New River Gorge Rafting: Thrilling Whitewater Adventure
4.9
311 Ratings
Glen Jean
Experience the thrill of whitewater rafting in the stunning New River Gorge National Park. No experience required. Book your adventure today!
Duration: 6 hours
Cancellation: 1 day learn more
Highlights

Experience the thrill of rafting in New River Gorge National Park with our expertly trained guides. Navigate through class III/IV rapids and enjoy the breathtaking scenery, with a catered lunch break on the river (not offered on afternoon express trips).

Begin your day at our BaseCamp, where you’ll meet your Guide and Trip Leader. We’ll address any queries or apprehensions you have and equip every member of your group with a paddle, PFD (personal flotation device), and a helmet. During the brief bus journey to the river, we’ll cover safety protocols, give you an idea of what to anticipate, and inject a bit of fun and humor.

Once at the river, you and your group will embark on the raft with your Guide. After a couple of warm-up strokes, be prepared for the adrenaline rush of your first rapid! The national park’s landscape is truly a sight to behold, with legacies of former coal mining operations embedded in the stunning mountains and rock structures, a variety of birds including raptors, waterfowls, and possibly bald eagles.

Your river journey will culminate under the New River Gorge Bridge. The bridge was the longest single-span arch bridge globally when it was established. It spans 3000 feet in length, stands 876 feet above the river, and is the third highest bridge in America.

What's Included
  • Lunch
  • Professional guide in your raft
  • Local taxes
  • Personal flotation device (life vest), helmet, paddle.
What's Not Included
  • Gratuities
  • DVD/video/photos (available to purchase)
  • Wetsuits, paddle jackets, water shoes also available to rent.
Additional Information

Experience authentic whitewater rafting in the breathtaking New River Gorge National Park. A sure addition to your list of memorable experiences, or become a regular at whitewater paddling! Class III/IV rapids promise an exhilarating journey that will be etched in your memory. Stupendous landscapes, thrilling adventure, no prior experience needed, with trips conducted from March to October yearly. Day expeditions commence at 9 AM and include a tantalizing lunch on the riverbank at mid-journey. Short on time? Opt for the Afternoon Express journey, starting at 3 PM daily.

  • Recommended for ages 11 and up
  • Please advise any specific dietary requirements at time of booking
  • Call to discuss disability or service animal accommodation.
  • Operates in all weather conditions, please dress appropriately
  • Advise guide of any relevant medical conditions prior to trip start. Consult your physician about medical concerns prior to rafting.
Location
231 Wood Mountain Rd
Wood Mountain Road
Hwy 19 North from Beckley/I-77/I-64 about 10 minutes. At the second stoplight, turn left up the hill, and left onto the first paved driveway!
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
4.9
(311 Ratings)
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Diane
Apr 4, 2024
Request “Crock” & Keegan for your adventure! - Highly recommend this small operation! Very personal crew and they customize to your group, I just don’t think you get that from bigger companies. There were 8 of us ranging 13 to adult and our original date ended up having tornado warnings & watches and they gave us the option to refund or rebook. We hesitantly rebooked for the next day even though temps dropped from 70’s to 50’s (hence the tornado), we were in WV and wanted this experience. Well it did not disappoint!! They suited us all up with wet suits & paddle jackets. I wore a stocking cap, & wool socks…. and was fine! We did the Lower New River express run. YOU WANT “CROCK” & Keegan as your guides! Crock has so much experience and just does an awesome job leading your raft and providing historical info of the river on your journey and Keegan is your rescue guide in case anyone falls out and also took some great pics & video. We LOVED this experience and highly recommend to anyone wanting this adventure! Our kids all want to go back! Also, their pricing was better than any other company around!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Emily
Apr 4, 2024
Great Family Rafting Trip - My family (including children 9, 11 and 13) loved our “gentle float trip.” We hit some fun rapids and even though it was 40 something degrees the kids never complained. WV Adventures made sure we were warm and safe on our trip. We will definitely be back in the future to try the lower part of the river!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Lrowl
Apr 3, 2024
Highly recommend WV adventures for a great rafting day - Forget all the touristy big companies and come here if you want kind, funny, friendly, safety-conscious knowledgeable guides who care about you and your family having a great time. Keegan gave a great tour: he knows so much about the river and the history of the area, and Croc (Dale) will tell you jokes so bad you can’t stop laughing. Steve & the other guide in the safety boat as well as Terry were friendly, informative and fun to talk to. They all took pictures and shared them with us afterward ; the staff made this experience fantastic— despite the crazy weather of the day— and the beautiful stretch of the lower new was well worth seeing. They also gave us wetsuits given the water temp. Hint: Bring cash for tips and t shirt purchases! Hope they get Venmo soon-
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Dana_k
Apr 2, 2024
We had the river to... - We had the river to ourselves on an early season ride. The New River Gorge is God’s country and I can’t think of a better way to spend Easter Sunday. Thank you Croc and Steve for expertly guiding us and making it a trip to remember. We’ll be back!
Review provided by Viator
Road40441946556
Mar 27, 2024
Wonderful whitewater trip - Our rafting trip on the New River was wonderful. Our guide, Dale (nickname "Croc") has decades of experience guiding on the river. He is an expert. He made sure we were safe and had fun. The accompanying raft was piloted by Keegan and Steve, also great guys. I highly recommend rafting with WV Adventures for a very special experience.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
520jeffy
Mar 24, 2024
A great ride on the river! - We had an amazing and exhilarating rafting experience with Dale "Croc" Smith as our raft captain and Steve and Keegan in the safety raft. Dale knows the river and the rapids like the back of his hand which allowed for great thrills but never out of control. These are local guys in a small operation so you get personal attention and local knowledge and history along with the ride.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Gmaila2024
Mar 23, 2024
Fun Family Friendly Raft Trip! - We had such a good time on our trip with West Virginia Adventures! We did an afternoon upper New River gentle float tour and our guide and driver were both friendly, and so knowledgeable about the River and the surrounding area. They made everything so easy for us, took photos for us, and showed us so many cool things about the River. Really clean bathrooms for showering and changing too. We will definitely choose them again the next time we are in the area.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
E8011ckpeterk
Oct 16, 2023
Blast on the Upper Gauley! - Had an absolute blast running the Upper Gauley with these guys! Our guide, Mason Brantley was amazing and highly experienced. Most of our fear dissipated early on when we realized we where in good hands. Lunch on postage stamp rock was especially memorable as we had a front row seat to all the sweets falls action!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
890pattyk
Oct 16, 2023
Personalized, knowledgeable, fun!! - We had a fabulous day rafting with WVAdventures down the Upper Gauley! Though the river was pretty scary, our guide Morgan Brantley was confident and that took away a lot of my anxiety. They even took pictures and a video of us coming down for free! I loved the small, welcoming feel of this company, much different than the other larger outfitters. I would highly recommend rafting with this company!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Aarondh4596sg
Oct 15, 2023
Book it as soon as you can!! - Mason and Grizz were our guides. We had our own raft!! Which included my family of four plus our guide Mason. They were great. The meeting point has cabins and showers. Which were great for when we got back. The rapids were thrilling and the guide even let us get out and swim. We would recommend this company over all if you want a special non commercial experience. They bused us to the launch point brought us food, water and snacks. If you want to see the New River go with these people. We will be doing both the upper and lower in 2024. Pro tip bring a GoPro!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
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