North Fork Payette River

The North Fork Payette River is a river in the western  United States in western Idaho. It flows about 113 mi southwards from the Salmon River Mountains to near Banks, where it empties into the Payette River, a tributary of the Snake River. It drains a watershed of 912 mi2, consisting of mountains and forests, and valleys filled with large lakes and wetlands.

The river is also highly regarded among whitewater enthusiasts, who view the river as a pinnacle in whitewater rapid running.

due to the severity of the run which features over 17 named rapids within a 15 mile stretch, kayaks are the main mode of transportation through the many rapids. Rafts and canoes are rare and often lead to serious injuries or death. The NF payette is respected amongst kayakers for it has brought death in the past.

the rapids all have been navigated by this point but still even the best whitewater athletes in banks are all scared of something on that river.

the biggest rapids in order would have to be,

golf course

bad Jose/no where to run

jakes

nut

peck

screaming left

chaos

slide

steepness

jaws 1

hounds tooth

Disneyland

s turn

juicer

island

crunch boof

otterslide

big falls

Course
It rises at the confluence of Trail Creek and Cloochman Creek, in a meadow in the Payette National Forest in Valley County. The river flows south into Upper Payette Lake, then further south through a narrow valley into Payette Lake, with a surface elevation of 4990 ft above sea level. The river exits from the southwestern corner of the lake at McCall and flows southwards through Long Valley into Lake Cascade, a large reservoir formed by Cascade Dam. The Lake Fork and Gold Fork rivers join from the north and east sides of the lake.

About 5 mi below the Cascade Dam and the town of Cascade, the North Fork reaches the end of Long Valley and enters a narrow canyon along the western side of the North Fork Range in the Boise National Forest. Paralleled by State Highway 55, it crosses into Boise County, where the canyon's depth exceeds 2500 ft.

The North Fork joins with the Payette River at Banks (2825 ft). From there, the Payette River flows 62 mi further west to its confluence with the Snake River at Payette, just northeast of Ontario, Oregon.