Think the city or county runs the Boise River float? Think again
Throughout Boise’s hot summer days, a steady stream of people take the bus into Barber Park, queueing up to rent their tubes or rafts and then float down the river to Ann Morrison Park. Many assume that the city of Boise or Ada County is behind the hot-weather activity.
But those rental and bus services, under the name Boise River Raft & Tube, are run by Boise River Runners, LLC, a private company helmed by Idaho developer Bill Truax.
And business is booming — the venture made over $1 million each year in gross sales from 2023 to 2025, according to an analysis of public records. Truax declined to comment on the company’s revenues, citing pending litigation.
“We love Boise, and the float is the best thing to do in the summer,” Truax, the manager of the company, wrote in an email to the Statesman. “We wanted to preserve a lifestyle and recreational opportunity for Boiseans and visitors by improving the float operations and trying to keep pricing affordable.”
People can float the river in their own tubes and rafts for free, but for a fee, Boise River Raft & Tube provides rafts, life jackets and padddles. A four-person raft, for example, is $75 plus tax.
Truax made headlines in recent years for his involvement in a project called Union 93, a plan for hundreds of apartments in downtown Meridian. But the development stalled, spawning lawsuits and disputes over $20 million in unpaid work.
Two local development companies stepped in to buy the Meridian property in 2025.
Truax is also embroiled in a lawsuit with a Boise River Runners co-owner, who alleged in 2025 that Truax and another owner approached the company for a loan for construction activities. The suit alleged that the two didn’t repay. In an email, Truax said that the loan wasn’t to him or the other owner, but instead was a loan to the entity that owned Union 93.
In March, Idaho-based construction services company Matson Enterprises, LLC sued Bill Truax and two of his companies, alleging that Matson hadn’t been paid for almost $25,000 worth of work performed in 2022 for a Garden City property. Matson won a $33,000 judgment against Truax, who told the Statesman he still works in development. He declined to comment on any legal matters, again citing pending litigation, and referred the Statesman to the court record.
Boise River Runners first signed a contract with Ada County, which owns Barber Park, in 2022, according to Scott Koberg, director of Ada County Parks & Waterways. Koberg did not respond to a question asking if the process for awarding the contract was competitive.
“Contract performance and compliance have been good and consistent with previous contractors for these services,” Koberg said in an email.
The contract requires Truax’s company to pay $75,000 in fees as well as 20% of all gross sales above $200,000.
Truax paid Ada County that percentage, from a low of $228,000 in 2023 to a high of $267,000 in 2025.
Truax also signed a three-year contract with the city of Boise giving access to Boise-owned Ann Morrison Park, so his company could offer bus services and pick up their rafts and gear, according to city documents and spokesperson Bonnie Shelton. In exchange, Truax’s company agreed to pay Boise $30,000 as a licensing fee this year.
Boise contracts each year with whoever Ada County selects, Shelton said. The city doesn’t put out a competitive bid because it is just responding to what the county does, according to Shelton.
It hasn’t always been this way. In 1995, Ada County took over the raft and tube rental operation after a legal dispute with the company that offered raft and food concessions, according to Statesman reporting at the time.
A separate private business rented rafts out of Ann Morrison Park, and shuttled customers to Barber Park, according to a 1997 Statesman article.
In 2008, Epley’s Boise River Rentals took over rental and shuttle services, according to previous Statesman reporting. At the time, an official told the Statesman it was the first time in recent memory that the local government contracted out to a private business, in hopes of saving money.
Which isn’t to say local government isn’t involved. The Boise Fire Department responds to incidents and works with Boise’s community forestry team to “mitigate and remove hazards,” Shelton said. Boise park staff handle trash collection at the take-out and on the Greenbelt, and the city helps with communication efforts, Shelton said.
The 6-mile-stretch draws over 125,000 visitors per year. Even on a recent work day, the smell of sunscreen wafted through the air as people hauled rafts to the water and filled out forms. White school buses, emblazoned with the black letters of “Boise River Raft and Tube” waited in the roundabout.
“On the shuttle side, we anticipate serving around 60,000 riders this season,” Truax wrote to the Statesman. “Right now, 2026 looks like it could be the most active season ever for floating.”
This story was originally published July 7, 2026 at 3:59 PM.
