Play Wild
Upper & Lower New
Exciting and Climactic!
So, you'd like to see more of the world-famous, world-class New River, but you're not so much into camping, eh? Well then, this is the trip for you. Spend two days on the river with a leisurely float on the first day through the scenic and historic Upper New River Gorge, where the rapids are long and wavy. Take a break from the river that night when we return to our breathtaking campus on the rim of the Lower New River Gorge, where you can sleep in style in any number of our cozy and amenity-filled cabins and eat like royalty in any of our three great restaurants. Smokey's on the Gorge (with its gourmet buffet), Chetty's Pub (with its homey, comfort Appalachian food) and Buffler's BBQ Grill (an all-you-can-eat chowdown) are at your disposal.
Then, spend the second day in the exciting and climactic Lower New River Gorge on the river section that started the West Virginia whitewater craze. Rapids like the class-V Keeneys and Double Z, plus monster class-IV wave trains of Miller's Folly and Fayette Station provide a booming climax to this action-packed 2-day thrill ride.
Our campus can only be described as stunning. We're the only adventure resort located right smack dab on the rim of the New River Gorge, and the whole place is chocked full of things to do. Eat and sleep in style, or just grub down on BBQ. Fill your down time with stunning hikes and games aplenty, like sand volleyball, disc golf and corn hole. And if you're here on a Saturday night, there's also free live music from some of the rockingest local and regional bands around!
What kind of river is the New?
The Upper New River is wide and shallow, with a mild gradients and long ripply rapids characterized by shoals and waves. The Lower New River is wild West Virginia whitewater rafting at its best, with pounding rapids and exciting, steep drops separated by calm pools to swim in and help you catch your breath. With a professional guide in every raft, instruction is provided at each major rapid. The New River is a high-volume river. The rapids are formed by the large shelf drops and boulders, which create monster waves, hydraulics and world class whitewater. There’s plenty of floating and swimming to do in between the rapids, along with stops at Jump Rock and a huge gourmet deli-style riverside lunch.
What does Rivermen provide?
We provide a morning reception each day of coffee, tea, juice and hot chocolate, transportation to and from the river, all rafting equipment (helmet, life jacket, paddle & boat) and professional guides in each raft. That's everything you need, except your private gear, medications, etc.
How much time do we spend on the water?
The total trip time both days is around 6-7 hours from the time you leave base camp until you return. Some of that is driving to and from the river, but most if it—around 5 hours—is on the water.
How big are the boats?
Our standard rafts are 15 feet long and can comfortably seat 8-9 guests and a guide. It's possible that we'll be in duckies on the Upper New, however. A duckie is a 1 or 2-person inflatable kayak.
What else might we need?
You should bring any medication you need throughout the day, plus sunscreen, sun glasses and if the weather is a little nippy, a dry layer to put on after the trip. (Your guide will be able to put it into a dry bag.) If necessary, we also rent wetsuits and paddle jackets. Via our partnership with Whitewater Photography, we also sell photos of you in the rapids. Our video boaters also accompany most trips and we offer DVDs of your experience for an extra charge. To ensure you get a video, you can pre-order one with your reservation.
We went on the Upper and Lower New River, and our guide Chris made the trip fantastic, he was very entertaining, he told us what to expect and he was very cheerful and nice, he made the trip a lot more enjoyable, he deserves a raise, he is the best guide! He made the trip a whole lot better. You can tell him that Collin his little buddy wrote this!
Collin Bremer
We will be heading to West Virginia to see you guys for our honeymoon trip down the Gauley. It's only fitting since we met three and a half years ago on the New River in Middle Keeney Rapid.
Kristen's Story: The Icebreaker weekend trip down the New was the first for me. The trip was a total adrenaline rush, and it got even more exciting when the raft behind ours flipped over and dumped all eight rafters into the Middle Keeney rapids. We pulled two rafters out of the water. One of them was Joe.
Joe's Story: It was a last minute college trip for the weekend to the New. It was the first time I had rafted with Rivermen and it was the first time I met my wife. The free beverage that evening was encouragement for us to get to know each other a little better. Life is good.
We have now been rafting down the Lower New River with Rivermen every April for the last four years. It's always great rafting with you. Our group of rafters has grown from eight people to nearly 30. Raft On!
The Leggets
So I went to Rivermen yesterday a bit concerned about our trip due to weather conditions and was amazingly surprised. We experienced rain, fog, thunder, lightning and sunshine and had the best time! Our guide was Nick, a.k.a., Nugget, who I highly recommend. He made it super fun. I took my friend, who's visiting from Europe and he had a great time too. We rafted the Lower New River. It was a really great time. There were plenty of areas along the way to get off the raft and swim, also the guides let us swim through a few swimmer's rapids which were a lot fun as well. I rafted the Middle/Lower Gauley a few years back and can honestly say that rafting with crazy weather this time actually made it more challenging and therefore more fun. The actual water level was a bit lower than usual, but it made it easier to see all of the massive rocks that are usually covered up by water. I couldn't have been happier with my trip and am booking another in the very near future. Rivermen ROCKS!
Tonya Swinehart
For the past couple of years we have rafted the Lower New River. This year we decided to try out the new canopy tours. As always Rivermen made our trip great, the staff was well knowledge and very well trained in keeping us safe and creating a lifetime of memories. We will continue to be Rivermen repeats thanks again for a great time.
Andrea, Ashland, KY
We had a group of 36 out of which 32 went on the half-day Lower New. We had an amazing time. The staff was upbeat, knowledgable and friendly. I would recommend to any first timers.
Thomas Stover, Baltimore, MD
Thanks to the friendly and courteous staff at the Rivermen for making our stay with you so pleasant. You have a really fun environment there. Our rafting guide, Eric, made our trip down the Lower New River exciting, yet safe for us first time rafters. How's he do that? Anyway, from the time I made the reservation until the time we left, there were no problems. Thumbs up for the Rivermen organization!
Larry Burns, Hudsonville, Michigan
My very first experience on the New River was with another outfitter 5 years ago and it was NOT a good one. I finally bucked up the courage this year to give the New River another go at it and I couldn't have had a better time! Robert was my guide and group leader and he ROCKED!!
Angie Daniels, Cleveland, OH
I want to thank all the guides and staff at Rivermen. We brought 4 kids and two adults down to the New River and had a blast. Two of us had been there before and we'll all be back again. Ashley was a great guide with our "duckies" on the upper and Maggie was a great guide on the Lower with the 6 of us in the sweep raft. A great couple of days. The campsite was great and the staff there for breakfast and dinner were friendly and courteous. Everyone made you feel right at home.Thanks for a great trip.Bill
William Gravatt, Fort Wayne, Indiana
