Family River Rafting Vacations - Fun for Everyone!

Offering the best in California rafting vacations since 1975, Whitewater Voyages has over 30 years of experience operating family rafting trips for those families who want to explore California rivers together.

We maintain the highest standards of safety and professionalism in the business and are dedicated to taking the absolute best care of our rafting families.

Widely recognized as industry leaders, our guides are rigorously trained in all aspects of river safety, logistics and emergency preparedness to ensure the well being of your family during your time with us. With Whitewater Voyages, whether it's a family rafting trip on the Kern River in Southern California, a ride on the Kings in Central California or a voyage on the South Fork of the American in Northern California, your family will delight in the California rafting experience of a lifetime.

Special Safety Equipment for Kids

We provide state-of-the-art equipment and the best life jackets for kids and adults. When booking your trip, please be sure to let us know the number and ages of your children so we can make sure we have plenty of the right sized equipment for your family.

Miniumum Age Limits

For our standard trip departures, young Northern California rafters can raft on the South Fork of the American River, where the minimum age is six years old. We also offer a "Child Care Special" on the South Fork where Mom and Dad can switch off between rafting and caring for children too young to raft. This way each gets a day on the water, the little ones are well cared for and entertained in our amenity and fun-filled River Park Adventure Campground and everyone gets to camp together at night.

Another truly great family rafting option in Central California is the Kings River which has a minimum age of 7 during the summer.

Check our Trips at a Glance to find the minimum age limits for each of our river trips.

Family Rafting Travel Discounts

Because we know family vacations can be pricey, we want to make our trips as affordable as possible for yours. Here are some great travel discounts for your family rafting adventure. Do note however, only one discount can apply per trip!

50% WEEKDAY FAMILY DISCOUNTS ON CALIFORNIA'S TWO BEST FAMILY RIVERS

On weekdays on the Kings and South Fork American Rivers, each rafter 16 years old or younger accompanied by a full-fare adult is half OFF! Those 16 and under not accompanied by a full-fare adult receive our Youth Discount (10%).

South Fork American River

Young rafters of all ages are delighted by this fun, exciting Class III river. The South Fork of the American River is a terrific place to bring the family especially when combined with free camping the night before and the night after your trip at our River Park Adventure Campground!

Kings River

The Class III Kings is an ideal family trip! Famous for its long exhilarating yet forgiving rapids, the Kings is an idyllic whitewater wonderland with over 40 rapids and a sandy beach base camp popular with first-timers, familes and rafters of all ages – from 7 to 77!

Youth Discounts

Rafters aged 16 and younger receive a 10% discount on all our rivers and trips (except on the Lower Kern on a Saturday start).

Senority Discounts

All rafters aged 65+ receive a 10% discount on all our rivers and trips (except on the Lower Kern on a Saturday start).

Group Discounts (includes family groups)

Groups of 12 or more receive 15% off their trip price and the 12th person goes free! Check out our free group organizer kit!

Super Deals

We continue to update our promotions all the time. Visit Super Deals for more information about Whitewater Voyages discount travel offers.

Advice And Tips For Parents: Family Rafting Trips

Our family rafting trips are perfect for family reunions, father-son trips, mother-daughter trips, father-daughter or mother-son trips, birthdays, graduations and celebrations of all types!

Whitewater Voyages family trips overflow with fun, adventure, exhilaration, learning and camaraderie, bringing families and friends together like nothing else. Plenty of options both on and off the river provide the perfect balance of time together and time apart. The atmosphere of friendship, acceptance and appreciation on Whitewater Voyages family rafting trips inspires an almost magical atmosphere for everyone present and for being alive on this beautiful planet. What could be better than sharing this experience with the people close to you?

Whitewater Voyages Founder and President, Bill McGinnis and his son Will and daughter Alexandra (Aly) love sharing these trips with each other and hope to share one with you and your family.

Here is some special advice
and planning tips just for parents:

Safety

Without a doubt, the safety of all our family rafters is top priority. Your trip leader will give your family a thorough safety talk at the river put-in so that everyone knows how to handle every eventuality.

Special Equipment

Our guides will also ensure that all equipment is appropriately fitted to your children for maximum protection. When booking your family trip with our reservations center, please be sure to let us know the number and ages of your children so we can make sure we have the correct size life jackets available.

Have Fun, Learn and Grow

Many of our river guides, having lived and rafted these rivers for many years, are extremely knowledgeable about the areas in which we raft. They understand the local history, geology, wildlife and the plants of the area, and they love sharing their knowledge and contagious fascination with you!

Professional, Entertaining Guides and the "Big Cheese of Fun"

Our warm and supportive professional guides have a great deal of experience working with parents and their children. Each Whitewater Voyages guide has their own "bag-of-tricks" to keep children and adults amused and interested in our activities. On trips with younger kids, we designate one guide the "Big Cheese of Fun" for the trip and often our guides compete with each other to discover new ways to amuse and entertain our rafting guests both young and old. Depending on the interests and ages of your children, "Big Cheese" activities can be themed to provide focus and direction that is cerebral and experiential as well as loads of fun!

Gourmet "Kid Friendly" Meals

Our meals are high quality, homemade masterpieces made with the freshest ingredients. Because meals are served group style, with one or more entrées, we ask that you inform us in advance of any special dietary needs for your children so that we may accommodate.

Check out our Gourmet River Cuisine!

One-day trips include a wholesome, abundant lunch and end-of-trip beverages. Two-day and longer trips include pre-dinner hors d'oeuvres, healthy snacks and beverages, fabulous dinners your kids will love and riverside breakfast feasts. Multi-day trip meals begin with lunch the first day and end with lunch the last day.

What to Wear and Bring

For a comprehensive sample packing list and other information that will help you bring everything you will need to be comfortable on your rafting trip, visit our Trip Planning section.