Get Local | Are You Up For a Whitewater Adventure?

While summer means many things to many people, for a lot of us water sports are the centerpiece of the season. And Jackson Hole has no shortage of opportunities to don your favorite water shoes and take advantage of the excitement of whitewater.

Ahhh…rafting. Even if you have no- I mean NO- experience with rivers and rapids, white water rafting is a blast.  Joining a commercial raft company for a trip down the Snake River Canyon is a time-honored tradition.  Supplied with a personal floatation device (pfd), a splash top and a paddle, you and your family will float beneath stunning canyon walls, watch an osprey dive and pound through rapids named Lunch Counter and Big Kahuna. Your guide will be calling commands for you to paddle, propelling the raft into the maelstrom of the rapids. Straddle the front tubes of your boat for an extra thrilling ride through the waves. The exhilaration of a full-wave hit on a hot day is incomparable. Look for Jackson Hole Whitewater, Barker-Ewing Whitewater or Lewis and Clark River Expeditions to book this fantastic river adventure.

For the slightly more adventurous river runner, an inflatable kayak, affectionately known as a ‘ducky’, is the perfect craft.  These duckies are lower in the water; the waves seem bigger from this perspective.  This also makes them very stable. You are in complete control of your craft using a double-bladed kayak paddle. Check-in with Rendezvous River Sports to book a tour.  Your guide will coach you on paddle techniques and rapid running strategies before heading down to the Class 3 rapids of the Snake River.  

If you are looking to gain a new skill and you know you love the water, consider trying hard shell kayaking.  These plastic boats are performance machines! You will be sitting with your legs within a cockpit, your lap kept dry by a fitted neoprene spray skirt.  A splash jacket, pfd, helmet and a double-bladed paddle complete your gear. Your guide will instruct you on the rudimentary points of paddling, river reading and the ever-popular ‘wet exit’ (what happens when you tip over…). Compared to the stately comfort of a raft and the relative stability of the ducky, the hard-shell kayak is the race car of river craft. Are you the driver? 

No visit to Jackson is complete without some river time- be sure to save a day for playing on the Snake.  All you really need to decide is how much swimming you are going to do!!