Best Rafting in Virginia

Trying to find the best rafting in Virginia? Bivy has great hiking, biking, paddling, climbing, skiing, riding and more, with hand-curated trail maps, as well as detailed driving directions.

1

West Virginia, Nicholas County

03 :53 hrs
8.2 mi
101.75992 ft
V

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.

2

West Virginia, Nicholas County

01 :58 hrs
4.3 mi
63.463684 ft
IV

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.

3

West Virginia, Preston County

06 :49 hrs
14 mi
57.427826 ft
IV

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.

4

West Virginia, Fayette County

03 :22 hrs
7 mi
53.457947 ft
V

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.

5

West Virginia, Fayette County

06 :10 hrs
12.9 mi
96.56439 ft
IV

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.

6

Ohio, Highland County

01 :60 hrs
4.1 mi
14.146545 ft
III

Rocky Fork Creek is one of the most scenic rivers in the state. This popular paddle begins at Browning Road and is combines beauty with a mix of some class III white-water just below the confluence of Rocky Fork and Paint Creek. At one point the river carves through two giant boulders that create a natural bridge.

7

Ohio, Ross County

03 :36 hrs
7.3 mi
13.867065 ft
III

Paint Creek is a tributary of the Scioto River. This run begins just below the dam at Paint Creek Lake. It begins slowly until it meets up with Rocky Fork. Shortly after, is a section of popular class III rapids known as “The Chutes”. The river is wide and shallow with standing waves during high water. It then forks into two deep channels where it drops over ledges with hydraulics. Scouting the Chutes before paddling them is recommended. Takeout is in Bainbridge at the OH 41 bridge.

8

West Virginia, Fayette County

03 :39 hrs
7.3 mi
26.049438 ft
III

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.

9

West Virginia, Fayette County

07 :19 hrs
14.9 mi
39.088867 ft
III

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.

10

West Virginia, Summers County

06 :36 hrs
13.4 mi
38.510895 ft
II

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.

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