Good Job! You’ve already taken a big first step—you’ve found the best place on the web offering comprehensive information about professionally outfitted Grand Canyon river rafting. This site is brought to you directly by those who’ve dedicated their lives to sharing this magnificent experience with the public.

On this site you’ll find lots of information about all your many choices and about each of the sixteen licensed river outfitters who make Grand Canyon river trips available to the public. We’re proud of what we do, and we know that with just a little research and planning, you’ll find the river trip that’s just right for you. Just follow these six simple steps and a great adventure awaits.

Due to limited availability, the National Park Service restricts recreational boating opportunities on the Colorado River within Grand Canyon National Park to one trip per year per individual.  Because of this regulation, the Grand Canyon river outfitters cannot accept a reservation from any individual who has or will participate in any other full or partial canyon commercial or non-commercial river trip within the same calendar year. 

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STEP #1: EDUCATE YOURSELF

The process of booking a river trip starts with education. It’s important that you first take just a little bit of time to understand your options. You’ll find a wide variety of river trips available from which you and your family can choose. Please visit our trip options page for descriptions about the various trip styles available. Each description also contains links that go directly to those outfitters offering that particular trip style. For even more information about Grand Canyon river running, please visit our frequently asked questions page.

To learn more about each of the river running companies licensed to guide you, your family, and friends through the Grand Canyon’s world class whitewater, please visit our outfitters page. Here you will find a short introduction to each company and a direct link to their individual websites. Finally, the many other areas on this website and our links will help guide you to a sampling of the experiences enjoyed by previous guests and to lots of information on area travel, lodging, books, weather, and more!


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STEP #2: SELECT A TRIP STYLE

How long do you wish to spend in the canyon? What type of watercraft do you wish to experience? Do you have time to see all of the canyon or just a part of it? (If you choose a partial trip, be prepared for a serious hike into or out of the canyon.) Grand Canyon river trips last anywhere from three to twenty-one days. You can travel the river on a motorized pontoon raft or on an inflatable oar boat rowed by an experienced guide. You can join a paddle team and participate directly in piloting your boat downstream. You can float along in a river dory, hard-shelled rowboats of great beauty and grace. Or, if you have the experience and the ambition, you can run your own kayak on a trip supported by highly skilled kayak safety boaters.

The time of year your trip takes place will also play a role. In spring and fall, the weather is cooler. In the summer, mostly it is quite hot. The Grand Canyon is an arid desert environment and daytime temperatures routinely reach 110 degrees. Because the Colorado River is controlled by the Glen Canyon Dam some twenty miles upstream, the river’s water is always quite cold no matter what the season. Please visit our trip options page for much more about the various trip styles available.


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STEP #3: CHOOSE AN OUTFITTER

After getting a sense of the specific trip style you might be interested in, we suggest you visit our outfitters page to get to know a little bit about each of the companies licensed to take you and your family on a Grand Canyon river trip adventure. Each outfitter is unique and each one does things just a little bit differently. Each has a long and colorful history in the canyon and these are some of the folks who literally helped develop the sport of recreational river running in this country decades ago.

Our outfitters page will introduce you to each company and also provides a direct link to the individual company websites. But since there’s no substitute for personal communication, we strongly encourage you to call up the various outfitters you might be interested in. Take a few minutes to get to know them. Request a brochure if you like. But most importantly, make sure to get all of your questions answered directly by the folks who might be taking you down the river. This is truly a wonderful community of people and they are here to help make sure your river trip is the best it possibly can be.


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STEP #4: BOOK YOUR TRIP

When you’re ready to make your reservations, you’ll need to contact the outfitter you’ve selected directly to book space on a specific trip. There are a couple of things to keep in mind. First, in order to make a reservation, you will be asked to provide a monetary deposit. Depending on the time of year and how far in advance of your launch date it might be, this deposit may be fully or just partially refundable. Or, it might be completely non-refundable if the trip’s launch is near. Be sure to understand the reservation and cancellation policies of the outfitter you are working with, which vary from company to company.

Ask lots of questions and carefully read the printed information provided to you. Also, consider whether or not you should obtain trip cancellation insurance. This coverage is available from many independent insurance providers at very reasonable rates. It may help protect against some types of unforeseen circumstances that may force you to cancel your trip. Ask your outfitter for more information.

Because the number of Grand Canyon river trips is limited by the National Park Service and these trips are in very high public demand, you should book your trip as early as possible. While late cancellations are sometimes available, reservations made six months to a year and a half prior to the departure date are standard practice. Book early, especially if you have a large group or if you need specific dates; and keep in mind that related logistical requirements, like hotel reservations at the South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park for example, also often require significant advance planning.


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STEP #5: GET READY

As your launch date approaches, make sure you know and understand all your trip’s specific details, including exact arrival and departure points, which transportation is provided by the outfitter and what you need to arrange for yourself, necessary gear and clothing, reservation and trip fare payment dates, beverage ordering information and limits, and so on. Your outfitter will be there to help every step of the way.

Use the time leading up to your departure to get a little exercise and to gather the gear and clothing you’ll need. Perhaps you’d like to do a little reading about the canyon before you arrive. Finally, be aware that you will be out of contact with family and friends for the duration of your trip. The Grand Canyon is an isolated backcountry area. The National Park Service maintains a strict policy of not attempting to locate river trip passengers while they are in the canyon even in cases of emergency. Also, cellular telephones do not work in the Grand Canyon, so leave them at home.

Before you leave, be sure you understand what your personal medical insurance may or may not cover in the event you or a member of your family should require an emergency medical evacuation. In such rare cases, you, not the National Park Service and not your outfitter, are responsible for the cost, which can be as high as $4000. If you need supplemental trip insurance to fully protect yourself, your outfitter can put you in touch with independent insurance providers who provide such coverage for very reasonable rates.


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STEP #6: LAUNCH DAY

On the morning of or the night before your launch day, arrive at your trip’s meeting point with bags packed and a smile on your face. Your Grand Canyon river rafting adventure awaits! When you arrive at your launch point, your guides will be waiting with the boats rigged and ready to go. After stowing your personal gear, going over a few safety tips and being fitted for a personal flotation device, you and your fellow passengers will be on your way. Sit back and relax, your Grand Canyon river adventure is finally underway. Now all that’s left is to enjoy your trip! We’re sure it will be a trip you will long remember.