There were a few gems I found while researching our cross country trip, the Wilderness Adventures rafting trip on the Colorado River was one of them.
The trip started at the company’s office in Page, Arizona, about a three hour drive from our hotel in Sedona. The raft put-in is just below the Glen Canyon Dam, a homeland security site, so we had to go through a TSA bag check before we could get on the bus. The bus took us through a 2-mile tunnel cut through the bottom of a mountain. It was barely wide enough for two cars and had no lighting except for a few holes in the mountain that were used to throw the debris when carving the tunnel.
It took about 45 minutes via bus to get to the raft put-in area. After a short walk, wearing hard hats incase of falling debris from the canyon wall, we boarded a raft with 14 other people and the guide, Kelsea. The tour was a 13-mile, three hour, calm water float down the Colorado.
The Glen Canyon Dam is the second tallest in the US.
It was super hot outside – about 95 degrees with no clouds. The water was the complete opposite at 47 degrees.
Experiencing the canyon from the river was beautiful. We saw wild goats and wild horses along the way. We stopped at a sandy beach and walked to see petroglyphs on the canyon wall. K2 was the first brave soul in our group to dunk in the freezing water before getting back on the raft. Other people followed suit after she went in.
A very shocking dunk in the 47 degree Colorado River.
We went through the iconic Horseshoe Bend, a 270 degree turn in the Colorado which was pretty incredible. The view of the bend is even more impressive from the top of the canyon.
All-in-all it was a really fun afternoon. The kids want a little more excitement next time, so we’ll try a white water rafting trip sometime soon!
Wilderness Adventure Rafts on the Colorado River.
