Rafting In the Smokies

There were other rafting places in the same area but we went with this company because of the reviews. Not saying anything against the other companies but the reviews for this company were spot on. The reservations were easy to make online. The checkin was smooth and there was plenty of parking. Our guide ‘Coleman’ was super friendly and nice. We went with 2 families (4 adults and 3 kids) in one raft and everything went smooth. We went thru class 3 and supposedly 4 rapids but I wouldn’t consider any of them class 4 but they were fun and Coleman kept us safe. We saw other people fall off their raft in the class 4 rapids so I’m glad we all were able to stay in our raft. The whole rafting ride took about an hour and was so much fun. My daughter really liked it. Turns out Coleman also is in a family business making moonshine so we visited his families place very close by about half a mile down after the rafting. The moonshine was really good. I’m not even a drinker and I bought one since moonshine is one of the things the south is known for. Back to the rafting, there are plenty of coupons to get $ 12 off per person and the internet booking automatically applied the discount. It was well worth the price for safe but really fun rafting. The water was cold but you’re doing so much work you don’t even feel the cold and it actually felt warm. We also got the pictures and the pictures made it seem we were in a class 5 rapids. The photographer captured the moment very well. You gotta go!

We had an amazing time rafting this past weekend! Toni was our guide and she’s was incredibly knowledgable. The rapids were class III and IV, but still a lot of fun. My fiancée had never been rafting and he had a blast. As others have said, no need to arrive 45 mins ahead of time, maybe more like 20 – 30. Also a change of clothes is a good idea; they have showers and changing rooms to use.

We did the upper level rafting for 1.5 hours. You don’t need to show up 45 mins in advance like they say… Just 20 is enough. There are restaurants and food stands near by. Being towel, change if cloth, sunscreen with you. You cannot carry purse, water bottle or anything with you on the boat tho!

Great experience; had a lot of fun with the family, all the kids enjoyed the tour as well as the rafting. our guide Danny was incredible very generous very kind with the kids treated them well, told jokes. Overall a memorable experience.

Z was our guide and she did an amazing job. We had a fun time and enjoyed the rapids on this kid friendly trip.

I can’t even begin to tell you how much fun our group had here today. We made memories and stories that we will be telling for years! The guides on the river were so friendly and knowledgeable and made this such an adventure! Try them, you won’t regret it!

First time white water rafting. Our guide Carver gave my family a thrilling and safe ride down the river. This was a memory making experience.

We rafted the upper pigeon. Our guide, Curly, was very knowledgeable and entertaining.

Searched Unilocal for the best but most reasonably priced Rafting trip while on vacation and this place most certainly fit the bill! I booked online for a discount without any trouble. Check in was a breeze. It seems to be a very well run establishment as there were tons of people starting and finishing trips. On the short bus ride all of the guides were friendly and entertaining. Our specific guide Matt was fantastic. He navigated us through the Rapids with ease and was super friendly. At first I was nervous about our youngest, (10) but he handled it with ease and had a great time. Certainly well worth the money and an overall great experience

Great family experience. Rafted the lower river and Kelly was our guide. What a blast. Did some surfing, hit shark fin rock and got a taste of some class III rapids at the end. Highly recommend! Only negative was the picture CD price. $ 21 for one picture on a CD or $ 40 for all (roughly 15). Really? Would have purchased if cost was $ 20 for the CD. This is not Disney.

Amazing experience! We did the upper route (class 3 – 4). Our first time white water rafting; group had range of ages from 27 – 60’s. Brooks was our guide and steered us very well. He was knowledgeable and we felt very safe at all times. I will say there were many other companies surrounding us and I know we picked the best company. There was a guide from the other group who looked and sounded scared! They were hilarious and we had a blast. Will definitely return.

Amazing experience! If you are looking for fun, knowledgeable, and experienced guides look no further! Our guide Carver was truly the best, he made sure our trip was one to remember! Don’t let your rafting adventure turn into the SMO Show, go with Rafting In The Smokies!

We did the zipline tour and upper pigeon river rafting trip. The zipline circuit was not very impressive but great for first-​timers like us. All the staff were very friendly and professional. Lots of kids on the circuit. The rafting trip was awesome– class 3 – 4 rapids most of the trip. It was 5 miles but went by quickly (~1.5 hours). Children loved it and the guide we had («the goat») was informed and amusing and kept us all in the raft. Would definitely recommend.

