The Salt River is free-flowing from its headwaters down to Theodore Roosevelt Lake, where the first of four hydroelectric generating dams are located. Customarily, the Salt is described as either the Upper Salt River (above Roosevelt Lake) or the Lower Salt River (below Roosevelt Lake). Class II to IV whitewater is the primary attraction to the Upper Salt, though the desert scenery rates a very close second for many people. Below Roosevelt Lake the river is flatwater with little current except during periods of dam release. Flow is controlled by releases from the four dams at the mouths of Roosevelt, Apache, Canyon and Saguaro Lakes.

Both sections offer spectacular Sonoran Desert topography that includes tall mountains, mountain valleys, Saguaro cactus, sagebrush, tumbleweeds, a wide variety of desert flowers that bloom for a few short weeks in the spring and a remoteness that escapes the hustle and bustle of nearby big city life. The Salt River generally has a short season from March through May, depending upon winter snowpack and spring rainfall.