Had a real great time yesterday rafting down the Lower New River with Adventures on the Gorge. Our guide Jon did a great job explaining much of the history of the area as well as preparing our intermediate-level team of 5 for what was ahead of us. Safety was a top concern, and details were provided during the bus ride to the launch point. I don't recall how many total rapids we went through but it was a lot, and we were always told ahead of time what to expect, where to swim to if we fell out, etc. None of us needed to do this fortunately, and the only swimming we did was voluntary, which we all did at several points along the way on an 85 degree day with water temperatures around 80. A perfect day for whitewater rafting!
Lunch was provided and was very good. Various choices for sandwiches (turkey, ham, roast beef, PBJ), potato salad, bean dip with nacho chips, even fruit and cake for desert. I don't normally eat this well at home!
The whole trip lasted about four hours or so, not counting the bus ride to and from the river (I think that was about twenty minutes each way), and including about a 30 minute stop for lunch.
I would highly recommend this trip for beginner or intermediate level rafters. My son (15) and I (50+) have rafted twice prior to this in Colorado and found this trip a good balance between challenging, fun and safe. I never once felt like I was in any type of danger, even when jumping off the 20 foot (?) cliff around the half-way point. Water levels weren't particularly high as is the norm this time of year, and higher or lower levels will give a very different feel to a particular trip down the river.
One minor suggestion to make the experience even better: towels (and maybe even soap) in the changing areas for after the trip would have been nice. Fortunately I had a small hand towel that kind of did the trick. Changing out of river wet clothes into shower wet clothes is still an improvement but changing into dry clothes that stay dry because you had a towel would be even better.