We booked a private raft to include 2 adults and 4 youth (ages 11, 13, 14, and 17). I typically seek out tours from smaller companies for our vacation excursions to get a more personal experience. Prior to booking, I checked out TripAdvisor reviews, and though not many, I still liked what I saw. We took the half day rafting trip on the Lower New River and had a great time (even with a 20 minute down pour). We stopped at Jumping Rock for those that wanted to jump off the rock into the river.
I felt safety was number one priority with West Virginia Adventures and especially with our raft guide, John Henry. This was particularly important, as we had young rafters. Our guide trained us in paddling techniques and ensured that we had it down pat prior to hitting the rapids. He also explained “what to do if you fall off here” prior to each major rapid. Fortunately, no one fell out – which I accredit to John Henry for leading us into each rapid at the best approach. The big company rafting near us that day lost a couple of rafters and we saw them walking along the bank in the trees to catch up with the rafts. Another thing that I noticed of the large corporate rafting outfit were the guides. I am female, so I think it is safe to say… When I saw that the raft putting in before us from the large company had a 20-year-old-looking girl of about 5 foot 2 inches, I thought, I would not like to depend on her to save my kids in an emergency.
We had an excellent afternoon on the New River and my children got to experience such a fun and thrilling adventure. And ladies, make sure you get a glimpse of John Henry pumping up the rafts. I promise, you will NOT be disappointed ; )