Whitewater Rafting on the Chattooga River

Distance: 6-7 Miles

Duration: 5-6 Hours

Price: $120 - $150

Age: 12+ Years

Intensity: Advanced

To start your adventure, there are multiple different companies one can go through to raft on the Chattooga. A personal preference would be through Nantahala Outdoor Center (NOC). Once registered through a company as a group or individual, you will attend a rafting safety class beforehand to go over rules and protocols while on the river.

From the safety class, you will then ride a bus to the drop site on the river. The drop site will be determined by the water level and what the raft guides think is safe. Once at the drop site, you will then be instructed on how to paddle and how to follow your raft guide's instructions while on the river. 

Once on the river, you paddle down the Chattooga with the help of a raft guide. Although there is a raft guide, it will take everyone in the boat's effort to get the raft down the river. You will usually experience Class III and IV rapids, followed by a small pool of calm river and the cycle repeats itself over and over again. 

Around lunch time, the guides will stop the boats on a beach off of the river, where you will eat a delicious sandwich and snack meal homemade by the company. Usually throughout the trip, there will be spots where you can cliff jump, swim, go see waterfalls, and swing from rope swings into the water. 

After the trip ends, you will carry the rafts back to meet the bus where it will take you back to the rafting company's headquarters.