How do you learn river rafting?

[Hyde]

I have never been river rating but I am betting there are safety issues that you need to know about. Where can you go to learn how to river raft?

 

[ChadTower]

Go on some guided trips and see if you even like it first. Yeah, the trip itself is great, but there is a ton of work and logistics that go into something like that. It may or may not be worth all that to you.

 

[msdoolittle]

I'll echo Chad's comment. For rafting, I'd definitely go guided for a few times.

I've done white water kayaking. I took a Seria Club course for that. You can check out your local Siera Club and see if they offer anything of the sort.

 

[switchback]

I have never been river rating but I am betting there are safety issues that you need to know about. Where can you go to learn how to river raft?

I am not sure what part of the country that you live. I whitewater kayak in West Virginia, Tennessee, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Kentucky. I got my first taste of whitewater on the New River Gorge in West Virginia in a raft. I would suggest going on a entry level type river something in the class III range like the Ocoee, in Tennessee or the Lower Youghiogheny (aka Lower Yock) in PA. Use a reputable outfitter that puts a guide in each raft, and pay attention to the safety talk at the start of the trip. If you really enjoy it try to get a few more class III type trips under your belt before you step up to something like the class IV(V-) Upper Gauley river in WV.

If you find that you are absolutely in love with rafting and you want to start paddling your own raft, there is raft guide instruction at the Nantahala Outdoor Center in North Carolina. Another option to get on the river is to do what I did and start kayaking. It is a lot less expensive than rafting, and you are your own crew.

 

[paloma]

It is always better to go with a guide who knows the river like the palm of his hand. They know the best strokes to use when paddling and which parts are the most dangerous.

 

[CozInCowtown]

Simple!
Find a river, jump in and start paddeling!
DC

 

[ppine]

Find some skilled people to teach you how to read water, row, and paddle. Then learn rescue techniques. Guided trips are fun and expensive, but you will still be a passenger.

Some guides have apprenticeship programs or classes. Do not underestimate the dangers in running rivers. All of the serious kayakers I know have some dead friends and lots of stories.

Easy rivers with warm water don't cause many problems, but by the time you start to run Class IIIs the problems increase quickly. My most death-defying trips have all been with professionals.

 

[Pathfinder1]

I have never been river rating but I am betting there are safety issues that you need to know about. Where can you go to learn how to river raft?

Hi...

Regarding safety issues, you might get some good advice from a rafting outfitter or river guide. A river fishing guide may also provide such advice, as might law enforcement people who patrol some rivers looking for safety violators.

NOTE: rule #1...ALWAYS wear your life vest...!! NEVER take it off until you're ashore...!!

Too many rafters and other users on the nearby Delaware River (for example) drown every year simply because they wouldn't wear their life jackets...!!

Then the dive teams come out and try to retreive the body(s).

They might be dead...but their families...?

 

[ppine]

Amen to the life jacket caution. Rivers in the West are cold most of the time, so one needs to dress for immersion. Cold water is incapacitating in a hurry.

Rafting is a team sport. When you have a swimmer, or a stuck boat, rescue is everyone's responsibility. Practice is very important.

 

[Pathfinder1]

Amen to the life jacket caution. Rivers in the West are cold most of the time, so one needs to dress for immersion. Cold water is incapacitating in a hurry.

Rafting is a team sport. When you have a swimmer, or a stuck boat, rescue is everyone's responsibility. Practice is very important.

Well put, PPINE.