Whitewater Rafting
Whitewater rafting’s latest news and product reviews. Paddling Life keeps you informed on what’s new in whitewater rafts, rafting competitions, rafting industry news, and much more.
Destinations
The World’s Top 10 Rafting Trips
Although many guides evoke the image, you don’t have to be a bleach-blonde, toothpaste poster boy to enjoy rafting. Once Covid restrictions lift —...
Travel
Watch Epic Russian Rafting Carnage on the Yurunkash River
Think rafting promotes social distancing? Not for these Russians, simultaneously caught in a keeper hydraulic on the Yurunkash river in the former Soviet Union. See the...
Inflatables
CKS Top Gift Ideas for Rafters
Got a rafter in your life? Rafters can always use gifts, and there’s no better time to help them stockpile up than the holidays. The...
Paddling Life Exclusives
NRS Releases “River of Return” (Bonus Q&A with Producers!)
As part of its ongoing efforts to educate paddlers about issues of importance to them, NRS is proud to release River of Return, highlighting...
Destinations
Dams Getting Closer to Coming Down on Cali’s Klamath
When two tribes, two states and Warren Buffett step up and commit to the world’s biggest dam removal project – it’s a big deal. So...
Paddling Industry News
River Advocate Herm Hoops Passes Away; Watch NRS Film The Salad Days
Herm Hoops, a long time river runner and advocate for the Green and Yampa rivers near Dinosaur National Monument, once wrote, “A river trip...
Paddling Gear
Canyon Cooler Prospector 103 – Best Rafting Cooler Ever?
Touted as "A premium expedition-sized cooler for rafting & demanding adventures".
A cooler built specifically for whitewater rafting.
What does that even mean, built specifically for...
Destinations
Lord of the Fork Race (Spoiler: Dane Won) Kicks Off KY’s Biggest Kayak Weekend
It’s East Coast extreme kayaking race season, COVID be damned. And it kicked off the last weekend of October on Kentucky’s Russell Fork. Every...
Paddling Industry News
“He Could Sell Shit to a Cow:” Watch Tribute Video to Martin Litton
Some say he rowed with an angel on his shoulder. But renowned conservationist and dory aficionado Martin Litton was the angel on the shoulder of...
Paddling Life Exclusives
How to Use, Setup, and Clean a Groover.
Groover duty. It's a dirty business but someone has to do it.
Bringing a groover on a river trip is a necessary evil and many...
Inflatables
Catching Up with AIRE Co-founder Alan Hamilton
What better place to run into one of Idaho’s, and the rafting industry’s, most passionate, productive and accomplished players than the banks of Idaho’s...
Events
Grizzly Creek Fire Hits Rafters on Colorado River
Things heated up for rafters on Colorado’s Shoshone Canyon section of the Colorado River when a fire broke out near Grizzly Creek, forcing commercial...
Accessories
Top 6 River Adventure Books (and One to Grow On)
(Compiled by Michael Hughes/Northwest Rafting Co.) With the pandemic cutting into shared time outdoors, now is the perfect time to start in on the reading...
Accessories
Duh, Why Didn’t I Think of That? Witness the AIRE “Cataroller”
You might not find them on AIRE’s website or your typical REI catalog, but if you’re an avid catarafter looking for a leg up...
Destinations
Meet Alpacka Packraft Stud Stanley Mulvany (with Podcast!)
Want to get to know one of the packrafting world’s most ardent — and well-aging — paddlers?
Look no further than New Zealander and avid...
Events
Back to China for 2021 IRF World Rafting Champs
IRF World Rafting Champs 2021 and 2022 Dates/Locations Announced Following the postponement of the International Rafting Federation's 2020 World Rafting Championship (WRC), the IRF has...
Inflatables
How To Buy A Whitewater Raft
Selecting The Right Whitewater Raft For Your Rafting Needs
Whitewater rafts come in a variety styles, shapes, and sizes. Each tailored to specific whitewater needs....
Paddling Industry News
Costa Rica is Navigating Rough Waters with Coronavirus and Tourism
COVID-19 has turned the world of eco tourism upside down. We’re all Paddling a First Descent. Watch this video on Costa Rica rafting operator Rios...
Whitewater Rafting
Is Whitewater Rafting the Safest Outdoor Activity During the Coronavirus Pandemic?
According to the LA Times, whitewater rafting could just be the safest outdoor activity for a family to get outside this summer. It might...
Canoeing
Permit System Comes to Lower Gunnison’s Dominguez-Escalante Canyon
Flatwater aficionados in Colorado might see another one of their favorite non-permitted multi-day floats fall victim to regulation again (like Ruby-Horsethief on the Colorado),...
Destinations
A Packraft for All Occasions
Packrafts are taking the paddling world by storm…
...for good reason. They’re stable, maneuverable and tough, and light enough (some weighing under 5 lbs.) to...
Paddling Life Exclusives
Lessons Learned About Post Corona Life and a Life on the River from a Guide
Emily Little grew up in Northwest Washington, but found her passion for whitewater on the Rogue River. She learned to kayak at age 12...
Destinations
Help Save the Zambezi’s Batoka Gorge!
Anyone who’s ever paddled the Zambezi River’s Batoka Gorge realizes it’s some of the best action-packed whitewater on the planet, packing an entire Grand...
Destinations
Couple Returns from the Grand to “Different World”
(As first reported in the Steamboat Pilot & Today, by Shelby Reardon) When Steamboat Springs residents Patrick Keogh and Michelle Johnson concluded an 18-day rafting...
Latest news
Great Alabama 650, the World’s Longest Annual Paddle Race, Kicks off Oct 1-11
The world’s longest annual paddle race is set to test the mettle—and blister threshold—of core-to-the-bone paddlers Oct. 1-11 in...
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Tales from the Cripps: Episode 3. Tales from Honduras
Episode 3. Tales from Honduras
Today, let’s travel through time and space to Central America in the 1990s. My guest...
Quinfecta: Jackson, Marr, Voorhees Bro’s Notch 5 Laps on the Stikine
Cross Canada’s Stikine off the big water bucket list for Dane Jackson. Paddling Jackson’s new Gnarvana creekboat, His Daneness,...
Must read
The Ultimate Guide to How to Store Your Raft
Owning your own whitewater raft is an amazing experience...
Middle Fork Salmon Blocked by Debris Flow
Planning a late-season run down the Middle Fork of...
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One on One with Brett Heyl
At first glance, Olympic slalom kayaker Brett Heyl, 26, and badminton don’t have much in common. Yet, both Heyl and Olympic badminton hopeful Howard Bach, as well as athletes from other sports with low media profiles (fencing, anyone?), now share the common denominator of starring in a series of ads for Bank of America...
Shane Benedict’s Gut-Busting Solo Corona Shuttle on the Green
Well, that’s one way around social distancing while still...
PL Checks in with Stand-up Guru Dan Gavere
In late August, Werner Paddles rep Dan Gavere ran Punchbowl Falls on the West Fork of Oregon’s Hood. No matter that he botched it time and time again before nailing it; that’s how’s he treats all his sports, from kayaking to kite boarding. And now that he’s set his sights on SUP, there’s no telling what he’ll accomplish. PL checks in with the multi-sport master…