Selway River

Paradise to Selway Falls · Class IV · ID

Season

Permit control season May 15 to Jul 31. Late June is usually the most dependable.

Character

About 48 miles in the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness with technical Class IV rapids and permit-limited use.

Watch for

Snow can block access in May, early-June melt can make the river dangerously high, and flows are often too low by mid-July.

Gauge

USGS 13336500
Selway River near Lowell
No reading in the Oct 22, 2026 snapshot.
The Lowell gauge is downstream of the run. The foot gauge at Paradise is not a USGS gauge and is not a reliable indicator of flow for rafters.

Permit

LotteryOpens Dec 1, in 28 days.

Apply Dec 1 to Jan 31. Results Feb 14. Very low odds.

Apply on Recreation.govOfficial page

Fees and rules

Fees are not listed on the Forest Service page. See the Four Rivers lottery brochure on the Recreation.gov listing.

Non-commercial permits are allocated by lottery. Applications are online only. The controlled-use season runs May 15 to Jul 31 (per the lottery summary at OARS). Reservations are accepted or declined in your Recreation.gov profile.

Source: Bitterroot National Forest page, last updated Aug 31, 2026. Season dates from a third-party summary; confirm on the Forest page.

Snowpack

Selway and Clearwater (Idaho)Early season

Snow water equivalent 0.8 in. Early season — median too low for a meaningful %.

Outlook indicator, not a flow forecast. Spring temperatures, rain, soil moisture, dust on snow and reservoir releases also matter. NRCS SNOTEL data as of Nov 1, 2026 (provisional).

See basin snowpack

Draft details for paddlers to review and edit. Community voting on runnable ranges is coming.