VRTravel

Hi everyone,

I'm going to Moab with four adults this month. Does anyone know of some great rafting companies/places that we can go? We would like to go 1/2 day and when I have rafted before I really liked the class III-V rapids so I would definitely do that again. Let me know if you have any suggestions. We will be going this month.

tomfuller

This is what I came up with with a quick google search: http://www.performancetours.com/
There are others. Good luck on your rafting trip.

spirobulldog

Do a full day, or better yet multi day on the Cateract Canyon.

spirobulldog

My very favorite adventure in Moab is www.deserthighlights.com
I've been with them twice. They do offer pack-rafting, which I haven't done with them.

Bill_H

You probably want Westwater Canyon but it's typically a full day trip. If you want REALLY tough whitewater look a bit south to Cataract Canyon, but those are multi-day trips and this is much more difficult whitewater in most conditions.

Note that the Colorado is free-flowing until Lake Powell, meaning the water flows are dependent upon snow melt and/or rain, with typical peak flows mid-May to mid-June. This has been a dry year so by now, late June, the water is probably somewhat low and the rapids not as thrilling as a month ago.

Check out these companies:

http://www.griffithexp.com/westwater-canyon-rafting.htm (Sheri Griffin, she has a great reputation and if the prices are similar this is the company I'd go with ... they have a one day trip thru the canyon, note ... http://www.griffithexp.com/trips/Col...water-1day.htm )

http://tagalongexpeditions.posterous...stwater-canyon (good adventure company in Moab)

http://www.westernriver.com/trips/coloradoriver/ (good company but I don't think they have single day trips thru Whitewater Canyon listed on their site)

http://www.adrift.net/ not familiar with them

Bill_H

RE: Western River Expeditions, above I said "good company but I don't think they have single day trips thru Whitewater Canyon" ... well, I was wrong about that and here's a link to their one day trips ... http://www.westernriver.com/trips/westwater1day/

I think I'd still go with Sheri Griffin if her dates match up with yours since the prices are about the same but these guys are a good option if Sheri's filled up or you need a different date.

Sarah_Sidwell

Westwater Canyon is the BEST one day whitewater trip this neck of the woods (or, sagebrush...). Cataract Canyon can be done in a day, but is very uncomfortable. The only section you can do in 1/2 a day is the Fisher Towers section through Professor Valley (Class I & II rapids only). A few things to keep in mind about a trip...

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) regulates Westwater pretty stiffly. Only 3 commercial trips are allowed down per day and they are only allowed 25 people on their trips for a total of 75 people in the canyon at a time. Call around for the dates you want. If one company doesn't have the launch, another will.

Two types of boats are used in Westwater... an Oar Boat (guide rows the boat, guests hang on), and a Paddle Boat (everyone paddles, guide steers from the back). Be sure to specify which type of boat you want when making a reservation.

In the interest of full disclosure, I work for Tag-A-Long, but I will not tell you the other companies are no good. We are all good and I don't think you can go wrong with whomever you choose. I wrote this (very lengthy) blog post about Westwater a few months ago for Tag and it has good info in it to help you decide... http://tagalongexpeditions.posterous...stwater-canyon

All in all, I think you will enjoy this trip very much... much more than the calmer 1/2 day trip if your goal is larger rapids.

Bill_H

Sarah, how are the water levels right now?

Sarah wrote ... In the interest of full disclosure, I work for Tag-A-Long

Glad I wrote that yours is a "good adventure company in Moab" LOL

InSandy

I have done Cataract Canyon as a four day trip many years ago and so far that has been my favorite trip. River time even when it is quiet is fantastic. The big whitewater there isn't till the end so you do have a long way to go down the river to get to it. I would never do it as a day trip, and even the two day trip would seem rushed to me. Obviously not what you are looking for.

I have done the Whitewater day trip with Western River. Had a fantastic day, got back in time to clean up and watch the sunset as we ate. Again it isn't all about the whitewater, but the technical stuff in that river is super and that is a fun part of the trip. If you have the time this should be what you do.

I have also done the full day Fisher Towers (again with Western River). This is a trip just for fun. There are some small rapids but mostly it is about watching the scenery, getting wet, playing in the river etc. I am glad we were able to do the full day. Those who started in the morning had more river time, but it was a bit chilly in the morning (even on a 100F day) so the play time didn't happen as much. The afternoon group got in the raft, went over a rapid and then we got out and spent an hour on shore for lunch, so they didn't get as much water time and were all disappointed the trip was over so soon when we took out.

Do one of them, I don't think it matters too much which one or who you go with. All the companies seem professional and have a friendly competition and help each other out when needed.

Sarah_Sidwell

Bill_H, the water is low and not looking to get any higher. Unfortunately, this means it will be intimidating out there for inexperienced boaters. Fortunately, Westwater is actually more fun in low water than high water! All the rapids are out and there is no escaping the huge wave in Sock It To Me! Cataract is treacherous for boats with motors but fun for oar boats/paddle boats. Quite a change from last years super high water...

VRTravel

Thanks you guys so much! You guys gave me some great information I really appreciate it.

Carl_Dec

All the suggestions where good and covered all the sections typically run from Moab.
Westwater is fine and certainly more fun at low water but the trip is a very full day. With over 120 miles of travel back and forth to Moab it typically takes 9 or more hours to complete the trip.
It always strikes me as funny when someone asks for a 1/2 day river trip recommendation and folks chime in with Cataract Canyon as a response. Sort of like asking for a nice short hike that can be done by the family and being told to climb a snowy mountain.

For a 1/2 day of rafting the Fisher Towers section is the only choice. Scenic and splashy when done correctly it can be a day to remember.

In the interest of full disclosure I want to let you know that I own riveradventures.com
Sarah was very kind in her response saying that all the companies are good. I think if you check out Google reviews, Tripadvisor and Fodors you'll find that some are far better than others. It would be unnatural if 12 companies were indistinguishable from one another. I would also caution you to make sure with who it is that you will actually raft or adventure. Moab has many companies that act a booking agents for many activities that they don't actually run themselves.
Some, like us, make it very clear who guides each trip. Others do not.

Good luck and enjoy.

spirobulldog

Carl,
The link you provided is a link to an Aramark site. You own Aramark? Also, it seemed to me to only mention Cataract and Grand Canyon for their/your river runs?

The reason I mention Cateract is because the original OP mention Class V water. They didn't mention hiking any short hikes or mountain peaks either. I also said a full day or better yet and multi day.

FWIW, I've been on many guided tours(including 8 or 9 on the water-rafting, kayaking, canoeing, even airboat). The amount of enjoyment almost always is determined by the guide not the company that I have chosen. Think of it kind of like flying. United, Delta, American, even Southwest are all fairly hard to distinguish(even though sometimes some are a lot less expensive). So, I do find a lot of the rafting companies to be very similar way of doing things.

DebitNM

Do admitting you work or own a company skirt the issue of advertising being against the rules here? Just wondering...

Carl_Dec

I do think it does. Advice from those that do this work everyday could be valuable. Providing some context is good I think.

Somehow I missed the "red" in our URL.

I own redriveradventures.com