Flow Your Own Way: Private Charter & Custom River Trips

January 21, 2021

Flow Your Own Way

All river rafting trips are powerful experiences. But to really make your trip special, consider a custom charter. Create a private, invite-only trip composed of your closest friends or family or other chosen individuals.

Got a family reunion coming up? There’s no cell service on the river, so the kids will have to put down the screens and hang out with the family. Planning a corporate team-building retreat? Simply sharing the experience of running rapids and camping under the stars can create a powerful bond and lasting memories. How about that bachelor or bachelorette party? Special class program or graduation trip you need to arrange? Whatever your group, our professional guides take care of the cooking, cleaning, and camp chores, leaving you free to play, relax, converse, and connect. If you bring us the group, we’ll do the rest.

River trips allow for a remarkable mental shift. Disconnecting from the rest of the world makes it easier to be present in the moment and with the people around you. Spending each day floating in small groups on the rafts allows for intimate, unhurried conversations. Time at camp lets your group come together for games or team-building activities. River trips have a certain flow to them; there’s a bonding that happens naturally between participants over the course of trip. This bond is even more powerful when people already know each other.

How to build it

For most trips, you’ll need a minimum of 18 people to charter a trip, with a maximum group size of 25, although on certain trips we can accommodate groups as large as 40. We offer group discounts, and in most cases, a trip organizer who books 20 guests or more will earn a free spot on the trip! Our office reservation staff is always happy to talk through the process with you. You choose the section of river and the length of time, and we’ll work with you to fit it into your schedule and ours.

Which trip to choose

Any of Holiday’s river or bike trips can be chartered, although certain trips lend themselves to different activities and goals.

Lodore Canyon (4–5 days): This trip in Dinosaur National Monument allows for lots of beach time for group activities such as volleyball or a morning yoga session. Yampa River trips (4–5 days), also in Dinosaur National Monument, are available in May and June.

Westwater Canyon (1–4 days): For those short on time but wanting a hearty dose of adrenaline, this is our best trip for weekend warriors. On the Colorado River in eastern Utah, Westwater is sometimes called the “Little Grand Canyon” for its unusual geological formations. A fun series of Class III and IV rapids..

Desolation Canyon (5–9 days): This is the best trip for families with young children or people who want a mellower whitewater experience. Midsummer trips in Desolation Canyon on the Green River feature abundant, shady campsites, big beaches, and great opportunities for swimming and playing in the water. There are plenty of rapids on this trip, but most are appropriate for older kids to paddle in inflatable kayaks. The San Juan River (3–5 day trips) is another good option for groups with children aged 5 and up.

Cataract Canyon (5–8 days): For groups that want to go deep into Utah’s canyon country and truly reset and recharge, this trip includes plenty of miles of calm water for stand-up paddleboarding and relaxing on the rafts as well as some of the biggest whitewater in North America. Early season trips are about adrenaline; mid-summer and fall trips offer big beaches and lots of lazy afternoons swimming alongside the rafts.

Bike trips (2–4 days): For those who enjoy a physical challenge, our fully-catered, supported bike trips offer incredible scenery and plenty of exercise-induced endorphins! Small groups can explore the Maze District or the White Rim Trail in Canyonlands National Park. We can accommodate larger groups on our San Rafael Swell trip. Larger groups can also ride through the La Sal Mountains, just outside of Moab, Utah, and really adventurous crews can sign up for one of our bike-raft combos.

Making it easy

The Holiday website has a number of useful resources to help you plan your trip. Start with our Complete Guide to Whitewater Rafting Trips in Utah, which includes informative guides for each trip that we run. Then check out Rates & Dates, or give our office a call to discuss the best time for your group. We have an extensive Frequently Asked Questions page, as well as packing checklists for rafting and biking trips, group guest data forms, information about trip cancellation insurance, and maps on our Forms and Details page. If you have more questions, give the office a call and get all the answers you need from the savvy staff there.

Can’t get 18 happy adventurers together for a true chartered trip? We also offer group discounts for any groups of 10 or more. Call the office for more details on how you can make your charter trip even more affordable. The more people who go, the bigger the discounts get.

Susan Munroe is a reader, writer, traveler, and river guide. She moved to Utah from New Hampshire for the mountains, but it was the allure of the desert and its rivers that have truly kept her transfixed. More than eight years after she first came to work for Holiday River Expeditions, she still can’t get enough of life on the water. Susan spends her winters skiing and working in Salt Lake City, Utah, with frequent trips to southern Chile to run the Río Baker and support the work of the educational kayaking exchange program Ríos to Rivers. See more of  Susan’s work here: www.susanmunroe.com

Julie is a freelance writer and wilderness guide in southern Utah. She especially enjoys books, coffee, yoga, wild country, horses, and dark chocolate. See more of her work at www.wildgirlwriting.com