snake dancer day excursions

The half-day jet boat ride from Clarkston to Dug Bar is a fine way to experience the Snake River Hells Canyon. Beautiful scenery, settlements, ranches, rock (basalt) formations, a forest station with an interesting small museum and orchard, and a historical overview by the captain make the trip worthwhile. A picnic lunch--fried chicken, baked beans, pasta salad, relishes, cookies, lemonade--under fruit trees at the Cache Creek forest station--is a plus. We enjoyed little ripe plums picked for us--a mid-September treat. Rapids are not scary/dangerous--Bill steered us through skilfully; we did not get soaked. Our only disappointment was that we caught only brief glimpses of two sets of deer--wildlife was in hiding. Warning: wear warm clothing/layers: the boat is open and goes fast; the wind is cold! Take sunglasses, sunscreen, and your camera.

There were four of us enjoying the half day trip last week...what an awesome trip we had!! Bill was our captain and you can tell he loves what he does. He pointed out lots of things along our way and stopped and let everyone take pictures whenever we saw wildlife. We also got a really nice lunch as people have said before me. fried chicken, pasta salad, baked beans, veggies, and ohhhhh yeah, the cookies!!! YUM!! You can tell he really knows the river like the back of his hand and enjoys his job...Highly recommend this trip....we all loved it!!

Snake Dancer Excursions jet boat ride through Hell's Canyon. Our skilled boat pilot/geology/archaeology interpreter, Gabriel, was a master navigator piloting his 29 foot flat-bottomed jet-boat (700hp!) through various rock obstacles and up the mighty river. Most enjoyable warm day in September (aside from the oddly screaming senior passengers, whom Gabe was kind enough to coat in the solid rapid spray to quell their excessive exuberance). Snacks, drinks, lunch and timely comfort station breaks kept the passengers on an even satisfied keel. Plan to be back; don't miss it.

My wife and I went on the full day tour to the Hells Canyon Dam on September 1, 2014. Gabe and Clayton provided us with the history of the canyon, a lot of things I didn't know and I have lived in this area all my life! There are ample stops along the way for potty breaks and to stretch your legs, no box lunch for this crew. Fried chicken, baked beans, pasta salad, chips and veggies. I wonder what all the other tourists are eating on their trip? The water was pretty low for our trip but Gabe picked his way through the rocks and made traversing the rapids as exciting as possible. If your considering a trip up the canyon do yourself a favor and get ahold of this company, you won't be disappointed. Heck, we'll probably go again next year.Allan & Kellye

We had a wonderful, long day on the river. Gabe and Clayton were super at navigating, friendly, knowledgable and the food was delicious. Highly recommend this company.

Wow I am so glad I found Snake Dancer Excursions! My Fiance and I took the all day tour and that is really the only way to do it. I am not saying it is an easy tour but the fact remains that the last 25 miles up stream is the part that really rocks..and having the owner at the wheel with all his many years of experience and also the smaller boat well WOW...you don't want one of those larger boats with well less men doing the driving well the smaller boats are the bomb! I mentioned that the longer tour is hard on you but I can tell you for sure that Gabe did everything in his power to make it easy from home made cookie stops to custom freed chicken lunch....smaller is better!!!! The river is so amazing...it is a combination of very smooth and calm areas to fast rock your world spots...I am so glad I had Snake Dancer Excursions to lead the way yahoo...and by the way it is a family affair which is cuter than cute!!!!

We had a great time on this 1/2day(5+hr) trip. Saw wild life, ran some really fun rapids, petroglyphs. Great tour captain Clayton, filled us in on the local history. Very nice home made lunch. Pick the fruit in season and eat at the lunch stop. Very friendly staff. Highly recommend this company. It is adjacent to the Hells Gate RV park, if you stay here you can walk to the tour boat!

We had a great time on the snake river. It was my first time ever on a trip like this and it couldn't have been any better. Bill our Captain had many stories he shared about points along the river. The snacks and lunch were great. I would go again in a heartbeat and request Bill.

We camped in Hells Gate State Park last week and looked into riding a jet boat down the Snake River. I turned to Tripadvisor for guidance and once again it didn't disappoint. We went with Snake Dancer Excursions because reviews were great. Our two Captains, Bill & Clayton were friendly and very knowledgable with the area and the water. Clayton was great with the kids. When we stopped for lunch there was another boat company there. They had boxed lunches, we had a homemade buffet style lunch. I "almost" felt bad for the other group, our food was so good! We had fried chicken, pasta salad, veggies and really good cookies. My family swears they were the best cookies ever, I had to ask for the recipe, which they gladly shared. If you are interested in taking a jet boat, I would recommend Snake Dancer. They were great. A fun day for myself and my family. Thanks guys!!

We went on a trip with our school and Snake Dancer was by far the best price and value! Had an amazing time and now I recommend them to everyone I know. Awesome tour guides, beautiful views, delicious lunch, and amazing customer service.

We went on a Big Boat trip and thought it was fantastic. Then Gabe took us to the dam. Our trip on The Jewel made the Big Boat trip look like a float down an irrigation canal. We had heard that Gabe was the best and he showed us why in the high water. After skillfully getting us thru Granite Creek Rapids someone asked how far we had risen. He said about 15 or 16 ft. On the way back down he set the GPS and we dropped 18 ft .Water came over the front and the roof but he kept us in complete control. Best lunch, best info ,best boat, best driver. Don't short yourself. Go all the way with Gabe for the best DAM day you can have.,

How would you like to spend $1500.00 just to get to Clarkston, find no one there, and finally get an Oops, the other passengers cancelled. "We called you." That happened to us! There was zero ownership of the problem. Oh, you get your money refunded and a free trip...but not on this day, this day, or this day both when we arrived and drove back through 10 days later. They did not even have the courtesy to send us an email. We had already landed a half continent beyond our home when they left a message. I guess the email address that we had been using for the reservations was beyond their scope.The website looks gorgeous, the better food sounded good, deeper into the canyon sounded great...but to say that their customer service needs some work is more than an understatement. Business ethics just doesn't count. Customer service is a foreign concept.I hope your experience doesn't come close to ours. We didn't even get a note. We got a locked door on the day of our trip. But they called, they say. Wow.

Snake Dancer Excursions jet boat ride up the Snake River to the damn far exceeded my expectations. Gabe did a fantastic job navigating the boat on the river, including the two class five rapids just before the damn. He is also very knowledgeable of the area's history. We stopped for two light snacks and a very good lunch at the Kirkwood Ranch. He slowed down when we spotted wildlife so we could take pictures. Thanks for a great "Bucket List" experience.

Ellen,Thank You for organizing a trip with us and for taking the time to write:)We appreciate all the great comments and strive to make every trip the BEST!You RV'rs are great people and what a great way to travel! Discounts for Groups of 20 to 50 passengers are always given and a great way for groups of your size to save $$.We agree Premier RV park is nice and a great place to start your trip. We don't mind picking up anywhere along the Lewiston/Clarkston River Banks. Thank You Again,Snake Dancer ExcursionsSince 1970"Treating You Special Is Our Speciality"

Thank You, Thank You, Thank You!We appreciate your comments and love to see pictures.WOW what a great bear shot!!We are glad you enjoyed your Hells Canyon Adventure and hope to see you again!Snake Dancer ExcursionsSince 1970"Treating You Special Is Our Speciality"