9 Things I Wish I Knew Before Rafting the Grand Canyon

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Updated February 2021

This was my first time rafting and I really didn’t know what I was getting myself into! Luckily we were tagging along with some very experienced friends, including some who had rafted the Colorado several times, and they showed us the ropes and kept us safe. Below are 9 things I wish I knew ahead of time.

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1) The rapids are serious

I watched a couple YouTube videos before our trip and they didn’t exactly do the rapids justice in person. There’s nothing like the suspense of pulling over to scout, getting back in the raft, and silently approaching the top of a rapid and praying to hit the right line! I was happy to be in a boat with an experienced oarsman at the helm but with some of these rapids (like Crystal Rapid!) I couldn’t see a way through. And when it came to Lava, the largest rapid we would encounter, all I could think about was jumping out and walking around it! Our first night on the river we had a safety talk, and it became clear how dangerous these rapids can be, especially if someone was to fall out of the raft. Although my job was to sit snugly in the boat, try not to fall out, and maybe do some high-siding the adrenaline from big rapids days was exhausting in a different way.

Scouting our first major rapid, House Rock

2) Take care of your skin

17 days of sun and water wreaked havoc on my poor hands and feet. I seemed to be one of the more sensitive of the group, but I learned at least a week in that repeat visitors each brought their own dedicated stash of creams and lotions. Thankfully they had enough to share but next time I would bring CeraVe moisturizing cream and Aquaphor healing ointment, in addition to my bounty of sunscreen, sunhat, and (dorky but effective) sun gloves!

Taking a turn at the oars

3) Plan for relaxing time

When I was invited on this trip one optional rental was a Paco Pad. It seemed silly to pay for gear when I already had a backpacking sleeping pad. Boy was I wrong (and glad I opted for one). The Paco Pad is a normal sleeping pad on steroids: thick, doubled as a cushion on our raft, and even floated in the water! In addition to the Paco Pad I was so glad I brought a comfortable folding chair.

Setting up at a beach campsite

4) Bring more booze

This isn’t a backpacking trip where you need to pack light. There were leisurely days with few rapids where an afternoon beer on the river was amazing. And my box of wine paired so well with our evening meals that I had to ration myself!

A small ration of wine!

5) Take care of your eyes

I wear dailies contact lenses and have never had an issue in the wilderness… until this trip. My eyes grew more painful every morning when I put in contacts, and it felt like they were full of sand. The issue was actually my hand washing. Our hand washing station water wasn’t filtered so I really was covering my hands with silty water, then getting all of those particles right onto my contacts. I’m embarrassed I suffered for a few days before realizing I would be better off not washing my hands or using drinking water instead! Side note: sun glasses are critical as well.

I was putting all of this sediment and sand into my eyes!

6) Be prepared to get soaked

If you prefer to stay dry and warm (like me), I would recommend bringing a rain shell jacket as well as pants. This combo kept me fairly dry during rapids, though my husband Jason would recommend shorts and no shirt to dry off quickly! I was also glad I brought sturdy Keen’s water shoes that wouldn’t fly off my feet in the rapids, though more experienced members of our trip also brought neoprene socks. I think this would have saved my poor sunburnt/dried out feet (see #2).

Our trip was in April and it took a while for me to get warm after the rapids, so I preferred to attempt to stay dry with rain gear.

7) The bathroom situation is... interesting

Little did I know that I would be using the restroom in an ammo can (or “groover”) for 17 days straight, and that rapidly filling ammo can would return to one of our rafts each morning. And each boat was judged on their scenic placement of the groover! I also didn’t expect that I could shower and rinse soap right into the river, but this is recommended by the park rangers. Though the frigid water made this challenging.

A particularly scenic and private groover location

8) Sleep on the boat

Since I sometimes sleepwalk I was reluctant to sleep anywhere but our tent. Until the night before Lava Falls, when the three of us all slept on the boat for good luck. I guess it ended up working, and I also found it really relaxing on my Paco Pad being lulled to sleep by gentle waves under the stars. In fact, we slept on the boat for the remainder of the trip (sadly only 2 more nights). Another bonus: on our last night as I was walking from the groover to the boat I saw dozens of spiders crawling across the ground – I was very relieved to be spending the night on the water!

Packing up after our first night sleeping on the boat and ditching our tent

9) Do the entire trip

Initially 17 days seemed like way too long to be out on the river. But I became so hooked on the river life – terrifying rapids, hikes and waterfalls, leisurely calm days drinking beers, amazing food and company – by the end I wanted to pack up our raft and start back again at the top. I am so glad that Jason and I opted for the full trip instead of exchanging at Bright Angel, and I hope we can return again in the future.

One of many amazing side trips along the way

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