Anyone ever been? Do you have recommendations for a white water rafting tour operator?

I've wanted to do this since I was young and never have!

I'm going next year, no matter what. I'm taking the kids so no, we can't do any high level rapids and probably only 4-5 days in length.

I've done white water trips before and kayaked the Inside Passage with orcas for a week, (one of my all time favorite vacations in my life) so I sort of know what to expect but there are tons of operators out there.. I'd love to have a personal recommendation.

Any experience with this?

I can help you Karrie.


1) Grand Canyon is an expert raft, so it's not great for kids or beginners.

2) I'm pretty sure you have to book years in advance.


If you don't have you heart set on Grand Canyon, some other great alternatives are the Arkansas River in Colorado (particularly Brown's Canyon and the Royal Gorge) and several in California.

If you're planning a trip back to the Bay Area anytime soon, I would give consideration to the Merced or the Tuolumne, both of which flow out of Yosemite. These are beautiful trips. The Merced is more tame than the Tuolumne. I did the latter with my dad in '06 at about the highest the water ever gets, so it was quite an adventure. If you do a California river, I suggest All-Outdoors Rafting. We had an excellent experience with the.

California Whitewater Rafting River Trips with All-Outdoors (http://www.aorafting.com)

Rafting the Grand Canyon is #1 on my life list. For private excursions, there used to be a 20+ year waiting list for permits. They organized a weighted lottery a few years ago to the advantage of the more experienced. I'm not sure how the commercial tours operate, but you might be hiking out of the canyon with your stuff on your back, or you might have to hire mules to carry everything. You might check out the NPS's site:Grand Canyon National Park - Whitewater Rafting (U.S. National Park Service) (http://www.nps.gov/grca/planyourvisit/whitewater-rafting.htm)

Also, through September, Omnidome theatre has a film called Grand Canyon Adventure: River at Risk. Its pretty good I think. Its narrarated by Robert Redford, and the soundtrack is by Dave Matthews. The visuals of it are simply awesome.
Dome | Science Museum Oklahoma site (http://www.omniplex.org/dome.html)

good ideas.. jbrown, there are family trips for those under 12 - of course, mild rapids and excursions - I should have specified we are not going for the high level rapids this trip - more of a mini trip .. they have limited visitors to one trip per year however and are pretty strict about that.

This is one I'm considering..

"In the grandest canyon of the Colorado, experience the excitement, serenity, joy and enchanting beauty of the river as it transforms this divine chasm and those who venture down it. Go Grand Canyon rafting 187 miles in 6 or 7 days, each day descending deeper into geologic time. The Grand Canyon is ever-changing, with massive walls that step back to expose eons of natural history, at one place dark and narrow, and at another lush with waterfalls thundering hundreds of feet in luminous free fall. Daily side hikes on this Grand Canyon rafting (http://www.westernriver.com/trips/grandcanyon) vacation lead you to sparkling streams, pristine pools, green fern glens, and ancient Anasazi ruins. The astounding scenery through Grand Canyon National Park is enhanced by the thrill of over 60 rapids where Western’s unique J-Rig rafts (http://www.westernriver.com/boats) will give you maximum Grand Canyon white water rafting (http://www.westernriver.com/trips/grandcanyon) excitement and safety.
New 7-Day Trip! Covering the same 188 miles of astounding Grand Canyon rafting beauty as the 6-day trip, our new 7-day experience offers one more precious day on the river. Take additional side hikes to waterfalls, hidden grottos, and Native American ruins, and spend more time at renowned sites like Havasu Canyon."

Says age minimum 12 years.. my youngest will be 11.5 and turn 12 in October.. wonder if that will be an issue?

Grand Canyon Rafting » 6 & 7 Day Grand Canyon Vacations (http://www.westernriver.com/trips/grand6day/)

What's interesting about these trips is that they cost more than double than what a seven day luxury cruise trip costs... that's amazing. We're camping..lol, however, I still contend that my favorite vacation was just like the above, only in the Inside Passage.

Rafting the Grand Canyon is also on my life list.. so is visiting Ireland. I like this idea. I'm making a new thread.

Wow.. how strange is this.. just today, I've been looking non-stop into rafting trips - turned to CNN and saw this:

GRAND CANYON, AZ – More than 400 people are being evacuated by helicopter from the village of Supai Canyon after an earthen dam burst Sunday morning.

The Arizona National Guard, the National Park Service and the Department of Public Safety also airlifted about 75 campers and river runners out of the Grand Canyon due to the flooding.

According to a spokesperson for the Coconino County Sheriff’s Office, the Redlands Dam in the Grand Canyon broke at about 6 a.m.

Rain on Saturday night brought massive flooding to the area.

Officials said water from the dam quickly flowed downstream into Cataract Canyon and subsequently Supai Canyon.

The 400 residents affected, members of the Havasupai tribe, are being evacuated to the Havasupai hilltop and then to Peach Springs where the Red Cross is said to have set up a shelter.

The campers and river runners in the canyon were taken to a Red Cross shelter in Peach Springs, about 60 miles southwest of Supai, said Grand Canyon National Park Spokeswoman Maureen Oltrogge.

DPS officials said they were closing down Route 66 in the Hualapai area.

There's no word yet regarding the extent of flooding in the canyon, nor any indication of the damage possibly caused.

No injuries have been reported.

A flash flood warning is in effect in the area until 6:45 p.m.

Officials with the Grand Canyon National Park are concerned because more rain is expected in the area today, which is expected to exacerbate the problem.

Scary.

I'm a little confused Karrie. You said you like sound of that trip described (7 days in the GC) but I thought you said you aren't looking for the higher-class, more difficult rapids.

I looked at that website and it looks like the family trips they offer in the GC are in special rafts where you just ride and the guide does all the rowing/maneuvering. It would still be some big rapids, but perfectly safe. Just making sure you know exactly what they are offering. I personally prefer to take part in the rowing myself, but this may be what you need for your family.

Flash Floods during to monsoon season of the desert SW are pretty common. But along the Colorado should cause some concern, because of it being tourist season.
Earlier in the year, they did a controlled flood through the GC, and the results have been great. A raft trip would be good to do before all the new sandbars end up on the bottom of Lake Meade. The before and after photos are dramatic, unfortunately I cant find any.
As far as some of the trips mentioned above, the 5 - 7 days I think those are motorized boat trips, that take you back to Lees Ferry (the put-in site).

jstanthrnme, it all depends on what ages they allow and how safe it seems to take my children ..I don't have a problem with a few higher rated level rapids as long as it is safe.. the description above offers this:

The astounding scenery through Grand Canyon National Park is enhanced by the thrill of over 60 rapids where Western’s unique J-Rig rafts (http://www.westernriver.com/boats) will give you maximum Grand Canyon white water rafting (http://www.westernriver.com/trips/grandcanyon) excitement and safety.

I'm still in the early research stages and trying to sort it all out.

They have hybrid trips where you combine paddle and power boats.. a bit more mild.

It is all pretty pricey though.. a seven day runs around minimum 10K for four people. And most of those are filled up for May/June of 09 when I'd want to go.. I might have to wait for 2010.

We'll see how it pans out... and how the sandbars hold up.

What's all this about the sandbars?

In early march, the Corps of Engineers did a controlled flood from Glen Canyon Dam through the Grand Canyon to restore riparian habitat along the Colorado River. The results have created sandbars along the river to more or less simulate how the river functioned prior to the dams.

Oh gotcha. They just need to dismantle that dam.