Our family of 5 from Dallas decided to do the classic zipline and the bighorn sheep canyon rafting combo for one of our vacation days to this beautiful state. Started the day off with the best zip-lining crew we could have ever asked for! We came with three kiddos, ages 9, 13, and 14. Topher, Eric, and Dakota made the morning so much fun for all of us while making sure everyone was safe and secure. They went above and beyond to make our teenagers laugh and smile and to alleviate our 9 year old's fears and apprehensions. They were all so knowledgeable about the area and made the time in between ziplines just as fun as the actual rides themselves. We cannot say enough good things about this crew and what an asset they are to this company! We only wish we could have stolen them as tour guides for the rest of our vacation! After the zip-lining, we enjoyed a delicious lunch at the restaurant there onsite- so many great options, even for our picky eaters.
We then went to check in for our rafting trip and were provided with wetsuits, a yellow pullover jacket, and helmets. At first, we were all really disappointed that we would have to gear up so much because when we went with a different company three years ago, we just wore lifejackets over our swimsuits and a helmet; however, we were soon thanking our lucky stars that we did have this gear - more on this in just a bit. I recommend just wearing a simple swimsuit underneath the wetsuits though because they are very snug fitting and wearing anything else would be just too tight/bulky. Our family of five were given our own raft with our rafting guide, Shareena. She was extremely knowledgeable and did a wonderful job with teaching us about rafting safety and what to do in worst-case scenarios prior to entering the river.
Once we entered the river, we were in for quite an awakening. Remember how I mentioned we had been rafting down this same course three years ago? Well three years ago, the river levels were actually pretty low. The rapids then were exciting (our kids were 3 years younger) but still fairly tame. Let me tell you, immediately after we entered the first set of rapids, we realized that this year was definitely a different river. My husband and I did the best we could paddling at the front, but our kiddos are not very strong and I definitely feel that we needed more manpower to get through these rapids. I was surprised everyone was still on the raft after that first set.
Shareena was great in recognizing that this was probably too much for our 9 year old to paddle in, so she had her move up to the front middle with us and just hold onto the side rope. My 13 year old son was pretty terrified after this first set and Shareena did a good job trying to alleviate his fears and encourage him to keep paddling. Unfortunately, even rougher waters were up ahead, and these actually threw my son out of the raft and into the rapids. Thanks to Shareena's pre-safety instructions, he knew to try to swim towards the raft and my husband and I were able to pull him safely back in, but now he was definitely more shaken up than before. With Shareena's encouragement, we made it through all the rapids but I definitely feel that we should have had a couple more adults in the raft to paddle with us and for the extra weight. Thank God for the extra gear that they provide because the waters were freezing cold and I know my son would not have been able to stay afloat in those rapids without them. Just a note to families like us who are naive to rafting - higher river levels definitely create a different river. Be prepared and make sure you have enough weight in the raft and strong paddlers. My husband was the only one with any kind of weight on him. I'm pretty light, as are my 3 kids, and Shareena is a light-weight as well - perfect recipe to get tossed around even more.
Overall, if you are planning on a day of zip-lining and/or river rafting, I highly recommend this company - just make sure you are prepared! The extra gear they provide may seem cumbersome, but trust me - you will be grateful for all of it! They place a heavy emphasis on safety and I definitely appreciate that more now than ever.
Réponse de l'hôte
Jun 2019
What a great review of your all-day adventure with us on our rafting and zip lining tours! Safety is our number one priority through all of our trips, and even with your son falling out of the raft, we are happy that with our instructions and directions, everyone was safe and had a fun time. You are right, the river does change with different water levels, but it does make it for a splashy and exciting time! Shereena is definitely a wonderful guide, she has a ton of knowledge and deep care for guests, and we are happy that she was able to make some adjustments for your family so that way everyone could have the best time possible! Our gear is definitely a great asset to have (and complimentary too!), and yes with those cold water it is great to have!
As far as the zip line tours, Topher, Eric, and Dakota are top of the line guides, they are super fun and great to have on any of our zipline tours!
We hope you return to raft and zip with us again and hope that the excitement added some great memories for you and your family! Thanks for the 5-star review!
~Brianna, Guest Relations