The Final Randall Carlson Scablands Tour

In early June 2027, Randall Carlson returns to the Scablands for the final Scablands tour, joined by Bradley Young. After this trip we'll be moving on to new tour destinations, and this itinerary will not be repeated.

This six-day journey brings together the essential Scablands locations with select highlights from our Columbia River Gorge and Montana tours, along with new additions and one major adventure: a full-day Hells Canyon jet boat expedition out of Lewiston, running roughly 60 miles upriver.

Planned highlights

Where we go

Palouse Falls 46.664° N, 118.224° W A flood-carved plunge into a basalt amphitheatre — the clearest single argument the Scablands make.

Steptoe Butte 47.030° N, 117.298° W A quartzite island that stood above the basalt flows. The view explains the whole region at once.

The Palouse River Valley 46.6° N, 117.6° W Loess hills and the river's re-routed course through scoured rock.

Bowl and Pitcher 47.696° N, 117.494° W Riverside State Park, Spokane — basalt formations on the Spokane River.

Mount Spokane 47.921° N, 117.114° W Elevation and orientation: the regional overview before we drop back into the channels.

Select Gorge & Montana locations Itinerary TBC Highlights pulled from our Columbia River Gorge and Montana tours, folded into this route.

Two nights in Lewiston 46.417° N, 117.017° W Our base for the canyon day, at the confluence of the Snake and Clearwater.

Hells Canyon jet boat expedition Full day · ~60 river miles The major addition to this route, and the reason it can't be repeated on a shorter trip.

The major adventure

A full day up Hells Canyon

We launch from Lewiston and run roughly sixty miles upriver into the deepest river gorge in North America — walls rising thousands of feet above the Snake, and rock that records far more than the flood.

A full day on the water, from the boat, at the pace the canyon sets.

~60River miles upstream

1Full day on the water

2Nights based in Lewiston

Who this is for

Both ways in

If you've traveled with Randall before

A chance to revisit extraordinary country while seeing locations that haven't been on every tour — including the canyon day, which is new to this itinerary.

If you've never made the Scablands journey

This is the last chance to see it with Randall. After 2027 we move on to new destinations, and this route retires.

Reserve your place

Tour details

Standard

$4,200 Per person · double occupancy. Couples: buy two.

Pay in full — $4,200 Pay deposit — $1,200

Private

$5,100 Per person · private room

Pay deposit — $1,500 Pay in full — email us

Places on this tour

6 of 40 places are already spoken for. 34 remain, and deposits are coming in now. When they're gone, they're gone — there is no second run of this tour.

A deposit holds your place — $1,200 standard, $1,500 private, with the balance due before the tour. Final dates will be announced by mid-September 2026. Once the last of these 40 places is gone, there will not be another Randall Carlson Scablands tour.

Transferring from the cancelled Lake Chelan tour? Your ticket carries over to this trip at no extra charge — your place is already held. Email us and we'll confirm it.