grand canyon rafting

Updated July 2019

There’s no other way to put this: rafting the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon is a trip of a lifetime. Nowhere else will you be able to live inside of one of the most amazing natural wonders for weeks at a time, exploring tributaries and side canyons with sights around every bend of the river. The trip downstream is a trip back in time, carving down through older and older layers of rock. Some days the river is quiet and relaxing, and on others you are faced with back to back exhilarating (or terrifying to me) rapids. But you can be certain every day will hold some new adventure, beautiful canyon views, not to mention food fit for a king!

When I was invited on this trip I had no idea what to expect, it was my first rafting trip and I was really just along for the ride. I got acquainted with the river life fast and by the end of our 17 days I wanted to drive back to the top and start all over.

This page shares planning and logistics details for this trip. Click the links below to see:

• River highlights: my top 12 favorite stops including waterfalls, slot canyons, even Native American granaries
• Journal: my journal entries and daily life photos during the trip
• Things I wish I knew: 9 things I wish I could have told myself before the trip

Trip Basics

Colorado River trips can vary in several major ways. First, if you are experienced in whitewater rafting (or if you are fortunate enough to have friends that are) then a noncommercial/private trip is an option. Otherwise there are many commercially guided trips available. For noncommercial trips the group size is either small (8 maximum) or standard (16 maximum). Trips can range from 1 to 25 days with longer trips typically beginning at Lee’s Ferry and exiting at Diamond Creek. Shorter trips are often motorized or launch from Diamond Creek and takeout at Lake Mead. Your type of boat can vary dramatically too: inflatable rafts, motorized boats, or whitewater canoes/kayaks.

In our case we were a private/noncommercial standard sized group of 15 using 4 inflatable oarboats on a 17 day trip. Several members of our group were experienced oarsmen and had rafted the Grand Canyon before so we were able to go without a guide. Guided trips, on the other hand, range in the amenities provided and some even cater to different interests such as hiking. They can cover everything from meals to setting up your tent and planning side trips.

Logistics and gear

Several local companies can provide gear and boats. We went with PRO, Professional River Outfitters, and had a fantastic experience.

The day before our trip began we drove from Los Angeles to Flagstaff. The next morning we met up with PRO and transferred our personal gear (in a light snow!) over to their truck and van. They drove us to Lee’s Ferry in Marble Canyon where we were introduced to the gear and learned how to rig the boats with enough food and equipment for 15 people over 15 days. The whole thing was surprisingly well organized although time consuming to rig, something that would become second nature over the course of our trip. That evening they took us to dinner at a restaurant near Lee’s Ferry and we spent our first night camping along the Colorado (only moving our boats a few feet downstream).

Our first real morning on the river the PRO team showed us how to use more of our gear including preparing meals, washing dishes, filtering water, using emergency gear, and using the bathroom (more on that later). They stressed the importance of keeping everything clean and sanitary. The last place you want to a stomach bug is deep in the Grand Canyon! The PRO team was also present for our meeting with the ranger, a requirement before setting off on the river.

The only personal gear I brought on the trip was a large dry bag full of clothing and toiletries, a waterproof pelican case for camera gear, some canyoneering equipment, a folding chair, and a box of wine!

At the end of our trip PRO met us at Diamond Creek to help us de-rig the boats, pack up the gear, and drive us back to Flagstaff.

We divided up responsibilities by boat so each day there were for major jobs starting at dinner: cooking, dishes, “groover”, and a day off. The day off was a full day to relax with no required duties (or help out your friends!). We also shared some other duties such as filtering water and setting up camp chairs.

Food

Cooking duty lasted a full day including breakfast, lunch, and dinner. PRO provided all the recipes and ingredients packed away in specific locations according to a map. The first step was to “grocery shop” through the boats to pick out supplies for each of the meals. With good cooler maintenance we were able to eat fresh meat, dairy, and produce for 15 days!

The meals were delicious and elaborate, which also meant quite a bit of work on cooking duty, but we ate like kings on the river and I think overall I gained weight during the trip! Some examples of meals:

• Breakfast: bagels with LOX and cream cheese, blueberry pancakes, eggs to order, granola, cereal and English muffins.
• Lunch: sandwiches with every possible condiment and topping, bean salad wraps, hummus pitas. They usually included snacks and cookies too.
• Dinner: steak, salad, and potatoes; chicken fajitas, beans, chips and guacamole. Dinners often started with an appetizer like cheese and crackers or spinach artichoke dip and sometimes included a desert, like a dutch oven carrot cake.

Cleaning dishes was a multi-step process including dunking the dishes in several baths of water and hanging them to dry overnight.

The groover

At this point you might be wondering how you use the bathroom in the Grand Canyon. The preferred way to pee is to go straight into the river, easy enough. But all human waste must be packed out since there are a limited number of campsites and frequent groups would really impact the environment. The solution to this is the “groover” which is just a toilet seat with a special adapter to fit onto an ammo can. The ammo can seals up tight and returns to the groover boat every morning, you surprisingly can’t smell anything.

When we arrived at camp each day one boat was responsible for picking a secluded but accessible location and setting up the groover along with a hand wash station. My boat, or specifically my two companions, went above and beyond and took a ton of pride in selecting our groover location. That meant it was basically a night off for me and also that everyone would have a real experience on their walk to the groover!