Am I The Only One Who Hasn’t Floated The Boise River?

Everyone talks about floating the river, I mean everyone! People that don't live here talk about how fun it is to float the Boise River in the summer. I've even heard people say that you can't love Boise without having floated the river.

Does it make me weird that I just don't see the appeal? You have to drive to one part of the city, where you will ultimately have trouble finding a parking space, just to spend three hours floating to another part of the city. Once you get to the destination, you have to get on a bus with a bunch of other people back to where you started.

Maybe my apprehension is wrapped up in my concern for safety. Last year, Idaho led the nation in river deaths. Last week, I was safely walking the greenbelt, looked at the river, and couldn't imagine that it would be safe to float the river with how little water was in it. Yesterday, I was concerned because suddenly I think there's too much water!

Because so many people participate each year, the fun of floating the river must outweigh the annoyance of parking and be bussed back to your car. Looking at it from a purely statistical standpoint, it also must be safe. You don't hear about many injuries on the Boise River compared to the number of people that float it.

I believe that you can still love Boise even if you haven't floated the river, but this year I'm going to give it a try. Can someone please save me a parking spot?