The Thrill of Rafting

All the Rockbrook campers who are 5th grade and older can go on an awesome whitewater rafting adventure while at camp. Throughout each session, we take trips over to the Nantahala river, where we are one of the few summer camps holding a permit for these trips (see the ‘RBC’ on the raft?).  You have to love this photo and the big excitement on the girls’ faces!  Is it the rapid or the cold water?

Summer Camp Rafting

Here’s a set of photos of our whitewater rafting trips on the Nantahala River. Each session we take girls over to the river for a fun-filled day rafting. The Nantahala is one of the best known whitewater rivers in the southeast and always offers an exciting ride. Check out the photos and you’ll see what we mean.

Adventure Camp Kids

Kids at Rockbrook Camp also go on great adventure trips right here in the western mountains of North Carolina where we’re located. It’s just perfect for all kinds of outdoor adventure activity. There’s backpacking through the national forests, rock climbing on all the amazing granite around here, and paddling on the wild whitewater rivers nearby. Some of these trips are appropriate for our older campers, but kids of all ages can look forward to getting out and experiencing the excitement of the outdoors.

This photo shows the most popular outdoor adventure activity kids enjoy at camp— whitewater rafting. We take every girl who’s old enough (The Forest Service restricts access by age and weight.) rafting on the Nantahala River. It’s a fun rock’m sock’m ride.

Camp Rafting

This week we had a marathon whitewater rafting event. Over three days, we took almost a hundred campers whitewater rafting down the Nantahala river. Rockbrook is one of only two summer camps that have a Forest Service permit to raft this river, so we are able to take full advantage of it using our own equipment and raft guides. We also have an outpost near the river where we can spend the night after (or sometimes before) rafting. What a great time we all had— excellent weather the whole time, plenty of whitewater excitement, and lots of fun with the other middlers and seniors.

That’s Valerie, one of our former Castle Rock Institute students, guiding the boat. Val now teaches at the Portland Waldorf School.

It's raining, we're rafting, it's pouring!

Last night was the overnight rafting trip for the middlers and seniors, and I had the opportunity of tagging along! It turned out nothing like I expected!

The beginning of the trip was fairly normal. We ate breakfast, hopped on the road, and were way excited for a great time! When we arrived, we lathered on sunscreen, got settled in the rafts and away we went. Yay! The first few rapids were great fun, and when it started to rain we just ignored it, figuring that it would go away in a minute… but it didn’t. Ten minutes later it was still raining, and we were soaked. Not long after that, it began to hail. So we found a place to get out of the river. Our guides lifted the rafts up into a parking lot and leaned them against the fence. They made really great shelter to keep us dry. Then Jeff showed up with the bus!! Yay Jeff!

We made it to the outpost without any further exciting events. The night was spent eating pizza and s’mores and was a great ending for the trip! The next morning we hopped in the bus and arrived back at Rockbrook. What an awesome trip!

Summer Kids Whitewater Rafting