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What are some good rafting sites for 1 day rafting trips in Arizona? |
Travel Info Me and 2 other people are going rafting in Arizona, we are staying at Sedona, but I imagine that the best rafting is in the Grand Canyon. But if there is good rafting in Sedona, then thats even better. We are looking for not very hardcore rafting, but around a 2 on a 5 point scale. Thanks. Links are appreciated Travel Tips While Arizona offers a wide range of outdoor activities, river rafting is not one of the state's stronger attractions. Being mostly desert, there are only a few rivers with enough water to support true white water rafting and even then (with the exception of the Colorado) it is often only during the spring runoff. As you guessed, the only true world-class white water rafting in Arizona is on the Colorado River through the famous Grand Canyon. Because the main part of the canyon is about 250 miles long with only a couple of access points, river trips through the heart of the Grand Canyon typically take anywhere from 5 to 10 or more days. Numbers are tightly controlled by the Park Service and so these trips can be quite expensive and often require reservations well in advance. It is truely a once in a life time experience. Note that further downstream near Lake Mead, there are places where you can do 1 or 2 day river trips (or even just a few hours) on the Hualapai Indian Reservation (see links below). While the canyon in this area is still very pretty and dramatic, it does compare to rafting through the main part of the canyon. Many of these short trips start below Diamond Creek where the river is already starting to become sluggish because of the backlog of water from Lake Mead. However, it can still be a fun and exciting trip and really your only 1-day option around the canyon. Some commercial companies offer day long rafting trips on the Salt River east of Phoenix (before it runs into Lake Roosevelt). I've not done, but heard it is a good trip and the surrounding Salt River Canyon is rugged and interesting scenery. Note that you can also 'tube the Salt' on the slow sections downstream of the dams near Apache Junction. In summer, crowds of people rent inner tubes and float along a few miles stretch that is setup with parking area, pull out points, etc. It is kinda fun, but not 'real' rafting, of course. Oak Creek is the stream that flows through Sedona and while it does support a few decent swimming holes (especially around Slide Rock), you could not take much of a rafting (or even kayak) trip unless it was flash flooding. A little ways south of Sedona is the larger Verde River. During spring run-offs, you can canoe, kayak (and raft with really high water) all the way from around Cottonwood to the dams just north of Phoenix. Much of this would be hardcore adventure through rough water and wilderness areas, but I have done the relatively easy (and convenient) stretch between the Cottonwood and Camp Verde bridges. However, the time for these trips have long passed and the Verde is already down to its typical summer flow of being a 'yard wide and a foot deep'. Lastly - just to be complete - there are some very nice stretches of the Gila River (especially the Gila Box area near Safford) that can be rafted and kayaked, but this would be on your own (no commerical companies) and this too is strictly a spring run-off activity. Hope this helps! Source(s): Life-long Arizona resident, explorer, hiker and frequent Grand Canyon visitor. Took a commerical rafting trip through the Grand Canyon many years ago and have also rafted and kayaked on my own along parts of the Verde and Gila rivers. Short Colorado Rafting trips (outside National Park - can't personally vouch for any of these companies): http://www.grandcanyon.com/white-water-r... http://www.looktours.com/grand-canyon-wh... Salt River Rafting: http://www.inaraft.com/salt-river.htm... http://www.mild2wildrafting.com/saltrive... Salt River Tubing: http://www.saltrivertubing.com/... Other Travel Tips try this link, I use them all the time, you can choose your class of river, it is so much fun! http://www.blueskyww.com/ ony real place to float is the snake river the rest of az suck dog **** and so do the people there s0uth of sedona, in mesa, the salt river ... http://www.saltrivertubing.com/... |
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