Looking for a fun family adventure? Look no further than a river rafting adventure with Jim Thorpe River Adventures! They made our first-time river rafting a memory we will NEVER forget! We were provided a river rafting experience by Blue Mountain Resort on the beautiful Lehigh River!
My husband and I have ALWAYS wanted to do a river rafting adventure, but never got around to doing it in our 20's. When we were given the opportunity by Blue Mountain Resort, we jumped at the chance! Even better, our kids got to experience the trip as well.
What to expect:
When you book a river adventure with Jim Thorpe Rive Adventures you get an experience of a lifetime (at least it was for us)!
We arrived at Jim Thorpe River Adventures at our given arrival time, 11:00 am. After we checked in and filled out our waivers, we headed to our vehicle to get all our items for the day. We packed a change of clothes, lunch, water, and our water shoes. We then did potty stops in the restrooms and then headed out back of the Lehighton Outdoor Center.
Once everyone who was enjoying the day on the river arrived, we got fitted for our life vests and headed to listen to the briefing. Jim Thorpe River Adventures' guides went over ALL the details and safety portion of the briefing. We even saw what a raft looks like and was shown how to sit in it! The briefing went over things like what happens if you fall in, what to do at rapids, and what each guide does on the trip. We felt completely safe and ready to hit the water.
We boarded the school bus (my kids were so excited) and headed into the town of Jim Thorpe. After about a 15-minute bus ride we arrived at the starting point of the journey. Jim Thorpe River Adventures sends their truck with all the rafts ahead and they have a staff member who gets the rafts inflated and placed at the river. My family and I got on our raft with our wonderful guide Justin! And we were off!
On the river:
Once we were on the river we immediately hit our first set of rapids. I was worried our kids would be scared but they had a blast on the "bumpies" as my son called! The rapids were so much fun and it was an adrenaline rush. I can only imagine what the real rapids look and feel like on their other river options. After the first set of rapids, we had a calm section and got to enjoy looking around at the scenery. At this point, the kids wanted to try to paddle and they did a great job! They believed when they helped paddle that we were able to go much faster! So cute!
Our trip continued on. We would hit some rapids and then a calm section. On our second set of rapids we got hung up on a rock and then got spun around and went backward. It was a little nerve-wracking, but our guide was great at helping us get going again and the kids thought it was so COOL. LOL. After that, we continued on down the river. We saw some beautiful waterfalls, some wildlife, and the changing leaves.
After an hour and a half or so we stopped along the shore and had our lunch. Of course, most of our lunch was gone because our kids were starving before we reached the shore. After my husband and I ate like 3 bites of what was left of our lunch we got to explore the shoreline a bit. My husband and I LOVE to look for sea glass or "creek class" as we call it on fresh bodies of water. If you don't know what sea glass is it is basically glass that has gotten washed up to shore after spending some time in the water. The longer a piece stays in the water the more smooth it gets! We were able to find a whole jar full of "creek glass". It was our kids' first time looking for it and they are now hooked on finding it!
After about 15 minutes we loaded back up and headed on down the river to our take-out spot. At this point, our little ones were getting a little tired of the whole thing and just wanted to be done! LOL. So, my advice, if you do this with kids under the age of 10 prepare them for the fact that they will be on the water for over 3 hours. Be sure to have plenty of snacks and if you think you have enough pack some more! Also, make up a scavenger hunt or something that they can focus their attention on when they get tired or bored.
At about 4:00 we were finally to our take-out point and we were ready to get off the river. The school bus and truck were waiting for us. Once we got to shore, we unloaded all our items and the river crew took care of getting the boats out of the water and to the truck. We headed back to the school bus, our kids were so excited for this and headed back to the Lehigh Outdoor Center.
My Advice:
This was a great trip and so much fun. We would definitely do it again, but we would approach it differently. If you are doing this with some friends or a spouse, you will have a blast and make memories. If you are doing this with children under the age of 10, I would highly recommend finding out how long the whole process is going to take, show up on time (don't be late), pack plenty of food, snacks, and water, and take advantage of their changing rooms. We arrived at our arrival time which was 11:00 and didn't get back to the center till 4:30. It was a long day for us and more importantly our children. Keep that in mind when booking a river rafting experience. Also, be courteous to others who may have booked the same adventure and arrive on time and keep up the pace that the front boat sets.
Thank you again to Blue Mountain Resort for setting this river rafting trip up for us to enjoy as a family! Big thanks to our guide, Justin, and all the guides at Jim Thorpe River Adventures!
This was a hosted trip by Blue Mountain Resort and this review is my own opinion.
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