Planning our first trip to Provence, and looking for a gorge for rafting/floating/kayaking but not wanting to take our lives in our hands getting there. We are not fond of heights, and especially sheer drops with no barriers. The Gorges du Verdon look wonderful but the roads--not for us. We will be staying in the Luberon, 45 min. from Avignon. Would appreciate any help/advice. Thank you!

Gorges are by definition steep.
So I don't get your question - avoid the whole area if you don't like road sine wing along the crests.

To rephrase the question: is there a way to access a stream or river that is surrounded by a gorge for water sports without driving near a cliff edge? Thanks again for any help.

From the Luberon area it will take about 2.5 hours to get to Castellane, which has many rafting companies. The roads that you would use do not go along the Gorges du Verdon.

Take a look at the Ardèche Gorges. We have driven the D290 road that follows the gorges from near Pont-Saint-Esprit to Vallon-Pont-d'Arc. It's very scenic with spectacular views, but not at all scary. There are many boat rental places along the way.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXoAyC758K0

Yes, the <i>Gorges de l'Ardèche</i> are by far the most popular with "normal" people.

Thank you all for your help! I am still deciding--Moustiers looks so beautiful that I was leaning towards combining that with Verdon rafting, but not sure it's worth all that driving when we only have 5 days in Provence.

You might be able to find boat rides from the lake that go up the canyon part way, but I would not consider that rafting.

These boats are either electical ones, or 'pédalos' - like a bike, or kayaks (canoes).
I didn't see no rafting there.

Since you did not tell us where you will be staying we cannot give you the best advice.

If you are looking for easy whitewater rafting or canoeing, you have either the option of driving to the Ardeche or to the Verdon (Castellane).

http://www.rafting-verdon.com/default.html

We will be staying in Oppede-le-Vieux. It would be 2 1/2 hrs from there. It is 2 hrs to Moustiers, but over an hour to get to the put-in outside of Castellane for rafting from Moustiers, and then the long drive back, plus not much time to enjoy the town. Wish we had more time but we are going on to the Loire, then Paris. We also wanted to see the Bonnieux market that am.

We don't raft but visited most of the gorges. You are missing a lot of beauty. My late husband wasn't a good driver in Boston, he drove too slowly. When he said he liked to go to Provence with me, I told him he must drive like the French, Look at the speed If you drive too slowly, they'll drive your tail. After a few trips we drove up amazing high curvy roads
He was like a French man and he was in his 60s.

Cigalechanta

That is funny! Wish I could be like your almost-French husband. Love to hear when people in upper years try new things. He sounds like he was a good man, and I'm sorry for your loss.
I have learned a lot from your posts as well.
We will have to find a gorge to see then, even if we don't get in a boat.
Thanks again!

It's not just the road around the Gorge du Verdon, it's the main road that you have to take to get to the road around the Gorge. That's a two-way road, with sometimes heavy truck traffic, which can make things a bit difficult. My husband just loves it.