Bird watching from a raft or dory offers a unique and unobtrusive way to view songbirds, aquatic birds and
raptors in their natural environment. Here are a few of our favorites that you’re likely to see on almost any
river trip in the West.

Bald Eagle

Written by Lauren de Remer

O.A.R.S.' Sales & Marketing Coordinator

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Wondering where to start? Perhaps you've done a one-day rafting trip and you are looking to extend the excitement. Or, you want to get back to nature–maybe reconnect with family or friends. Here are our top multi-day trips for first-time adventurers.

Why not try…

Written by Lauren de Remer

O.A.R.S.' Sales & Marketing Coordinator

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Lower Klamath River, CA

Families love O.A.R.S. Lower Klamath River rafting trips. This scenic, forested river trip features beach campsites and rafting and inflatable kayaking in warm gentle water.

Written by Lauren de Remer

O.A.R.S.' Sales & Marketing Coordinator

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8 reasons to stop for a visit

Heading through Salt Lake City soon? Don’t just pass by this scenic city. If you have an hour or more, here are some of the best ways to experience the city.

1.)   Feast on local fare at the downtown Farmer’s Market in Historic Pioneer Park (June thru October).

Written by Cari Morgan

Cari Morgan is a freelance writer and founder of Evoke PR. She currently lives and plays in the Sierra Foothills.

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My years of experience as a professional river guide have shown me that the trips I remember and learn from the most have been those with a purpose. Trips like these accomplish a therapeutic value from the overall experience of being in nature, and floating down a river.  For me, the Green River’s, Gates of Lodore river trip was an opportunity to observe this therapeutic value through the eyes of veterans coping with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The thirteen veterans who participated in this trip were from various wartime operations, which included Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Central America.

For those who suffer from PTSD, being on a river trip enables them to have new experiences and at the same time create a sense of normalcy. One Veteran summarized, “Most vets that are in these programs have lost their self-respect to the point where they feel they cannot contribute to anything anymore, so a lot of this may seem minute to some people…It is a big deal to the vets…it gives us a feeling that we can start over and still be useful”. The veterans were introduced to an oar raft, a paddle raft, and an inflatable kayak through rapids, slept in tents, and hiked up side canyons to waterfalls.  All these new experiences added to the rivers ability to recharge them and build self-efficacy.

Written by Teresa Yates Matheson

Teresa Yates Matheson started guiding through the Colorado River in Grand Canyon in 1985 with Georgie Clark, one of the early pioneers of river running. Her twenty-year river career includes commercial and scientific expeditions, where she did research on fisheries, sediment, vegetation, and wildlife. Since her recent graduation from the University of Utah, Teresa is in the process of writing about how the environment has influenced her life, and the therapeutic value of wilderness. She has published Slithering Company and Nankoweap’s Wild Kingdom in Crista Sadler’s, There’s This River: Grand Canyon Boatmen Stories. Her image of Georgie Clark has been published in several videos and books.

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It was Robert Redford, the Erstwhile Sundance Kid, who was the first person to mention the Outlaw Trail to me. I was interviewing Redford at his Sundance Resort in Utah a few years ago when he pointed to the long, ornate wooden bar with massive mirrors in the resort’s tavern, known as the Owl Bar.

“That bar is made of Irish oak and it was in the Rosewood Bar in Wyoming, where Butch Cassidy and his Hole-in-the-Wall Gang, the Wild Bunch, hung out,” he said. “Cassidy had it shipped all the way from Ireland. We found it in a biker bar up in Thermopolis, Wyoming, covered in Formica and shag carpeting. So we bought it, had it restored, which took about 18 months, and then brought it down here.”

Written by Everett Potter

Everett Potter writes for National Geographic Traveler, Travel+Leisure, Forbes Life, American Cowboy, and Ski. He is the editor and publisher of Everett Potter’s Travel Report, which The Wall Street Journal has called “a terrific mix of profiles and interviews, all designed to make the best use of your travel budget.” Potter, who has won four Lowell Thomas Awards for his writing, has a special affinity for the American West.

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Click here to view the video version of this interview.

If you have a soft spot in your heart for rivers, then chances are Martin Litton is on your list of heroes. He first floated the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon in 1955—the 185th known person to follow in explorer John Wesley Powell’s footsteps. Not long after, he founded Grand Canyon Dories and has since led scores of trips on the Colorado. In 2004 he broke his own record becoming the oldest person to row the entire Grand Canyon at the age of 87.

Written by Lauren de Remer

O.A.R.S.' Sales & Marketing Coordinator

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Click here to view the video version of this interview.

Stephen Kenney is one of our top river guides on the forks of the Salmon River, the Snake River through Hells Canyon and on the Colorado River (both in Cataract Canyon & the Grand Canyon). Considering his diverse boating capabilities, Kenney gets to enjoy a multitude of watersheds – the best the West has to offer in terms of alpine scenery and wild landscapes! He also has a big sense of humor, wide range of educational experience, and can occasionally be found dressed in women's apparel while cooking on the river. Get to know this well-educated, Kentucky native in our ninth episode of guide interviews!

Written by Lauren de Remer

O.A.R.S.' Sales & Marketing Coordinator

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Click here to view the video version of this interview.

Natali Zollinger is one of our top river guides in Utah & Colorado. Working primarily in Dinosaur National Monument, she gets to enjoy the Yampa River, Green River through the Gates of Lodore, Split Mountain 1-day trips and many more! Zollinger has a spunky personality, mountains of geological knowledge, and sheer flower power on the river. Get to know this easy going Utah native in our eighth episode of guide interviews!

Written by Lauren de Remer

O.A.R.S.' Sales & Marketing Coordinator

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*As we reach the end of our season, keep in mind that due to water flows some of our rivers are no longer run-able. If you don’t see a river listed below, we have stopped running it for the season!

California

Lower Klamath River – CFS: 1,100-1,800 Minimum Age: 4 Weather: Partly cloudy this week followed by sunshine with highs in the low 90’s to lows in the mid 50's! This scenic three-day trip runs every Tuesday and Friday through the end of August, with plenty of room for more!

Written by Brita Olson

Raised on a small island in Northern Michigan, Olson's love for running water developed at an early age. This love drove her away from the Midwest to California to begin work preserving sustainability and delving into the O.A.R.S. segment of adventure travel. Brita enjoys learning about other people, spending time on the water, excursions on her road bike and - when at all possible - combining the three.

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