Is It Really Illegal To Do This On the Boise River?

If you’re not a fan of triple digit temperatures, you may not want to open your weather app for the next week or so! Ours is showing us temperatures over 100º clear thru July 25.

If you have a community pool in your subdivision or apartment complex, chances are that this current hot streak has warmed it up enough that it’s not quite as refreshing as it was a few weeks ago. That pool is basically bathwater at this point!

READ MORE: Popular Activity Could Land Boise River Floaters in Jail

We can’t say the same about the Boise River! On July 11, the “Float the Boise River” Facebook page let floaters know that while we might have triple digit air temperatures, the water itself is still in the mid to upper 50s. That promise of ultra refreshing water means that the river is a busy place to cool down. 

Of course, it’s not just folks lounging on rafts and tubes using the Boise River as a way to beat the heat! Bridge jumpers are getting a piece of the action, too. We’re talking about those brave souls who climb over one of the many bridges crisscrossing the Boise River and plunge into the chilly water below. It’s another fun way to cool down without having to pay rental fees, pay for the shuttle or coordinate parking. Unfortunately, some folks take the fun a little too far. 

If you’ve floated the river, you’ve likely watched bridge jumpers wait until floaters are close enough to splash before letting go to the bridge. The most common place you see it is at the Baybrook Court Bridge near the Warm Springs Golf Course. The big splash is usually followed up with laughter when fellow bridge jumpers watch a raft get drenched, but is the summertime past time even legal?

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That answer is “sort of.” It all depends where you land. If you land far enough away from floaters, you’ve got nothing to worry about. Land within 50 feet of a floater? You could be in big trouble. Boise City Code says that landing that close to a floater can result in an infraction that carries a $100 fine. No one wants to burn through $100 that way, but paying the fine is better than being charged with a misdemeanor. 

That’s how city code read until 2012 when Boise Police pushed for decriminalizing bridge jumping because so many of the people who participate in the activity are kids and teens. Decriminalizing the act would reduce how much effort they had to put in processing youth that were just trying to have fun through the juvenile justice system. With that rule in place, you'll only be charged with a crime if you’re found guilty of purposely trying to harm a floater. 

Bridge Jumping Results in Floaters Being Hospitalized

A bridge jumper DID cause serious harm to a man and his son in 2022, but first responders didn’t get his name before he left the scene. Both of the floaters were taken to the hospital to be treated for head and knee injuries. As far as we know, that person was never caught. The family filed a tort claim against the City of Boise and the Fire Department and said the fire department was negligent for not getting the bridge jumper’s name. We don’t know how that played out, but the family was seeking $100,000.

Bridge Jumpers Could Receive Multiple Citations

In addition to the infraction for landing too close to floaters, bridge jumpers also risk being cited for obstructing the Greenbelt and bridges that cross it. City code defines obstructing a path as: 

Standing more than two people deep along the railing or side of any bridge or along the side of any bridge accessway. Alternatively, "obstruct" means to occupy all or such portion of the path, lane, sidewalk, or road, as to block or delay more than momentarily safe passage of another person or vehicle using the path, lane, sidewalk or road lawfully and carefully.

Those are just a few helpful reminders to help make Boise River float season fun and safe for floaters, jumpers and people who love the Greenbelt!