Rafting in the Grand Canyon

If you go rafting in the Colorado River while on vacation at the Grand Canyon, you can bet that it will forever be one of the most exciting hilights of your life. If you are interested in white water rafting, get yourself to Lees Ferry, where the rafting trips begin. Lees Ferry is just a few miles south of the Glen Canyon Dam, and you can book half-day trips and full-day trips from here. Parts of your rafting journey through the Grand Canyon will be tranquil and relaxing, while other parts, where you pass by rapids, will be hair-raising and exciting. In fact, you'll pass by Lava Falls, considered by lots of rafters to be the roughest rapids ever navigated by a raft. Ever. On the entire continent. You can also go all out and book a three-day trip, or a week-long rafting excursion, or even three weeks of rafting. Lots of the excursions end up at Phantom Ranch, the only lodging in the bottom of Grand Canyon, so you might consider staying there your last night after rafting. It's at mile 87, with mile zero at Lees Ferry.

There are more than two dozen outfitters that offer rafting trips in the Grand Canyon. Some are affiliated with the Grand Canyon National Park, and you can find a list on the Park Service's web site. For the faint of heart, look for a half-day or full-day smooth water rafting trip, which are usually also cheaper and easier to book. For other rafting excursions, reservations as much as half a year in advance are often necessary, so plan ahead if you want to go white water rafting while on vacation at the Grand Canyon. Expect to pay a couple of thousand dollars for multi-week trips that raft down the entire Grand Canyon.

Traveling down the Colorado River, Your Way

John Wesley Powell was the first to travel down the Colorado River by boat, against all advice and better judgement of his peers. From his day to today, tumbling down the rapids of the Colorado in the Grand Canyon has become an obsession for many outdoorsy and sporty types, and the experience of a lifetime for countless tourists who come to the Grand Canyon. There is a trip to suit anyone who visits the mighty Colorado and wants to ride down it, anyone at all from kids to seniors. There are smooth-water trips, longer rapids-focused excursions, motorized tours, paddling tours, rowing tours, and if you dare, wooden dory tours.

The motorized raft tours enable guests to traverse more river in less time, but the down side is the noise of the motors. Motorized boats usually take around a week to go from Lees Ferry to Lake Mead. The same route in a paddle or rowing tour will take around two weeks. It takes a week alone to get from Lees Ferry to Phantom Ranch by paddling or rowing. Whatever form of boat you take down the Colorado River, expect to see some pretty serious rapids.

Most rafting tours start st Lees Ferry, but some start right in the Grand Canyon, at Phantom Ranch. You can also combine your rafting adventure with a hiking adventure, and hike out of or into the Canyon at Phantom Ranch, either at the end of your rafting trip or at the beginning. Most outfitters run trips Spring through Fall, not in winter, but of course if you want to go in winter there are companies that operate all year long, too. Book well in advance, and expect to pay over $200 a day for white water rafting trips down the Colorado River.