The Salmon River also give name to the town of Salmon,_Idaho, located in the Lehmi Valley of Idaho. In August of 1805, just after crossing the continental divide, Lewis and Clark ventured down the Salmon River, but found it to be too rough to be navigable. Clark wrote:
"...I shall in justice to Capt. Lewis who was the first white man ever on this fork of the Columbia Call this Louis's river. ...The Westerly fork of the Columbia River [the present Salmon River] is double the size of the Easterley fork [the present Lemhi River] & below those forks the river is ...100 yards wide, it is verry rapid & Sholey water Clear but little timber."
The honor didn't last long; by 1810 maps of the area were already referring to "Louis's River" as the Salmon.
Today, the Middle Fork of the Salmon is a popular destination for white-water rafters. The Middle Fork, over 100 miles, travels through the Frank Church/River of No Return Wilderness.
The headwaters of the Salmon are located near Ketchum,_Idaho.