Lower New River Whitewater Rafting Trip

I was lucky enough to raft the New River with Adventures on the Gorge on Bridge Day. It was a lot of fun. The operators know what they are doing, are very organized, and there was not one moment I felt unsafe. If you are interested in rafting on the New or Gauley rivers, check out Adventures on the Gorge. The one detraction was the video the videographer did. It was not worth the money, especially when compared to other videos by different videographers.

Our first time whitewater rafting and it was exceptional. The weather was perfect. Shayla our guide was wonderful. This is something we already have plans to do again. If there’s one thing you do, it has to be this. So much fun.

Stellar experience! My son and I were on a guys weekend and booked a 1/2 day trip. Happens to pick the perfect weekend for weather and water. The big surprise was our guide Guido! Yes…that’s his name. You’ll do yourself a dis-service if you don’t ask for him. He is a legend around here and a top tier guide and human being. Can’t say enough good things about this trip. Great class 1-5 rapids and a great time!!!

We had a great trip! We did the lower New River. The river was lower since it was in autumn. We plan on doing the Gauley in the spring. Great guides! Evan was our videographer he did great! We bought the video a must do!! Thanks Kevin- our guide! Highly recommend!!

We chose the Lower New River tour for families (10 and up), since we had never been whitewater rafting on a river. You have the option to choose a two-seater raft or a larger group raft. My son and I chose the two-seater raft and it felt safe and stable. The guides go through all the safety information on the bus ride there and it's enough to freak you out and want to take the bus back to the lodge. I understand it's necessary information, but it made my child quite anxious. He remained nervous throughout the trip, but the amount of guides made me feel safe. We played it safe on each rapid, so we stayed in our raft, but many people flipped their raft and ended up in the river. Even the children who fell out of their raft were caught quickly and were safe. The guides aren't joking that everything in your boat gets lost - shoes, water bottles and suntan lotion bottles were floating down the river. You can bring a dry bag as long as it has a strap that you can connect to the boat. I wouldn't recommend any loose items. If you're on the fence about the Lower or Upper tours - then play it safe and stay on the Lower area - there was plenty of excitement and plenty of rapids. They provided a basic lunch: make your own sandwich. We even took a few minutes to stop at "jumping rock" - climbing a rock and jumping into the river. This trip offered a lot of variety and we had a lot of fun!

We stayed in Kaymoor cabin # 1 for three days in mid September 2025. This is a small 1 bedroom, one bath cabin. Cabin was clean and comfortable with mini fridge, microwave, king bed, work desk, two large screen TV's, nice bathroom, deck and firepit. Parking for two cars in front of the cabin. We took the six hour Lower New River Gorge raft trip with up to class 4 rapids. Perfect for these two first timers. Ray-Ray, our river guide and tour guide, was awesome. He explained everything about the river history, rock formations, and area history. He also provided an in-depth history of the local coal industry, and it's people. We would definitely take this raft trip again as first time rafters. Very exciting, but not scary. We highly recommend Adventures on the Gorge lodging and river raft trips. Everyone was nice, professional, and extremely knowledgeable.

I went white water rafting with the Mountain State Council of the Blind. It was my first time rafting. The staff and guides for the event were outstanding. They gave clear explanations of everything we did. Our guide Derek gave great info on the area and history as well. We had 16 people in our group, 3 rafts, 3 incredible guides. No one fell out, no raft was flipped and no one's abilities were ever questioned. You never know when you have a disability if attractions will accommodate you. Adventures on the Gorge did for our group and it sounded like the other offerings they provide would be equally fun and accommodating.

Best family trip! I went with my teenage girls and we had a great time. It was their first whitewater rafting trip and won’t be their last! I have been whitewater rafting about 25 years ago on a different river, but this trip was much better suited for me and my kids. Our river guides Hanna and Monica were awesome, so friendly and knowledgeable about the river and local area. They were professional and kept our safety at the first priority with fun a close #2! We couldn’t have asked for a better trip! We had a mixed group of people in our raft, teen age girls, myself (40-ish female) and 2 women (50-ish) and 2 men (50-ish), everyone had a great time and Hanna made sure we all enjoyed it to the fullest! Lunch was great and the guides took care to make sure to “leave no trace”, everything was cleaned up well. I was pleasantly surprised with an ice cold “age appropriate” beverage at the end of the trip. Everyone of the staff were great, even the bus driver, (Betty?)! I will be coming back again next year and bringing more family and friends, I know they will love it!

Had a blast would 100% do it again! Everyone was awesome from the bus ride to the instructor. Highly recommend! Mason is the man!!!

Had a blast on the river, but hands down, Thomas, our guide took the experience to the next level. He did an awesome job, took extra care of an elderly rafter with us. He was entertaining, extremely knowledgeable and even well versed in local history. We’ll be back!