Here is the way the trip is planned so far, as a reminder the Upper Gauley River is not recommended for first time rafters, previous white water experience is suggested: (please feel free to pass this information on to anyone you know who might be interested in joining us for this awesome trip)

We will be rafting the World Famous "Beast of the East" on Saturday October 11th this year. We will be camping on Friday the 10th and Saturday after rafting. The trip will include lunch on the river and a Hog Roast dinner at base camp on Saturday evening not to mention all of the necessary paddling gear and the guide for the trip. I will be updating this page with rates and additional information over the next few weeks. If you are interested in going with us for this trip, please feel free to contact me so I can add you to the mailing list for the trip.

The Incredible, Unforgettable Gauley River

      Known far and wide as the most intense rafting to be found east of the Mississippi, the Gauley River is the river for whitewater adventure. If you haven’t yet rafted the Gauley, you have a heck of an experience waiting for you. If you have, you know that little else in life compares to the feeling of riding a raft through the white froth of Pillow Rock Rapid or drifting toward the horizon line of Sweets Falls while the crowd of onlookers cheers below. Located just a few miles north of our West Virginia mountain base camp, the Gauley River offers more than 100 rapids in 26 memorable miles. Come for a long weekend and run the Upper and Lower sections in two consecutive days, repeat your favorite section, or take on the entire 26 miles in one grueling Iron man day of rafting.

Exclusive Gauley Riverside Beach. West Virginia Adventures is pleased to announce our new riverside beach, a wide, sandy swath of riverbank at the confluence of the Meadow and Gauley Rivers. Our new exclusive riverside camp sits right above Lost Paddle rapid, the perfect place to take a break, feast on a gourmet lunch or dinner, and listen to the thundering roar of the rapids below.

The Upper Gauley. Every day on the Upper Gauley feels epic, whether it’s your first time or fiftieth. Here are five Class V+ reasons why rafters come back to run the Upper Gauley again and again:

1.    The churning cauldron called Insignificant rapid, which is anything but insignificant.

2.    The unforgettable ride of Pillow Rock rapid.

3.    Lost Paddle rapid, which at over a quarter mile long, just doesn’t quit.

4.    The giant wave at Iron Ring that delivers a mean left hook

5.    Hitting the sweet spot at Sweet’s Falls.

The Upper Gauley River is not recommended for novice rafters; we suggest all rafters have prior whitewater rafting or whitewater paddling experience. Suggested Minimum age to raft the Upper Gauley River is 16.

The Lower Gauley. For those who are not yet prepared to raft the Upper Gauley or who want to experience a different section of river that is outstanding in its own right. During your trip on the Lower Gauley you will have time to admire the mist that gathers over the river, the gorgeous orange and red leaves of fall, a red tailed hawk soaring overhead. Make no mistake: the Lower Gauley serves a plentiful portion of adventure as well, from the giant frothy holes of Koontz’s Flume to the sidewinder twists of MASH to a final big wave splash at Pure Screaming Hell. The Lower Gauley throws TK number Class V rapids at you in all, and many more Class III and IV rapids to keep your heart pumping. Prior whitewater river rafting experience is not required; minimum age is 14.

Gauley River Iron man Raft the entire Gauley River in one day! Our Gauley River Iron man starts in the early morning so that we can cover all 26 miles of the Upper and Lower Gauley River sections in a single day. Let West Virginia's most intense whitewater rafting trip challenge you. For the hardiest of adventurers only.

Gauley River Overnight. After your first day of Gauley rafting, you’ll share river stories by the campfire while our cooks dish up a gourmet outdoor cooked feast. You’ll fall asleep to the sound of the river flowing by, then wake up to a delicious outdoor breakfast and coffee before going rafting all over again.

Our rafting and riverside camping package offers two days of Gauley rafting and one night of riverside camping. Run the river from top to bottom, beginning with Upper Gauley on day one and Lower Gauley on day two. Or consider West Virginia Adventure’s special Gauley in Reverse: a two-day trip designed for those who want to raft the less intense Lower Gauley the first day followed by the Upper on day two. This is the order we recommend for first time rafters.

The Gauley is run year-round by recreational boaters and from Spring to Fall by commercial rafting companies. During the majority of the year, boating is level dependent and the water level fluctuates dramatically depending on rainfall and the level of Summersville Lake. However, starting the Friday after Labor Day, the Army Corps of Engineers provides a series of twenty-two controlled releases for the express purpose of downriver recreation. These releases are collectively known as "Gauley Season" and are scheduled on six successive weekends, the first five of which are four-day weekends (Friday through Monday) and the last of which is just Saturday and Sunday. Typical release levels during "Gauley Season" range from 2,400 to 2,800 ft³/s (68 to 79 m³/s).

These releases are thanks to an act of the U.S. Congress, the first law passed in the U.S. to specifically mandate recreational whitewater dam releases. The releases bring millions of dollars annually to the local economy, as paddlers travel from all over the United States and overseas for this event.

The Gauley has two commonly run sections: the more difficult 9.8 mile (16 km) Upper Gauley (Class IV-V), and the easier 11-mile (18 km) Lower Gauley (Class III-IV, V). Portions of the 5.5-mile (9 km) Middle Gauley (Class III+, IV) are commonly run in conjunction with either the Upper or Lower Gauley, and it is sometimes run alone as a milder alternative.

There are dozens of rapids on the Upper Gauley; the most notable are the Big Five:

·    Insignificant (ironically so named because the first expedition reported "nothing significant before Pillow".)

·    Pillow Rock (accessible via a steep trail from Carnifax Ferry Battleground site. Extremely powerful and intimidating rapid.)

·    Lost Paddle (a long, treacherous rapid consisting of four sub-rapids: First Drop, Second Drop, Third Drop, and Tumblehome.)

·    Iron Ring (so named for a large iron ring which had been anchored in a rock near the rapid by loggers many years before. The ring was cut and removed by vandals in the 1980's.), and

·    Sweet's Falls (named for John Sweet, a canoeist and pioneer of the Gauley.)

The Lower Gauley has fewer rapids and they are more spread out, but it also features big dramatic rapids that pose significant challenges. Most notable among these:

·     Koontz's Flume (First big rapid below the Bucklick access point, easily identifiable by an enormous undercut boulder clearly visible for a half mile or more upstream.)

·     Canyon Doors (Named for vertical openings in the canyon wall on river right.)

·     Upper and Lower Mash (A complex boulder garden leading down to a swift flush, big breaking wave, and pinning rocks.)

·     Heaven's Gates (Long wave train leading to a narrow "gate" between two rocks at the bottom.)

·     Pure Screaming Hell (A long approach leading to a pair of large holes, Purgatory and Hell Hole, in addition to a very dangerous undercut sieve on the far right.)

I talked to my buddy Rob who owns the company and he has quoted us the following  per person price for 7 or more is $149.99.  Less than 7 $179.99 all inclusive. 

·    If any spouses or even individuals for that matter want to come on the trip, but do not want to raft, that is an option also. The cost for this would be $12.00 + tax for the Hog Roast dinner and $10.00 + tax a night for the camping. 

Please let me know as soon as possible if you are interested in going on this trip. If you are planning on going, I will be sending out a sign-up form to everyone who expresses interest before the end of August, and we will need to submit a 50% deposit for the trip no later than September 15th. If you have any questions or would like to discuss further, please do not hesitate to contact me.