Utah’s stunning red rock canyons, where the river meanders slowly through twisting walls and quiet solitude, are the perfect setting for family rafting trips. Leave the world behind and focus on reconnecting with your kids as they relearn how to play and enjoy nature without all the distractions of modern technology and busy schedules.
A Utah river rafting trip is an experience not to be missed. Many people who went Colorado River rafting or Green River rafting with us as children later told us through letters and on return trips that those early experiences impacted them in ways they never expected.
The amazing scenery, the exciting river and the backcountry camping can change one’s outlook on life and redefine what’s important in a child’s young mind.
Family Rafting Trips in Utah
Our rafting trips are vacations you don’t need a vacation from when you get home. As a parent on a family river rafting trip, you’ll have opportunities to play and work with your children, from hiking and exploring these beautiful canyons to setting up tents and building sand castles. Our guides will establish comfortable camps and cook scrumptious meals and at times keep everyone entertained while you and your children interact with each other and these beautiful surroundings.
Each guide has their own “bag of tricks” to help children stay engaged and amazed while on the river. Parents constantly tell us our guides went above and beyond their expectations:
“Never has camping and rafting with kids been so easy. The guides were excellent — fun, knowledgeable, amazingly organized and good with kids. I traveled with my husband, three kids (14, 6,5) and my mother (70, and first time camper) and everyone enjoyed it.”
We’ll get everyone together on a kids’ raft where they’ll laugh through water fights, listen to stories about the canyon and stay completely engaged with their surroundings. We’ll keep them hydrated and covered in sunscreen, watch them swim safely, lead interactive games and keep them entertained so you can relax.
Young children will have an endless supply of pristine, soft beaches, sand toys and warm water for hours of creative fun. Older children can play horseshoes or bocce, and hike into lush canyons filled with interesting plants, wildlife and history. The days rush by like the powerful river that is never far away, teaching, entertaining and making memories to last a lifetime.
There are activities on the water as the paddleboats, oarboats and inflatable kayaks float through the best scenery in the American West. Sometimes, the best moments on family river trips are simply sitting quietly and contemplating the awe of nature.
We provide healthy, kid-friendly meals and snacks throughout each day. Expect more than hot dogs and potato chips. Our meats and cheeses are chosen from a local deli. Produce is fresh, delicious and plentiful! Guests and guides regularly say river cuisine is better than what they eat at home.
After dinner each evening, sit back and watch the afternoon light quietly set on a sheer canyon wall over the soft, sparkling river. Shadows move slowly into camp as the day’s events are recounted and stars begin to pop into our own sliver of clear night sky above the silent canyon. These moments are precious, the experience not to be quickly forgotten.
After dark, settle down into comfortable, clean tents and sleeping bags. Our camps each day are set up with separate kitchen, living, bathroom and sleeping areas so everyone is comfortable. The guides teach nature skills, safety skills and comfort tricks to help you become an expert backcountry camper on our family rafting trips in Utah.
Colorado River rafting and Green River rafting
- Warm rivers for swimming
- Outstanding hikes to ancestral structures and hidden wonders
- Healthy kid-friendly meals
- Kid guide to organize games and fun time
- High quality and clean tents, chairs, and sleeping bags and pads.
Sheri Griffith Expeditions is an Authorized Concessioner of Canyonlands National Park and Dinosaur National Monument.
