The top 5 questions people ask about rafting the Grand Canyon
Photo courtesy John Stanford
I spent an amazing week rafting the Colorado River in Grand Canyon National Park in May 2024. Since everyone I meet seems to have this item on their bucket list, here’s a quick FAQ to get you going.
1. Is it worth it? Should I go?
Emphatically YES. The Grand Canyon is one of the Natural Wonders of the World for a reason. I’d seen it from the rim and have spent quality time in other remarkable parks like Zion, Death Valley, and Yosemite. The Grand Canyon is special. Rafting it is something I hope every nature lover gets to do at some point in their lives.
2. What were the highlights?
The natural beauty. The canyon is etched through a dozen geological layers that the river moves through from top to bottom. Dramatic slot canyons, pools, and twisty fault lines are a visual feast. Plus we saw bighorn sheep, lizards, snakes, raptors, and beautiful plant life.
Quality time with people. It was a weeklong, fully immersive, 24/7 bonding experience.
Daily hikes. Gorgeous, interesting, challenging, vertical. Lots of wildflowers and several archeological sites.
No phones to distract us from truly immersing in the place and each other.
Helicopter ride out of the Canyon – another bucket list item checked.
3. Did you paddle? How long did it take?
I considered not signing up for this trip when I learned our craft would be motorized. (I was a guest, not the organizer).) I love paddling, and imagined sitting like a lump for a week a la the Love Boat. But the headwinds on the first day were so crazy that paddlers seemed to be fighting for every inch. I suddenly was grateful for our motor. Plus, I found that the challenging daily hikes, making and breaking camp every day, and moving gear on and off the rafts was good exercise.
Our group of 28 guests and four crew was spread across two 30-foot inflated rafts. For me, the biggest advantage of a motorized craft is getting down the canyon in a week, whereas paddlers typically take closer to three. The biggest downside was a cushioned experience of the rapids. It’s easier to feel the ups and downs in a smaller craft.
4. What was the weather like?
Weather varies hugely from month to month in the Canyon. Summers can be almost unbearably hot. Our trip, during the second week of May, was chilly at the put-in at Lees Ferry, but warm at the end, 277 miles downstream. Skies were clear, apart from the one afternoon of wind and another of brief, light rain. The folks sitting in the splashy seats at the front of the rafts got consistently soaked by 50-degree water, which was uncomfortable the first two or three days. Those seats grew more popular as we moved south.
Check out the National Weather Service’s forecast for the Canyon floor.
5. Did you have to book years in advance?
Private groups are the ones on years-long wait lists. We signed up about a year in advance with one of the public outfitters, Arizona River Runners, which was terrific: knowledgeable, fun, hardworking staff and tasty meals.
