What is White Water Rafting?

Rafting is a very popular yet challenging outdoor activity. The general concept is to navigate a river on an inflatable raft. Rafting is typically done on white water (a term used to refer to the product of turbulent or unstable current); thus the name, white water rafting.

Rafting: An Activity for Everyone

Although commonly perceived as an extreme sport, there is actually no specific limit on who can go rafting. Both children and adults can engage in this outdoor recreational activity. Because everyone is required to wear a personal floatation device or PFD, you don’t even necessarily need to know how to swim to go rafting. All you need to go rafting is to be physically fit as paddling your way through strong currents and rapids is very strenuous.

The Different White Water Grades

There is an established international scale of river difficulty and white water has six grades:

• Grade 1: Perfect for the newbie, this grade has minimal rough areas and it only requires very minimal maneuvering.

• Grade 2: Ideal for those with basic paddling skills, grade 2 has a few rough spots; a couple of rocks and it requires a little maneuvering.

• Grade 3: The third grade needs some amount of maneuvering as it has small waves and it may sometimes include a small drop.

• Grade 4: Grade 4 has medium-sized waves and considerable drops that require sharp maneuvering.

• Grade 5: Precious maneuvering is required when there are large waves and large possibilities of more rocks and bigger drops.

• Grade 6: The rapids on this grade are too much to handle that there is no guarantee of a safe ride regardless if you’ve got top of the notch equipment.

The White Water Raft

Modern-day rafts are inflatable boats made of tough, multi-layered fabrics like hypalon or PVC. Typically, the length of a white water raft ranges from 11 to 20 feet, with a width between 6 and 8 feet. Rafts come in different types and styles. The very popular raft style in the United States is the catamaran. These could normally carry 4 to 12 people.

Rafting Spots in the U.S.

You can go rafting in four different area of the country: in the West Coast, East Coast, Rocky Mountains and the Mid-West. These spots are equipped with everything you need to enjoy you splashing day – from the gear, to the instructor, your meals, your arrangement for logistics, and many more. » Read more: What You Need to Know About White Water Rafting in the US