Whitewater Rafting Trips in the Great Smoky Mountains

This spring and summer many families will find their way to the Great Smoky Mountain National Park. The area is full of great attractions and is a great place to enjoy nature while experiencing some great outdoor activities. One of the more popular activities for visitors to the Great Smoky Mountains is whitewater rafting. Here is a look at two of the most popular whitewater rafting tour companies in the Smoky Mountains.

Rafting in the Smokies

Rafting in the Smokies, a part of Pigeon River Outdoors is located seven miles from downtown Gatlinburg, Tennessee and offers two very different whitewater rafting opportunities on the Big Pigeon River.

For beginners the Lower Section Float Trip is ideal. This two hour trip takes rafters six miles along the lower section of the Big Pigeon River through Class I, II, and III rapids. Children must be at least three years old to participate in the Lower Section Float Trip. The cost of the Lower Section Float Trip is $32.95 plus a $2 county access fee per person.

For more advanced rafters the Upper Section Float Trip is a great choice. It is a one and a half hour five mile trip that features twelve class III rapids and three class IV rapids. Previous whitewater rafting experience is not necessary but participants must be at least eight years of age and weigh at least seventy pounds. The cost of the Upper Section Float Trip is $37 plus a $2 county access fee per person.

Reservations are required for whitewater rafting trips, and can be made online, mailed in, or made by phone. You can make reservations or learn more about Rafting in the Smokies by visiting their website or by calling 1-800-PRO-RAFT.

Smoky Mountain Outdoors

Smoky Mountain Outdoors has a location in Gatlinburg, and declares it is quite different from the other whitewater rafting tour companies in the area by boasting that it offers the longest whitewater rafting trip in the area (a full two hour trip) and by having what they claim to be the most experienced guides on the Pigeon River. As with Rafting in the Smokies, Smoky Mountain Outdoors offers both a Lower Section Rafting Trip and an Upper Section Rafting Trip.

Smoky Mountain Outdoors Lower Section Rafting Trip is a five and a half mile rafting trip featuring fifty class I and II rapids with one Class III rapid. It is a great rafting trip for beginners, and participants must be at least three years of age to participate.

The Upper Section Rafting Trip is a six mile rafting trip featuring seventy rapids ranging in strength from Class I to Class IV. No experience is necessary for this rafting trip but participants must be at least eight years of age and weigh at least seventy pounds.

Smoky Mountain Outdoors also offers a ThrillKat tour where participants can take an inflatable kayak down the five and a half mile lower section of the Big Pigeon River. While guides escort you along your trip you are responsible for maneuvering your own boat.

To learn more about the tours offered by Smoky Mountain Outdoors you can visit their website or call 1-800-771-7238.