The Gauley River is recognized as one of the top ranked whitewater rivers in the world. It is 105 miles long and features over 100 rapids. The Gauley is a dam controlled watershed and scheduled fall release dates offer amazing flows for rafting. It travels through stunning wilderness scenery including canyon cliffs, waterfalls and lush foliage. This is the most difficult section of the river. Do not try this run without the skills and confidence for Class V rapids. Be extremely careful of the undercut rocks along this run. Insignificant, Pillow Rock, Lost Paddle, Iron Ring, and Sweet's Falls are world famous rapids that require extra caution.

The Gauley River is recognized as one of the top ranked whitewater rivers in the world. It is 105 miles long and features over 100 rapids. The Gauley is a dam controlled watershed and scheduled fall release dates offer amazing flows for rafting. It travels through stunning wilderness scenery including canyon cliffs, waterfalls and lush foliage. This section has several class III rapids and a few that are class IV. The most difficult rapids in the run are the Woods Ferry Rapid and the Backender Rapid.

The Cheat River is 78.3 miles long and meanders through remote well kept farmlands. This stretch of the Cheat River features many difficult rapids. After passing several Class II-III rapids, there is a large boulder called Calamity Rock. Usually this boulder should be run through the right passage but at high levels its best to run along the left bank. After passing the boulder the river narrows with 3 major rapids creating crosscurrents and eddies.

The New River is one of West Virginia’s biggest attractions. It is a high volume, powerful river and can be run over a wide range of river levels. This section is the beginning of the New River Gorge and travels through rugged mountains and cliffs that line both sides of the river. It is home to the biggest whitewater in West Virginia. There are plenty of big powerful rapids that have many complicated boulders to maneuver.

The Gauley River is recognized as one of the top ranked whitewater rivers in the world. It is 105 miles long and features over 100 rapids. The Gauley is a dam controlled watershed and scheduled fall release dates offer amazing flows for rafting. It travels through stunning wilderness scenery including canyon cliffs, waterfalls and lush foliage. This section has the biggest waves and holes that the Gauley River has to offer. Just half a mile below the put in is the Class IV Koontz Flume rapid. Be sure to travel far to the right as there is a huge undercut rock on the left side of the river.

The Cheat River is 78.3 miles long and meanders through remote well kept farmlands. This stretch of the Cheat River travels through a steep-walled canyon with beautiful scenery. This is a very difficult section with more than 38 class III rapids and is for rafts and experienced closed boaters only. The Cheat Canyon has a large acreage to drain and is very quick to rise after good rain shower in the headwaters.

The New River is one of West Virginia’s biggest attractions. It flows through a rugged canyon with little industry other than coal mining. This sections of the river has some class II rapids with long stretches of flat water between them. There is also Suprise Rapid which is a class III rapid located a couple of miles upstream of Cunard.

The New River is one of West Virginia’s biggest attractions. It flows through a rugged canyon with little industries other than coal mining. This section of the river has mostly flat water pools with occasional straightforward rapids. Each of the rapids are river wide and hazards can be avoided by staying in the center of the river.

The New River is one of West Virginia’s biggest attractions. It flows through a rugged canyon with little industry other than coal mining. This section of the river has mostly flat water with several nice rapids. The rapids are mainly long chutes that drop gently over ledges and require little maneuvering. There is heavy water just before Horseshoe Bend which can create a lot of turbulence midstream. It can be avoided by staying far to the right.

The Hocking River is a tributary of the Ohio River. It is a popular river to paddle and has commercial trips that operate on the mid and upper sections. It flows through Fairfield, Hocking and Athens Counties. Beginning at Horns Mill Road this section offers a peaceful paddle before the river gets busy from commercial trips. It is scenic and has unique rock formations. Takeout is at Rockbridge Road. Be sure to check out the natural arch that is visible from the river.