Does rafting the Grand Canyon provide the best white water?

If you are looking for an adventure that anyone can do, white water rafting is tough to beat. There are rapids and rampaging rivers all over the planet, but no gorge is as famous as the Grand Canyon. However, does rafting the Grand Canyon provide the best white water?

Well according to articles about the best white water rafting in the world, the Grand Canyon is up there with the best. Along with rivers in Peru, Canada, Zambia/Zimbabwe, Australia, Nepal and Costa Rica it provides an unforgettable white water experience that is tough to beat.

Where is the Grand Canyon?

Most of the Grand Canyon can be found in Arizona in the National Park of the same name. The gorge runs through the middle of the western half of Arizona. It is one of the largest and most spectacular canyons on the planet.

Arizona is great for adventure and outdoors. Most people will visit New York, Hollywood, Las Vegas or Florida at some point in their lives, comparatively Arizona isn’t considered a go-to state. But it should be!

Arizona offers much more than just a quick trip to the Grand Canyon from Vegas or Los Angeles. The state has amazing weather, unique natural sites, Old West towns, and some of the best US adventures.

Furthermore, Arizona is also one of just 18 states that allow casinos. Sports betting is also legal in Arizona and is a booming industry. You can gamble in designated areas or go online – particularly good if you are in the great outdoors. If you know your sports, or just want to add some excitement, download an Arizona sports betting app.

When you join sports betting for the first time in Arizona, check out what signup bonuses you can get. There are plenty of rewards from the outset. Welcome bonuses include risk-free plays, money matching, and promo codes for various freebies.

Does the Grand Canyon provide the best white water?

The most popular white water waterways are scattered around the globe and it’s clear not all are created equal. So what sets aside the best, from the rest?

To make a river into rapids requires the correct topography (steepness of the river bed, narrowing of the river course, and suitable obstructions). Plus it needs nature and her rainfall, or snowfall, to create the volume of water required to create a rampaging frothy mass that is flowing downstream.

White water rapids are probably not the first thing you think of regarding the Grand Canyon. It’s a huge empty gorge famous for its redwall limestone. But wait. Forget the postcard pictures brought back from Vegas – the Grand Canyon was formed by the Colorado River.

The Colorado divides into tributaries and narrows in places to form some of the fastest rapids on the planet. Take the section from Lees Ferry to Whitmore Wash for instance. Between the two you’ll go through 38 major rapids rated above 5 (the scale being 1-10), two of which are rated 8-10!

Rafting the Grand Canyon

The Grand Canyon is 227 miles long and its elevation varies by more than 3,500ft, so it’s got the gradient. And nature provides the volume thanks to the downpours that collect in its tributaries. The river is further swelled by melting snow packs in the spring, warm winter storms from the Pacific, and the so-called ‘North American Monsoon’.

Thanks to all this, there is white-water rafting in Arizona to test even the most experienced among us. There are hours of fun to be had, in fact if you want to explore you can raft the Grand Canyon on trips lasting up to three weeks.

Do you think that rafting the Zambezi, rivers in New Zealand or Peru or Nepal are better? If so, please let us know why in the comments below.

We hope we answered ‘Does rafting the Grand Canyon provide the best white water?’ to your satisfaction? If you would like to do something else in the area perhaps try the rim to rim hiking in Grand Canyon.