Great time rafting! My girlfriend, my parents, and I took the upper portion of the river. it was a great time! The bus ride to the drop off spot was even fun because of the guides telling stories and jokes! The guide we had was great his name was Joel. He was very knowledgeable about rafting, the environment, and many other things. The water was amazing and we had a great time! Nobody fell out or got hurt! Oh and Joel told us this is the only rafting company that sanitizes the life jackets and helmets!
Oh and if you are hungry after words definitely eat at The Bean Tree! It has great, food, service, and view of the river you just went rafting in!

We went on our 1^st rafting trip today. Rusty gave us a very exciting tour. We can’t wait to go on our next trip.

Rafting in the Smokies offers zip lining and white water rafting at a reasonable price. Although the zip-​lining is for beginners, this place provided an exhilarating experience for and my boyfriend and I that we will never forget. Unfortunately, the fun ended there.
Because we’re at the end of September rafting was unavailable to us. We were told to wait around in hopes that they would let water through the dam. Apparently it hadn’t rained for a while down here, so the river wasn’t high enough for us to enjoy the water. This wasn’t explained to us when we made our reservation. So instead of enjoying the Class III and IV rapids that they boast about on their website, we got to wait around in our car and the uncomfortable waiting area they have out back for 2 hours.
Avoid this place for rafting in the fall. There are other places that have rafting up until this time of year. Hopefully the owners will be more honest with guests in the future.

Shout out to CHRISTIAN & JENNA, OUR GUIDES!
Pretty much the same as the other reviews. This was our family’s first time ever. The rapids were enough to be fun but not so scary that it freaked any of us out! I tend to get random panic attacks and there was never a chance of one on this trip. So, yeah, seasoned rafters might be a little disappointed; but I would think seasoned rafters would know to go elsewhere for riskier conditions. This place is geared for families and beginners. As for this company, we made reservations online since we had a larger group. (Online had discounts!) We brought our lunch and ate at the small picnic area before our launch. We checked in 15 minutes before our appointed time, and were assigned to our guide. Our group was too big for one raft so we were split up into two rafts. We got our gear on, grabbed our paddles, & loaded the buses to ride to the drop off. Our guide took us aside and briefed us on some tips and got a feel for how risky or scared we were and he used that to make our ride perfect!
We launched and had an awesome 1.5 ish hour ride with some small rapids and a few great ones. Something about this particular company vs. the «other» company that was also there: our guides seemed to know the river more and knew where and when to hit the «fun spots»! Ours’ also did a really cool «Surfing» trick which I won’t divulge details so I don’t ruin it!
The «red rafts» company did not do that for their guests and even seemed perturbed that we were doing it-​it was one of the highlights of the ride!
So, high fives to our guides, they were AWESOME! Ask for them:
******CHRISTIAN & JENNA****** (They happen to be a young married couple) They are the best!
Side note: we bought the CD– it’s got about 12 photos on it for $ 40/​luckily we got a 50% discount for the 2^nd set since we took up 2 rafts. A little pricey but worth it for the memories.
And don’t forget to TIP your guide!

I spent my 31^st birthday Rafting in the Smokies. It was a FABULOUS experience!
I have been white water rafting a couple other times in my life so I knew what to expect but I had forgotten how much fun rafting is! Rafting in the Smokies made sure to provide a safe and fun rafting trip.
Our guide was super nice and asked us in the beginning if we wanted to try some additional tricks and some higher rapids and we readily agreed. He gave us a lot of good tips and made sure to give us the best experience we could get.
I can’t say enough good things about this company. Choose the Upper Pigeon River as our guide said that the rapids are much better!

Our trip through the upper pigeon river was awesome! This was my second time rafting and this was a much better experience than the last time… I won’t get into it too much but the gist of it was no guide + no water + no experience= 8 hours like chickens running around with our heads cut off. But this was definitely not the experience with Rafting in the Smokies. Everyone was very nice, professional and the guides definitely know what they are doing. They help make the experience fun, exciting, but you can also relax. Our guide was Joey and he was great! Thanks again if you’re reading this! The rapids were not as bad as we thought, but strong enough for first timers (or second timers). We definitely were all able to stay on the raft the entire time. Next time… Class IV and V here we come!

This company makes the trip fun, enjoyable and safe for the entire family. Excellent customer service, knowledgable guides and did I mention friendly excellent service? Based on our trip today, we will be back again. Thank you all so very much!