Water Control Vital for White Water Rafting

In many areas of the US, the river levels are controlled by recreation management service. Depending on the available water reserves, the river flows and levels can be adjusted. The control of flow is very important to white water rafting companies.

Recently, an article was published talking about this very issue in Colorado and the Arkansas River. Joe Greiner, owner of Wilderness Aware Rafting and member of Rafting America commented on the river flow program.
"Without it outfitters would have to cancel trips during the busiest time of the tourist season... The difference between being a viable industry and one that’s just limping along."

Support for these types of programs is also welcomed from the public and anyone involved in recreation managment. Lets keep those river levels up so we can enjoy mother nature!

White Water Galore in NC

The U.S National Whitewater Center opened in NC this month. The center is quite amazing. It is the world's largest artificial white water rafting river. The river is an amazing engineering feat providing various levels of whitewater challenges and fun. The center was originally designed to host the World Cup comepetitions and Olympic Trails.

Located just 10 min from downtown Charlotte, it offers a white water rafting challeng for all skill levels. You can kayak, raft or even canoe down the various parts of the center. It covers 307 acres along the Catawba River. Here is an artists rendering of the center.












Looks pretty sweet!

Whitewater Voyages Highlighted for Whitewater Rafting

High waters produces great whitewater. This season is no exception to that rule. Across the nation, many areas are experiencing an abundance of moisture that make whitewater rafting more exciting than ever.

The Bakersfield Californian, a California newspaper, just printed an article titled "Rafting Rush! Get soaked on Kern River". Highlighted in the article was a long-time river guide Roland Stevenson for Rafting America member Whitewater Voyage. Stevenson guided the journalists down the river for a very exciting trip.

As Stevenson puts it, “guides dream about the high-water years, and this is definitely one of them.”

The Kern river highlighted here was mentioned in an earlier post talking about the apparent dangers of some rivers, if you raft without a guide. The Kern river is for sure one of the fastest-falling rivers in America. I say that makes it even more attractive :) In any sense though, make sure to take full advantage of this great whitewater season.

Leigh River- Wildlife Adventure with Pocono Whitewater

Pocono Whitewater (Penn.) co-owner Doug Fogal led a fun-filled trip for Christian Berg Journalist of The Morning Call, Christopher Kocher, Chief Program Officer of the Wildlands Conservancy of Emmaus and Wildlands President Tom Kerr down a 10-mile portion of the Leigh River.

"One the tripAlong the way, we enjoyed getting soaked by the rapids, which are just hairy enough to be exhilarating and just tame enough to be family friendly. We also spotted a plethora of wildlife, including Canada geese, mallard ducks, common mergansers, turkey vultures and various songbirds."

The Morning Call article points out that the Leigh River has changed incredibly during the last 50 years. The River is now is a new testament of the wonders of mother nature. Protected by envirnmental regulations, wildlife has flurished and created a wonderful location for vacations and trips.

Rafting America partner Pocono Whitewater takes newarly 40,000 visitors down the river each year. The increase in water releases has boosted business recently, allowing for more water trips during the warmer summer months.

Sounds like a good trip to take families on- a good combination of scenery, wildlife and whitewater fun.

Whitewater Voyages Running the Kern

The LA Times just recently posted an article discussing the dangers of whitewater rafting down the Kern River in California. The West Coast regions of the U.S. have seen a significant snowpack from the long and late winter. The Kern River in California is especially seeing high water levels and flucuations in river activity. Anytime you have extreme fluctuations in the river it poses as a threat to private rafters.

So is the Kern River really dangerous?

Rafting America member Bill McGuiness, owner of Whitewater Voyages, was quoted in the LA Times article stating: "The people who get in trouble are the ones who treat a river as if it were a long, skinny lake."

Well put, Bill. The fact is that river rafting is no more dangerous now than before. If you have experienced guides with greats skills and river knowledge, a whitewater trip can be fun and exciting.

"It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity," said Bill. "This is a very exciting time to go out."

Zoar Outdoor Highlighted in Article

Tim Jones, an outdoor sports and travel journalist spent some time on the water with Rafting America member Zoar Outoor this last week. Tim wanted to try his hand on the ark of kayaking.

Tim took a beginner kayak class last year with Zoar as well, and he "loved it." He decided to return again this year and continue his Kayak lessons with Zoar Outdoor. Tim outlines his fun experience and talks about hte "roll-lessons" he got from the experienced guides at Zoar.

Tim's article can bee seen in both the and the Concord Monitor, NH. and the
Albany Times Union, NY



Outside of rafting trips, Zoar Outdoor also offers outdoor adventures in kayaking, canoeing, biking and rock climbing. Zoar Outdoor can be found directly at www.zoaroutdoor.com or through Rafting America at http://raftingamerica.com/partner.php?company=zoar

New Website Launch for Rafting America

Rafting America just finished launching a new website with an updated look. It is very exciting to browse through the new website and find rafting outfitters in throughout the nation. Rafting America has also had some internal changes in order to better promote the website and services offered to the public.

Our goal at Rafting America is to provide interested consumers with all the information they need for planning a rafting trip anywhere in America. We have 15 outfitters across the nation and even a few international outfitters. These companies provide superior trips with high standards to ensure a safe and fun trip on the river. We are a group of rafters who love the sport and are dedicated to serving others.

To find out more about the new site launch and organization of Rafting America, you can read the press release here.

Please visit our website www.raftingamerica.com to find out more about our wonderful services.