Whitewater rafting is a fun group adventure, and a great way to expand your horizons while also keeping cool during the hot months. Whitewater rafting can also be nerve wracking if you’ve never gone rafting before. You’re going to be traveling down a river at potentially high speeds. What do you bring? What do you wear? What if you forget something? There’s nothing to worry about if you pay attention to these key points about what to bring when you go whitewater rafting.
Quick-to-Dry Fabric
The type of clothes you wear while whitewater rafting is more important than you might think it is. Heavy fabric, like jeans and cotton, takes an incredibly long time to dry. You may be fine during the adventure, but you’ll be miserable during your car ride home if you didn’t bring something to change into. Wear clothes that are designed to dry quickly like bathing suits, swim shirts, and other items made out of that material.
Sturdy Shoes
You might think that, because you’re going out to spend time in the water during the summer, it’s the perfect time to break out the flip flops. You’d be wrong. When going whitewater rafting, it’s important to wear sturdy shoes. Usually, people wear sandals that are securely attached to their feet (several straps), though some people wear sneakers. Both work.
The shoes you wear are important for several reasons. The main one being that whitewater rafting is an intense activity and unsecured items may be lost as you go down the river–including flip flops. Additionally, if you have to get out of the raft (or get thrown out of the raft), you’ll be thankful to have sturdy shoes if your feet touch the bottom of the river.
Sunscreen
As with any outdoor activity during the summer (though you should be doing this all year round), you need to wear sunscreen to protect your skin. You’ll want to bring a heavy duty sunscreen to wear because of how much you’ll be doing on your whitewater rafting adventure. Sunscreens marked as waterproof or sport are great choices for this.
Somewhere to Store Your Valuables
Whitewater rafting trips are intense, and loose items are often lost during the adventure. It’s important that you only bring what you absolutely need on the raft with you. Things like cellphones, wallets, cameras, and other valuable items should be left at home, if possible. If that’s not possible, you need a plan to secure them. This could mean locking them in your car or renting a locker at the base before heading off down the river (though only certain locations offer this). Do your research and make a plan before the day of your rafting adventure, so you can enjoy it with peace of mind.
Towels
You may be surprised to know how often towels are forgotten. With all the preparation and excitement for the whitewater rafting adventure, it’s common to forget what you need to do afterward. Bring towels for you and your group, so you can dry off before getting the river water all over the inside of your car (or at least protect the seats).
