Payette, S. Fork, Idaho, US |
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| Usual Difficulty | IV (for normal flows) |
|---|---|
| Length | 4.5 Miles |
| Name | Range | Difficulty | Updated | Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Payette; South Fork at Staircase | ||||
| virtual-6518 | 800 - 10000 cfs | IV | 00h38m | 511 cfs (rc= -0.0 ) |
Character: There are several rapids along this stretch with Bronco Billy (Class III), Staircase (Class IV) and Slalom (Class IV-) being the standouts. The Banks Lowman Road is next to the river through this canyon making it easy to scout the entire run.
Put in: There is a wooden launch ramp and parking at Deer Creek, which is the most commonly used put in for kayakers and private rafters. There are additional put in options up stream that add mosty flatwater to the trip.
No permit needed, but user fees are required at the put in and take out facilities. A season pass can be obtained at the Banks store and Cafe for $20.
While there is no gage on the Staircase section, flows can be estimated by two different methods. The method used for the virtual gage linked to this page takes the sum of flows from the South Fork Payette at Lowman gage, the Middle Fork Payette at Crouch gage and the Deadwood River gage. The Lowman and Deadwood gages are well upstream, above many small side creeks, so flows may be underestimated with this method.
The second method is to subtract flows on the North Fork Payette near Banks gage, from the flows on the Main Payette near Horseshoe Bend gage. There are several small side streams between Banks and Horseshoe Bend, so this method tends to overestimate flows. There are timing distortions with both methods as not all gages update at the same time. Both methods should be considered estimates.
| Name | Range | Difficulty | Updated | Level | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Payette; South Fork at Staircase | ||||||||||||
| virtual-6518 | 800 - 10000 cfs | IV | 00h38m | 511 cfs (rc= -0.0 ) | ||||||||
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Sum of Lowman, Deadwood and Middle Fork |
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| When | River/Gauge | Subject | Level | Reporter |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Payette, S. Fork4 - The Staircase Run [ID] | Account of 05/19/09 | n/a | n/a | |
| Payette, S. Fork [ID] |
Staircase Panorama, South Fork Payette
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1200 cfs | Daniel Cytron | |
| 6y34d09h05m | Payette [id] |
Payette SouthFork Staircase Run
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about 1,400 | Gary Wilson |
| 7y248d09h05m | Payette, S. Fork [ID] |
Stuck in Hole
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1150 | Jerod Ready |
| 8y160d09h05m | Payette [ID] |
Entrance to Staircase
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n/a | Gary Wilson |
| > 10 years | S. Fk. Payette [ID] |
Mystery!
|
low | Tim Link |
No Comments
Users can submit comments.| Mile | Rapid Name | Class | Features (Legend) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.0 | Deer Creek Ramp | III |  |
| 0.4 | Bronco Billy | III | |
| 0.7 | Dog Leg | III | |
| 0.9 | Tight & Right | II+ | |
| 1.1 | South Fork Surf Wave | II |  |
| 2.1 | Staircase | IV |   |
| 3.8 | Slalom | IV |
At most flows the Deer Creek ramp is a super fun seal launch. Just don't put your hands down while sliding, you'll get terrible splinters.
Staircase Panorama, South Fork PayetteStaircase is a challenging rapid with a very long swim if things go wrong. There are multiple different lines. From the top of the rapid to the run out is about 1/3 of a mile.
Slalom is a long rapid with a wide hole that blocks most of the right side and should be avoided. Its is more of a class IV- than a class IV, but none the less, it is a challenging rapid with unpleasant consequences.
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4 - The Staircase Run , Payette, S. Fork Idaho, US (mobile)
