The White Salmon rises on the south side of Mt. Adams in the Cascade Mountains and runs 35 miles to the Columbia River. It flows continuously throughout the summer due to the abundance of aquifers that bubble up beneath the surrounding farmlands. The gorge was once a lava tube and the river plummets through narrow basalt walls before meandering down a forested valley.

A short hour-and-a-half drive from Portland, OR, the White Salmon is a great whitewater-rafting trip for both beginners and experts alike. Heart pounding rapids are interspersed with quiet pools and picturesque waterfalls cascading down the canyon walls. This trip also features the tallest commercially raftable waterfall in the nation: Husum Falls, a 14-foot Class V drop. You guides will make sure you have the skills to stay in the raft, but there is a trail beside the river if you’d rather walk around.

Overall, the White Salmon is a classic Pacific Northwest rafting trip with rainforest-like scenery, crystal-clear, spring fed water and rollercoaster rapids, and it is the perfect trip for a group with varying ability levels.