Grand Canyon Motorized Rafting Trips: Fast-Paced Thrills

Grand Canyon Motorized Rafting Trips

The Grand Canyon offers the most spectacular geological extravaganza on earth. It stretches for 277 miles, measures from four to 18 miles in width, and averages a mile in depth. Encompassing more than 1.2 million acres, the semi-arid canyon consists of raised plateaus, steep-walled canyons, desert basins at lower elevations and forests at higher elevations. The canyon walls provide an excellent record of three of the four eras of geological time, diverse fossil specimens, a vast array of geologic features and rock types, and numerous caves containing extensive and significant archeological, biological, geological, and paleontological resources. Even though the Grand Canyon is a desert, it abounds in plants and wildlife. 

Cactus and wildflowers dot the riverbanks, as well as cool glens with tumbling waterfalls and ferns. Raft passengers might catch a glimpse of bighorn sheep, mule deer, coyotes, and ringtail cats along the riverbanks and in tributary canyons. Visitors may also see numerous species of birds flying overhead, including hawks, golden eagles, falcons, great blue herons, and egrets. In total, the Grand Canyon contains over 1,500 plant species, 355 bird species, 89 mammal species, 47 reptile species, 9 amphibian species, and 17 fish species.

Since a Grand Canyon river rafting trip is a once-in-a-lifetime vacation, it should be an unhurried experience. Our eight-day excursions traverse the entire 277 miles of the canyon, beginning at Lees Ferry, Arizona (in Grand Canyon National Park), and ending at Pearce Ferry on Lake Mead. To many, the most thrilling event on a Grand Canyon white water rafting trip is riding the rapids. The exhilaration you feel as your raft plunges through the waves is a hard-to-describe experience. Only after passing through such rapids as Soap Creek, Hance, Sockdolager, Hermit, Crystal, and Lava Falls can you appreciate the achievements of Major Powell and other early river explorers. 

Life on one of our Grand Canyon rafting tours is pleasant. Eight days of exciting rapids, exploration, and sleeping under the stars will pass much too quickly! Most people sign up for our standard eight-day expeditions. However, we do offer special trips for those with particular interests in history, geology, photography, ecology, or archeology. On these expeditions, which follow the same course as our regular eight-day trips, experts in these disciplines share their specialized knowledge about the canyon.

Our 37-foot S-Rig, developed by Grand Canyon Expeditions, has proved to be the most successful raft used on the Colorado River. Its simplicity and design make this craft ideal for Grand Canyon river running. Thanks to the boat’s ability to transport all supplies needed for eight days or more of travel, guests can traverse the Canyon in First-class comfort. Although the safety and maneuverability engineered into the S-Rig have minimized the effort required to boat through the Canyon, they have not at all diminished the thrills of whitewater river running.

The most formidable rapids of the Colorado, which Major Powell and other early explorers were forced to portage around, are now among the most eagerly anticipated highlights of our expeditions. This craft has also made possible the exploration of the great rivers of the world, including the Zaire, Columbia, Amazon, Niagara, Yukon, McKenzie, Frazier, and most recently the 1890 miles of the Mississippi River to the Gulf.