Rafting in the Land of Enchantment

There are many things that contribute to New Mexico’s nickname. Perhaps you were lucky enough to visit Albuquerque in October to catch the world’s largest international hot air balloon festival. Maybe you’ve had the opportunity to travel the hypnotizing expanse of desert wonderland. If you’re anything like us, one of the most enchanting aspects of New Mexico’s richness was its majestic natural formations.

As your white water rafting experts, we’ve selected an assortment of trips put on by Kokopelli Rafting Adventures that capture the natural and cultural history of this awe inspiring region:

The Racecourse: This is the most popular trip offered by Kokopelli Rafting and is a great one for beginners. It is a fun, fast paced stretch of river with class III+ rapids in the high water of early spring. The trip is a half-day packed with excitement. Minimum age for this one is only 7, but this can occasionally be raised due to changes in water level.

Taos Box: This one day trip is one of the best of its kind in the U.S. and for obvious reasons. The first part of the trip includes a bit of flat water to allow for some instruction and practice paddling. Soon after, however, the gorge deepens and rafters are met with several class III and IV rapids, one after another. An all-you-can-eat buffet is included for lunch, as well as polar fleece tops and splash suits for your comfort.

Rio Chama: Filled with beautiful, remote landscapes and plenty of wildlife, this 2 or 3 day trip is great for families with a sense of adventure. Minimum age is 6 and rapids vary from class II to class III. Rafters also have the option to use inflatable kayaks or “duckies”. This trip is in high demand and has limited availability, so get signed up early!

White Rock Canyon: Kokopelli guides lead adventurers through the ancient lands of the Anasazi, some of which will serve as campsites for this 2 to 3 day trip. You will enjoy delicious meals prepared by expert guides and have the opportunity to explore the area before another day of excitement. This will be a memorable and fascinating experience for the whole family!

Whitewater Adventures South of the Border

In the spirit of winter, we’ve decided to take this blog post south of the border to a land where “December” and “white water rafting” can be used in the same sentence without getting weird looks. For those of you that just can’t wait another 4 or 5 months for the sun to come back around, this may come as an answer to prayers. We enthusiastically invite you to follow your birdlike intuition and migrate to either/both of these South American paradises.

Rio Upano, Ecuador: Filled with some of the most exotic and beautiful scenery in the world, this trip is guaranteed to be one of the most memorable experiences of your life. The cultural aspect of the area adds to the wonder, as visitors will be rafting through the land of the Shuar Indians that live along the river banks. Rapids vary from class II to class IV and the minimum age is 15.

Futaleufu, Chile: Earth River Expeditions gives rafters an incredibly unique experience while also providing them with luxuries such as cliffside dining and private camps. These camps are equipped with hot showers, riverside stone hot tubs, as well as tree houses and cliff dwellings with beds. Aside from exciting adventures on the river, guests will have the opportunity to try rock climbing, kayaking, fly fishing, zip lining, horseback riding and much more.

Aside from being just plain awesome, these white water rafting trips are both offered at times of the year when the rest of us are bundled up, dreaming of warmer days. What better way to get away from the cold than to go rafting in paradise?

Multi-Sport Adventures: The East

If you’re anything like us, you love doing just about anything that will get you into the great outdoors. Now, rafting is obviously our favorite of these activities, but we do like some variety from time to time and we assume you probably do, too. That’s why we’ve provided several “multi-sport” adventure options. You may have seen the post about the options in the Western U.S. and wondered if we forgot about you easterners! Not to worry! Here are a few great trips for you to consider, from Georgia to Massachusetts:

TreeTops Canopy Tour: Located in West Virginia, Adventures on the Gorge gives adventurers a unique way to experience nature by combining 10 zip lines, 5 sky bridges and a rappel. On this incredible, treetop expedition you will see this beautiful area from a whole different perspective. Participants must be over the age of 10 and cannot weigh less that 90 lbs or more than 260 lbs. This option is great for all times of the year and makes a fantastic date activity!

