Nantahala River: 3-Hour Guided Rafting Experience

Our spot on the Nantahala River is unparalleled, perfectly placed at the takeout. This placement ensures you only take the bus once and end your journey at your vehicle. Post-rafting, savor a meal at one of our two riverside eateries.

Duration: 3 hours
Cancellation: 24 hours
Highlights
  • 13077 Hwy 19 W - The Nantahala River is perfect for first timers and experienced rafters alike. It is perfect for families, couples, and all adventurers.
    After checking in, you will get geared up, go through a pre-trip safety talk and video and then jump on the bus for short ride to the put-in. Then in it’s down the river you go to enjoy the…
What's Included
  • Complete rafting gear: life jackets, helmets (optional)
Location
13077 Hwy 19 W
Highway 19 West
Please check-in 30 minutes prior your trip time at our Center located at 13077 Highway 19 West, Bryson City, NC USA.
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
5.0
(114 Ratings)
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Mamamo543
Sep 26, 2024
A highlight of our time in the Asheville area! - Our rafting trip was fantastic. Everything was well organized and it was obvious that safety was important to NOC. Our guide, Joe, was knowledgeable and provided much information about the area and its development. He made our trip enjoyable and fun and taught us about the river and it environs. Joe was personable and pleasant. It was obvious he went above and beyond to make our experience one we would not forget. We highly recommend the Nantahala Outdoor Center for a great river rafting adventure and would return to enjoy this again!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Sharon_c
Sep 17, 2024
Fantastic trip - Fantastic trip. The tour was made even better by our guide Zak who kept us entertained with little stories and information about the river. Can highly recommend but would suggest taking an extra pair of shoes.
Review provided by Viator
Sherpa528301
Sep 12, 2024
Best time ever! - We had a blast on the river with our guide Jasmine! She did a great job keeping us safe and adding some adventure and humor to the trip. Would definitely request her if we are in the area again!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Loveforsail
Sep 11, 2024
Fun!!!! - We had so much fun!! I’m going to bring my family next time. Jacob is the best guide! He is very knowledgeable about the river as well as local plants and trees.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Linda
Sep 3, 2024
Fun Family adventure - Great company. Felt safe as this was a first for our whole party of 6. It was a great time with enough thrill to give you amazing bonding memories and laughs. Our guideJoe was informative funny and fun. The nantahala river is COLD take the jacket option haha.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
83calyns
Sep 1, 2024
Wonderful experience for first timers - We had the best time! My husband and I took our 5 children (aged 9, 10, 11, 14 and 16) and it was our first whitewater experience as a family. Our guide, Joe, was fantastic and we learned so many interesting things from him. The rapids were fun, but not scary, and it was a great first experience for the whole fam. Wear shoes with straps- flip flops were not allowed to 2 of us had to wear booties from NOC. Great experience- highly recommend. We didn’t bring cameras, so no photos in the boat (you can buy photos at the end) but we got an insider recommendation from Joe on a great place to swim after- Fingerlake about 10 minutes from NOC. It was beautiful and we had a great time swimming!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Cynthiaasmith55
Aug 21, 2024
Beautiful day on the river - Big Joe was a great guide. Very knowlegable about the river and the history of the area. Training beforehand was helpful.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Joyce_r
Aug 20, 2024
Fun on the Nantahala River - Our guide made the rafting so much fun by his antics with a water gun used to have the young man rafting with us spray other rafters and even tourists walking across a bridge above us. It was such a beautiful 8 mile trip.
Review provided by Viator
Grannan24
Aug 13, 2024
Go! - My husband and I took our two 10 year old grandsons and we all had a great time. Our guide Nya was the highlight! She gave an extremely informative safety lecture at the outset which was also humerous and kept everyone's attention. We had great weather and the trip down the river was lovely. Nya let us decide if we wanted to spin off the rocks. (we did) and jump into the (very cold) river. The boys did, the adults did not. I always felt very safe during the trip, but it was exciting too. We would definitely recommend it.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Elizabeth
Aug 17, 2024
Rafting the Nantahala with family - We had a wonderful time with our guide Jackson. The weather was beautiful and the river very peaceful. Jackson did a great job of alerting us to upcoming River characteristics. We all stayed in the boat.
Review provided by Tripadvisor