The Upper Gauley is wild and unpredictable – that’s why we highly recommend previous rafting experience.  You have to be able to react quickly and respond properly in any given situation that may arise.  It’s okay to get another notch on your whitewater belt on the Lower Gauley as a refresher before tackling the intense Upper Gauley.  Don’t let your friends talk you into something you may not be ready for.  And don’t underestimate the Lower Gauley River either.  It’s a fun and challenging experience also and possibly a little more forgiving.  Bottom line, choose your river trip wisely and have a ball!

Truly there are no words to adequately express the Gauley River – it’s something you have to experience for yourself to truly understand.  This is the biggest reason camaraderie plays such a huge part in it all.  When you share the experience with others you become like kindred spirits with everyone who has been on the same journey.  Even a rite of passage, if you will.  So I encourage you to make the pilgramage and see for yourself what all the hype is about.  Make it happen!  Hjo

At River Expeditions we ‘get it’ when it comes to spending precious vacation time and money wisely.  Like you, we want to make the most of these resources and that’s why we make so many options available.  We have trips available for time- and price-sensitive families (Express Trips) or for those families who are starved for together-time (Premium Riverside Overnight Trips).  Don’t let the summer pass you by; go outside and play!

Then on Wednesday we hosted our annual charity fundraiser, Whitewater Wednesday, with proceeds going to benefit the United Way of Southern West Virginia.  It’s important to us to support the community and by partnering with the United Way we can impact over 29 agencies, including the Red Cross, emergency food banks, Salvation Army, Women’s Resource Center, Hospice, Boy Scouts of America, etc.

On June 20^th, we celebrated Father’s Day and another very special occasion – West Virginia’s 147^th birthday!  In conjunction with West Virginia Day (an official state holiday), River Expeditions paid tribute to the 29 coal miners who lost their lives in an explosion back in April.  Like tourism, mining is vital to the state’s economy.

This was my first rafting adventure, and I was scared to death.  Poor TJ saw the look on my face as were about to put the raft in the water, but he reassured me I would be fine.  And we were, he is very passionate, hospitable and alert at ALL times….you can’t teach that!

I just want to thank everyone who made our stay and rafting trip so memorable.  As I was packing to leave, I was sad, for I truly felt I was going to miss everyone, and I do….I could live there, it’s AWESOME!  We will see you again in October, if not sooner.  You all made me realize there is so much more to life!  Please pass this message on to your staff…THEY ROCK!!!! Thanks again TJ….see you on the FLIP SIDE BABY!!!!!

Addicted,
Eva J.

I never have been in a small raft besides the time in PA.   I thought well I have done a smaller raft, this should not be as bad.   Was I ever mistaken.  We got the ride of a lifetime.   With the guidance from our awesome Guide Joe (dirty Joe), he promised us a safe but a extreme ride down the Lower New. 

 Before any major rapids, Joe let us out and did some swimming rapids to get everyone ready in case of a fall.  That proved to be good because at Surprise that is actually what happened. We started to paddle hard to the wave.  I have never in my life seen something so huge… I was like here we go guys…. once we hit it, both my b/f and his cousin where thrown out of the raft.    We quickly got both of them in.    Next was lunch and was it ever so good.  

Once we got back in we headed to Upper Railroad.  We passed through that with flying colors.  We were just talking about how what happens if your boat flips and you’re under it when we hit Lower Railroad.   Everything looked fine until we hit the second wave, and not even a chance to think we were flipped over.  Joe was able to get the raft over in just a few seconds.   Once out of the rapid I pumped my fist and screamed and cheered as I was like that was freaking awesome!  Though when I was pulled to saftey, I saw that my digital water camera was gone.  Little upset but it was all worth the ride.  Still nerves were a little up only cause especially being in a small raft anything can happen. 

One of the other parts I loved was jumping off the 15 foot Jump Rock.   I never jumped that high ever in my life.  Still it was a blast.  We tried to surf once, only on something small especially with the raft we had.    We were also going to do some bull riding, but with our small boat and with the water level, we decided to take it safe.  Overall the trip went very well.  Two times did we have some carnage, but it was worth it.

We took our showers and headed over with Joe our guide and all sat together and watched the video that Tom took.  He did one heck of a job with the video.  We also hung out with Tyler, my guide from last year as well.   When we come back for Gauley season, we are requesting both Joe and Tyler to be our guides.   I can not express how much of a wonderful job Joe did with us on our trip. 

Once again River Expeditions, there is a reason why we keep coming back year after year.  The facility is clean and also very friendly staff.  I also picked up my River Expeditions Swim Team Shirt as I now am officially part of that.    The bathhouse was clean at all times and really felt good after our trip.

We can not wait for our next trip in Sept to Tackle the Upper Gauley.   You will be hearing from my sister or her husband for our booking.  Thanks again! KG in Ohio

Our casual, welcoming atmosphere let’s you go deeper in your vacation experience by truly relaxing and unwinding – being free to be yourself and reconnect with family and friends.  Sometimes it’s the joy of meeting new friends and the sharing the camaraderie of a well-spent day on the river that makes the difference.  Get more than what you pay for at River Expeditions because we ‘get it’.

Value is still in vogue though and rafting is the perfect option, offering a great deal for the money.  No other vacation combines adventure, history, nature and culture; plus bonding with family and friends who share the experience that simply cannot be measured.  After hunkering down last year to weather the turbulent economy, now is the time to get away and get perspective on what’s really important – enjoying a well earned break from your hectic pace.

While rafting, we recommend a sunscreen with a high SPF, in addition to wearing a hat (baseball hats are best and can be worn underneath your rafting helmet) and sunglasses.    All too many times we’ve seen a great day on the river turn painful as the effects of sunburn show up afterwards.  Even if it’s a cloudy day, you can still get a sunburn.  You know what they say about an ounce of prevention…