Wildman Adventures: It would be absurd to try to focus on just one or two of the options offered by Wildman Adventure Resort. This is arguably the best multisport adventure outfitter out there. To name only a few of their specialties, you can choose from paintball, UTV tours, snowmobile tours, rock climbing and a sea kayak lake tour. The company is based out of Wisconsin but they welcome guests from all over the world. Trust us, it’s worth the trip!

High Adventure in New England: Aside from offering several incredible rafting trips, Zoar Outdoor also gives visitors the option to soar high in the canopy in a zip line tour, or to take whitewater kayak lessons! But why choose only one?! Pick a rafting trip to do and then top it off with both the zip line AND the kayak lessons!

Wildwater: As the name of this outfitter implies, its specialty is in wild and exciting whitewater rafting trips. Luckily, however, they offer a variety of other adventures across Tennessee, Georgia, and the Carolinas. Their non-rafting options range from canopy tours to jeep expeditions that are guaranteed to create lasting memories for everyone!

Multi-Sport Adventures: The West

For some of us, white water rafting is just one of the many outdoor adventures we live for. Fortunately for us, many companies offer multi-sport trips that include a variety of outdoor activities. These range from hiking to hot air ballooning and just about everything in between. To give you a taste, here are just a few of the many options in the Western U.S.:

Nizina River Raft and Hike:Copper Oar offers a great multi-sport trip in Alaska that has a fantastic variety of scenery and adventure. After flying into the heart of Wrangell-St. Elias National Park in a bush plane, you will enjoy 3 days of rafting and 2 days of laid back hiking and exploration. The minimum age for this trip is 8 and it’s great for beginners and experts alike.

Canyoneering and Climbing in Moab, UT: Western River Expeditions is definitely one of the most versatile adventure companies out there. Moab is famous for its spectacular wildlife and rock structures. One of the best ways to experience this outdoor sports “Mecca” is on a canyoneering and climbing trip. This allows visitors to get right down into the breath-taking canyons of Moab with the assistance of an expert canyoneering guide. Western’s Moab Adventure Center also features Hot Air Balloon rides, Hummer Safaris and much, much more!

Oregon Wine Hike: Located in the beautiful wine country of Oregon, Rogue Wilderness Adventures gives guests the unique opportunity to enjoy 4 days of hiking and wine tasting. The experience is magnified by the fact that guests are learning about and sampling wine at the very location where it is made. This trip was featured in the New York Times and is guaranteed to be a fantastic, memorable experience for all! Guests must be 21 or older.

Grizzlies, Glaciers & Eagles... OH MY

The Alsek and Tatshenshini Rivers in Southern Alaska are famous locations for photographers and adventurers alike. While being a bit colder than other rafting destinations, this area is rich in wildlife and beautiful scenery. Breath-taking panoramas open up around every bend. The area is also unique in that it is part of the world’s largest biological preserve and contains some of the world’s most active glaciers. Rafters have the opportunity to float in a lake filled with icebergs and hike onto a glacier. In other words, this will be unlike anything you’ve ever experienced.

Canadian River Expeditions offers three options in this area of Alaska. One trip is offered on the Tatshenshini and is 12 days long. This particular trip is best known for its abundance of Grizzly Bears, Bald Eagles and other wildlife and is ideal for photographers. It offers access to the Northwest’s incredible plants and animals in a unique way only possible by raft. This trip has a minimum age of 8, so it is a great option for most families with teenagers as well as adult passengers.

The other two trips both take place on the Alsek River, with the full Alsek trip lasting 14 days and the other, just the upper portion of the Alsek, lasting 8 days. These two trips are incredibly scenic and include a spectacular helicopter over Turnback Canyon and the powerful Tweedsmuir Glacier. Both of the Alsek trips have no minimum age so families are welcome.

