First Time Whitewater Rafting on the New River Gorge Lower River West Virginia

This is the first hand account of a first time whitewater rafter on the lower New River George.

[@jacksonsdrones]

WV is my home and I've never seen it like this! I Film all over Fayetteville and Still Never Seen it like this! Thank You! 😃 👍👍👍

[@Biker65]

West Virginia is such a blast. And the people are so nice and friendly. While the rest of the world goes crazy West Virginia is still normal America. Love that state.

[@letsgoseeit457]

I too enjoyed the people and felt relaxed in the countryside and mountains. I’m glad that you watch and enjoy the video. If you ever try white water rafting let me know how it goes.

[@Ifthesekinkscldtalk]

Wow! I never thought of doing this because I was thinking this was only safe for experienced white river rafters. Now I want to try it!

[@letsgoseeit457]

It was my first time doing it, and I had a great time. Please let me know how your adventure goes.

[@ErockerisDerlargcock]

I use to raft guide on the NR, it always would blow my mind seeing the NRG bridge and then going under the old bridge first. Best job ever.

[@letsgoseeit457]

Thank you for taking the time to leave a comment. I had a great time on the river I can only imagine how much fun you had as a guide. Thanks again for watching and I appreciate your support.

[@joemorris8423]

I am about to turn 72, and I still love white water rafting. I went to the New River for the first time last year. Usually, I raft on the Chattooga and the Ocoee and the Nantahala, as well as non-commercial areas of the Chattooga and other rivers in northeast Georgia. In your video, it was apparent that you were having a good time. I always take "new" people ( my friends who have never been rafting ) to the Nantahala near Bryson City North Carolina. There is also a tourist railroad there, and it is not far to Cherokee NC.

[@letsgoseeit457]

Hi, thank you so much for taking the time to leave your comment. I had a great time while rafting and I’m glad to see that you’re able to do it safely at 72 years old. I can’t wait to get back to the area and try additional sites. Thanks for the advice and thank you again for your support.

[@michaelrockow5461]

We just did this last week - through ACE Adventures. We did the half day trip. So much fun. Beautiful scenery, lots of splashing. Only one person fell out of the boat.

[@letsgoseeit457]

Sounds like you had a great time! Thanks for watching and for your support of my channel.

[@WhiteWaterPirates09]

You def got one of the best guides in the business.

[@letsgoseeit457]

Yes, I don’t know if you know Kevin, but he certainly is an awesome guide!

[@WhiteWaterPirates09]

@@letsgoseeit457 yup I used to guide with him. I worked for ace down there for a bit. Still classy guy

[@letsgoseeit457]

Cool

[@stanwhitlow5877]

Great video man!!!! We are going to raft the Lower New this October on Bridge Day!!!! Thanks a ton!!!! Your video has is totally stoked!!!!

[@letsgoseeit457]

I am so happy that I help you understand what to expect. Please let me know how your trip goes and thanks for watching. I appreciate your support.

[@d3vilbaron61]

Just did this today. The water was five feet higher than normal, i live here and i gotta say i loved it. Most fun i’ve ever had in a water related activity, our guide “Rocky” was solid. Man kept us alive and in the boat, made sure we all got home to our family’s and the rapids toward the end we’re HUGE. i’m talking scaling up 12 foot waves. I have a stomach issue that causes me to be unable to eat without feeling sick which causes intense nausea and anxiety, and i felt bad when they offered us all lunch they had prepared for us. I couldn’t eat it unfortunately. but i had my buddy describe all the food to me in detail, in terms of how it tasted and he said that it was amazing. 10/10 definitely will be doing this again

[@letsgoseeit457]

Hi and thank you for taking the time to leave such a detailed comment. I am so glad to hear that you enjoyed your white water rafting adventure. I hope my video helped to prepare you for your trip. Thank you again for watching and I appreciate your support.

[@annieberardino8732]

I did this ride twice with a church group. We were in West Virginia helping folks rebuild their homes or fix up their existing ones as a charity. at the end of the trip we had a choice, to go zip lining or rafting. And every time we had unanimous votes for rafting. It was the best experience!

[@letsgoseeit457]

Thank you for watching my video. I had a great time rafting and thank you for the work you do for your community. May God bless you and have a great day.

[@iquix]

Great video, thanks for sharing.

[@letsgoseeit457]

I appreciate you watching. I’m glad you enjoyed the video and I appreciate your support.

[@bigbadsteve8063]

Good on you for getting out of your comfort zone! I'm doing this trip with my family this summer and after watching this, I'm even more excited!

[@letsgoseeit457]

Hi and thanks for watching my video. You should absolutely take your trip. I think he will have a blast. I appreciate you watching my video and I hope you found the information informative. Please let me know how your trip goes.

[@bigbadsteve8063]

@@letsgoseeit457 A week after our trip and my son is still talking about how much he enjoyed it! We both loved it and can't wait to go again!

[@letsgoseeit457]

That’s great 😃

[@StephenCurry-yt3ne]

:read this comment :I remember when I went and we stopped for lunch before the first class 5 rapid and there was a rock to jump off of and my dad and my 17 year old cousin jumps to the left of it and is fine but my 15 year old cousin jumps to the right where there is 6 inches of water before you hit another rock and he breaks his tibula and fractures or breaks the fibula and we had to take him across the river and pack him up rocks and with no trail just mountain and put him in the ambulance and fly him to Charleston hospital and it was 2 hours before he could even get pain meds and we didn't even get to do the class 5 rapid it was bad the guide said he worked there for 15 years and he said he never saw the water level the same once so if you do jump off rocks make sure you look and pay attention before you do it.

