A cold, wet summer and slumping economy made for a slow season on the Snake. Numbers of visitors were down significantly in the Snake River Canyon and Grand Teton National Park, with heavy rain in June and snow in August and September.

For noncommercial use, the Bridger-Teton recorded more than 18,000 user-trips between late June and early September. This figure only represents floaters counted at the West Table ramp, mostly in the morning and early afternoon, and does not take into account other access points utilized by kayakers and other boaters. The Bridger-Teton estimates that noncommercial use totaled between 30,000 and 50,000 user-trips this season.

The Forest Service issued 190 permits for noncommercial large groups (15 or more people). Of those, 140 were from Utah, and 43 from Idaho.

In Grand Teton National Park, nearly 54,000 people floated or fished the river with commercial outfitters, down about 10,000 from last year.

Filed under: Snake River Fund News on December 17th, 2009