When it comes to outdoor adventure, these three Alaskan river rafting trips are guaranteed to be an amazing and unique experience. Whether you are looking to see and photograph some of the most spectacular scenery in the world, or are simply after a change of pace in your rafting adventures, these Alaskan rafting trips through Canadian River Expeditions are definitely the way to go. The guides at Canadian River Expeditions are experts at what they do and are extremely knowledgeable. We’re sure you’ll make lifelong memories and have an incredible experience in the wild Northwest.

For more Alaskan adventure options, check out the trips offered by Copper Oar including both single day and multi-day trips.

River of No Return and Other Trips Around Idaho

While the 1954 movie with Marilyn Monroe made this river famous so long ago, we have our own reasons for loving the Salmon River. After all, what’s not to love? It has some of the most beautiful mountain scenery in the Western United States. The fishing and wildlife of the area alone could draw visitors from all over the world, if it didn’t also feature great, class IV rapids and a small, slow moving pools that invite you to jump in and enjoy the nice, cool water. Outdoor temperatures during the day typically range from 85 to 95 degrees, which is perfect weather for rafting.

ROW Adventures provides multi-day trips along this gorgeous river, camping out on glistening, white-sand beaches. Each one of these Salmon River rafting trips is guaranteed to bring a smile to your face and fill your camera with memories. This river is considered one of the best for families and first-timers, but is also filled with plenty of thrills, even for experienced rafters. Salmon River trips vary from 4 to 6 days, depending on the stretch that you choose to raft. ROW also offers a special, Family Magic trip designed especially for families and children. These trips take place on parts of the river that have fun, mild rapids just for kids and include River Jesters (fun, kid oriented guides) and kids menus.

If you’re looking for more adventurous trips, or just other rivers to raft, ROW also has trips on the Snake River, the Lochsa, and many others. The Snake River’s Hells Canyon is the deepest canyon in America. That’s right! Deeper than the Grand Canyon. Just across the Oregon-Idaho border, you can find some fantastic Oregon rafting on the Owyhee River in the high desert, with blooming flowers and plenty of wildlife. Check out the handful of day trips that ROW has to offer as well as their lodge-based trips. In fact, if you’re looking for a really incredible summer adventure, be sure to look into their all-inclusive adventure resort. It is literally a paradise on earth and possibly the most memorable summer adventure you will ever have.

John Wesley Powell and the Grand Canyon Expedition

As rafting experts, we learn to appreciate the originals - the “Founding Fathers” of rafting, if you will. One of these great forerunners was Major John Wesley Powell, after whom Lake Powell is named. His river expeditions may not have been done on a raft, per say, but we honor him, nonetheless, as one of the greatest white water adventurers to ever set sail.

 

In 1869, John Wesley Powell, a one-armed soldier, scientist and explorer, set out with nine men and four wooden boats to conquer the uncharted land that would one day be known as the Grand Canyon and surrounding areas. The ten men found their way down the Green River to the confluence with the Grand (Colorado) River over the course of about three months. At one point, about a month in, one member of the band approached Major Powell and stated “I’ve had more excitement than a man deserves in a lifetime. I’m leaving.” Three others also left the group at various times throughout the journey. The remaining six men finished the journey, having accomplished one of the greatest exploratory feats of the infamous “Wild West”.

Fortunately for us, our Grand Canyon rafting trips are done through Western River Expeditions. They are hands down, the best in the west. Powell’s men had to live on what few supplies made it through the rapids, WRE’s skilled guides not only handle the rapids with expert precision, but they also provide meals that rival those of 5 star restaurants - all at the bottom of the incredible Grand Canyon. Western River Expeditions offers four different options varying from 3, 4, 6 and 7 day trips. The 6 and 7 day trips cover the same stretch of river, including more than 60 rapids, and half a dozen hikes to nearby natural attractions, but the 7 day trip includes an extra day for hikes and sightseeing. Likewise, the 3 and 4 day trips cover the remaining stretch of the Grand Canyon, with the 4 day trip including a night at the Bar 10 Ranch on the North Rim of the canyon. All four options are spectacular and will never be forgotten. This trip is one that everyone should do at least once in their life!