The Salmon River is known as the "River of No Return" because pilots with wooden scows made one-way trips down its course, selling the boats for scrap lumber at the end of each trip and returning overland to Salmon City. The wilderness area is named after the late U.S. Senator from Idaho, Frank Church, who was a key figure in the creation of the Wilderness.
The Wilderness cover more than 2.3 million acres and contains parts of six national forests in Idaho as well as one in Montana.
Elevations in the Wilderness vary from 2,000 to 10,000 feet, so that travelers are likely to experience challenging segments when they visit the area.