Description
Whet your family’s appetite for rollers and rapids while white water rafting Utah and you’ll have them coming back asking for bigger and badder. But before you’re ready to upgrade to Class V, there’s some intermediate water that needs to be covered. Happily, Utah has the rivers for it, you just provide the (willing) family. Some basics to bear in mind as you plan: no matter how tough you kids, any rafting outfitter worth its salt sets a minimum age, which can vary depending on the water level. Note: white water rafting is not for your tots, no matter how precocious. You can, however, introduce your 5-year-old to riffles and ripples on runs like the San Juan River at low water, a good multi-day trip in the southeastern part of the state. Another option well-suited towards the younger ones is a trip through Desolation Canyon on the Green River. Give it a couple of years and you can pack your 8-year-old along on a low water float down Cataract Canyon on the Colorado River, a top white water rafting Utah destination (the minimum age is 16 during periods of high water). Once you’ve all got a feel for haystacks, holes and pool-drops, consider a shot through the Don Hatch Gates of Lodore on the Green River. There are enough rapids here to keep all but the adrenaline junkie entertained before your little ones are suddenly all grown up and ready to roll down Utah’s other top run, Westwater Canyon; the minimum age for this one is usually 12 (though some companies lower it to 10 depending on the season), the perfect introduction to puberty. You can even use rafting as an object lesson of sorts: go with the flow, and watch out for strainers.