[@letsgoseeit457]

Wow, I bet that was way more of an adventure than anyone wanted. I hope his recovery went well. Thanks for pointing out the dangers of white water rafting. Thank you for watching the video and for taking the time to leave a comment. I appreciate your support.

[@StephenCurry-yt3ne]

@@letsgoseeit457 sure thing and is recovery did go well he will be back walking without crutches in a month or so

[@letsgoseeit457]

That’s great 👍

[@letsgoseeit457]

That’s great 👍

[@benchedthatpiece]

I hike the Endless Wall Trail every chance I get and I always watch the rafters on the river. The Amtrak train was probably the Cardinal. This is a great video, I enjoyed every minute of it!

[@letsgoseeit457]

I am so glad that you enjoyed the video! Thank you for taking the time to leave a comment. It took me a lot of time to put this video together and I’m glad you found it helpful. I appreciate your time and support.

[@codymanthey5694]

I went white water rafting on that river in 2017 when I did the 2017 national scout jamboree. The jamboree is a boyscout event that happens every 4 years. I was in boyscouts when I went out to West Virginia. It was a very long bus ride from Wisconsin to West Virginia. We did stop at a few places like Gettysburg battle field and Washington DC. We stayed in Washington DC for 3 days after that we went to west Virginia for the jamboree.

[@letsgoseeit457]

Thanks for watching and for taking the time to leave a comment. I hope you enjoyed your rafting trip.

[@kathyc68]

This was a great video! Thanks so much for sharing all the tips and tid-bits. We'll be heading up there the first week of August. Can you share what month you did this? I'm so afraid of being cold! ha ha We've never rafted before and this video has totally made my decision to do it! :)

[@letsgoseeit457]

Glad it was helpful! I went in May. I was extremely concerned. It was going to be cold. Please let me know how your trip goes and I’m glad you found my video helpful.

[@jumpmanlambo7258]

Very great video !

[@letsgoseeit457]

Thanks, I appreciate your time and comment.

[@lasherdj]

Well informed video. Lots of details. We’re heading there for July 4th weekend. What month did this video take place?

[@letsgoseeit457]

I hope you have a great day and a happy fourth. I was there during the spring. Please let me know what your experience is like.

[@lasherdj]

@@letsgoseeit457 great experience. We actually did the Upper New. We had a young person under 12, so we couldn’t do the Lower. Great for “Ducking” but nothing higher than a class 3. The more challenging is still the Gauley, but that’s only open for 6 weekends around October. Ace Adventures has everything you need, especially for families to enjoy the outdoors.

[@letsgoseeit457]

👍

[@DevinCBeck]

Very cool.

[@letsgoseeit457]

Thank you for watching. I hope you enjoyed the video and if you decide to go white water rafting I hope you have a fun and safe trip.

[@tommaggardw]

I have never gone rafting in these types of rapids before but plan on going in a couple weeks! I’m nervous but excited. Question to you, what equipment did you use for go pro? Assuming that’s what you used for video? I just bought a go pro hero 11 and would absolutely love to capture the adventure but also very afraid of it snapping off or something from the helmet if I get thrown off into rapids. It’s water proof and can get even a more waterproof case but wasn’t sure about securing it. Loved the video though!!

[@letsgoseeit457]

I used a GoPro, and had the same concerns. I was afraid of it, breaking off and falling in the river and being gone forever. Therefore, I tethered it to a string. I then placed it in a Styrofoam covering.

[@taraallen5181]

I was there and it was cool

[@letsgoseeit457]

Hi and thanks for watching! I am glad that you enjoyed it. I hope that you enjoyed the video. I appreciate your support and thanks again for watching and taking the time to leave a comment.

[@laurenhershey7086]

What class rapids are these?

[@letsgoseeit457]

Hi and thanks for watching. These rappers go all way up to five.

[@michaelhill56]

@@letsgoseeit457 Coming from a guide with over 40 years experience on the New, at this level the rapids are Class 4 at best. At high water (9+’ on the gauge) they are considered Class 5 because they are pretty continuous.

[@fr0gwizardx0]

What company was this?

[@letsgoseeit457]

Thank you for watching. The company I went with was River Expeditions.

[@ricjonez1816]

3:21 Can't swim. You are Brave...

[@letsgoseeit457]

You heard right, I can’t swim. I can’t say that I am brave. I just placed a lot of confidence in my life vest. In making the decision to do this adventure I just made up my mind that fear was not going to stop me.

[@jacksonsdrones]

Guide: It's Always Coal trains! You never see People! He's Right!

[@letsgoseeit457]

Thank you for watching my video. I hope you enjoyed it.

[@ricjonez1816]

Wait a second, Dis You Said You couldn't swim???

[@ykTidee]

U don't really have to know how to swim to go white water rafting

[@letsgoseeit457]

Yes, that’s right - I can’t swim. I placed a tremendous amount of trust in my life vest.

[@billhamill]

Sometimes people that can swim are overconfident and don't wear a life vest are the ones that drown.

[@michaelhill56]

@@ykTidee That’s technically correct but it all depends on what kind of river you’re on. If it’s a “pool and drop” river like the New is at this level, you don’t need to know how to swim cause you’ll be picked up in the pool at the bottom of the rapids. If the river is continuous rapids you need to know how to “self rescue” in order to get to shore or you will probably “flush drown”. The New River at high water is not a good place for someone that doesn’t know how to swim. If you don’t know the basic swim stroke you shouldn’t attempt continuous class 4/5 rivers. Heck, even continuous class 3 can be a rough swim! With that being said, I have taken many people on commercial trips that don’t know how to swim. I once took a 72 year old grandma down the New that couldn’t swim and she had a blast! But I wouldn’t take a non swimmer on a continuous class 4/5 river…

[@ykTidee]

@@michaelhill56 i have went down this river and can only barely swim but I I get what ur talking about