A Boat's Purpose

For hundreds of years, humans have been boating down rivers. Your goal or objective on the river determines the watercraft. If you’re an angler looking to safely get to where the fish are, you will want a drift boat. Drift boats are a common sight to see floating down the Snake River—there is usually a fishing pole nearby. Native Americans built and used bull boats to transport meat from a successful hunt, fish they caught, and harvested plants. It could successfully move these items downstream or across the river. This sort of innovation and engineering has allowed tribes to thrive in areas like the Great Plains and Rocky Mountain regions. A river raft is one of the most popular boats used to transport excited visitors down the river. Two large oars maneuver the rafts through the dynamic waters of the Snake. If you are one of the thousands of visitors who get to experience the park on a guided float trip, you’re likely to be in a river raft. Here, bronze, in-ground sculptures give you a sense of the size and shape of these different water vessels. Could you navigate the riverways in a bull boat? Will you catch a fish from a drift boat? Or will you see the Teton range from the seat of a river raft?