Hells Gate lies on the river bottom left over from the great ice age floods about 15,000 years ago. At the south end of the park are basaltic columns from the Pomona flows 14 million years ago. Hells Gate State Park was once the site of a Nez Perce Village. Little is left of the village, but depressions south of the campground are the remnants of pit houses used for years by the Nez Perce as they fished for lamprey near Asotin Creek.

How does a jet boat ride up the Snake River in one of North America’s deepest canyons sound? Or reeling in a steelhead fish, picnicking under shade trees on the banks of the river or a leisurely bike ride on the Clearwater and Snake River trail? Hells Gate State Park has all this to offer and more. Quiet and grassy campsites along the shores of the Snake River await campers at Hells Gate. The park is situated at the lowest elevation in Idaho. At just 733 feet above sea level, the long season of warm weather gives rise to Lewiston’s reputation as Idaho’s Banana Belt.