp | 43.45000, -111.39834 | The canyon put-in / take-out at Conant Valley. BLM calls it Conant, OSM and the Forest Service call it Spring Creek; same ramp. |
| 9 | South Fork Lodge 40 Conant Valley Loop Road, Swan Valley | Outfitter / canoe rental | 43.46196, -111.42815 | Lodge and guide service with a walk-in fly shop at the head of the canyon. |
| 10 | Fullmer Boat Landing USFS Caribou-Targhee NF | Access / boat ramp | 43.59920, -111.49410 | Boat landing at the bottom of the canyon reach. |
| 11 | Wolf Flats Recreation Area BLM · river access and campground | Access / boat ramp | 43.59787, -111.61143 | Access and primitive camping on the flats below the canyon. Coordinates from the state boat-ramp inventory. |
| 12 | USGS gauge — Snake River near Heise Station 13037500 | USGS gauge | 43.61250, -111.66000 | The flow everyone reads before floating the South Fork. |
| 13 | Byington Boat Access BLM Upper Snake Field Office | Access / boat ramp | 43.62306, -111.66556 | BLM ramp; IDPR, BLM and IDFG records all land within 40 m of each other here. |
| 14 | Mountain River Ranch RV Park & Campground Private · near Heise | Campsite | 43.64030, -111.69988 | Commercial RV park and campground on the river above Heise. |
| 15 | North 5050 East Bridge County road crossing at Heise | Bridge crossing | 43.64663, -111.70096 | |
| 16 | Eastern Idaho Railroad — East Belt Subdivision Railroad crossing | Bridge crossing | 43.66629, -111.73873 | Twin spans here; one is listed. |
| 17 | South 600 East Bridge County road crossing | Bridge crossing | 43.67751, -111.76542 | |
| 18 | Twin Bridges IDFG access site · private landowner | Access / boat ramp | 43.67296, -111.76832 | Listed in the IDFG fishing and boating access database with a private landowner, so check signage before using it. |
| 19 | Eastern Idaho Railroad — Yellowstone Subdivision Railroad crossing above Lorenzo | Bridge crossing | 43.73123, -111.86791 | |
| 20 | Lorenzo Boat Access BLM Upper Snake Field Office | Access / boat ramp | 43.73799, -111.88099 | The last developed ramp before the Henrys Fork comes in. |
| 21 | Menan Boat Access BLM Upper Snake Field Office | Access / boat ramp | 43.75114, -111.97908 | Standard bottom take-out. It sits about 3 km below the Henrys Fork confluence, so the last of the float is on the main Snake. |
Gauge: USGS 13037500 — SNAKE RIVER NR HEISE ID. Live flow on the web page.
Species: Brown Trout, Mountain Whitefish, Rainbow Trout, Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout
Regulations: idfg.idaho.gov/rules/fish
Emergency: call 911 and give the number of the nearest point on this map plus its coordinates.
Palisades Dam: the top of the tailwater.
Irwin and Spring Creek Bridge: canyon put-ins and takeouts.
Conant Valley: the standard upper float launch.
Cottonwood and Byington: middle river ramps in the cottonwood bottoms.
Heise: access near the gauge, the most-used ramp on the river.
Lorenzo and Menan: lower river access toward the Henry's Fork confluence.
Cutthroat regulations differ from those for browns and rainbows; read the current rules.
March through May: pre-runoff streamer fishing on the lower river.
Late June and July: salmonflies, then pale morning duns; the peak season.
August and September: mutant golden stones, hoppers and the best cutthroat dry fly fishing.
October and November: fall drawdown, brown trout on streamers, cottonwoods turning and no crowds.