When the spring and summer weather heats up, a fun way to cool down is white water rafting.

In Arizona, there are many great places to do this, but one especially renowned place is the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon. Grand Canyon white water rafting trips can last a day, a few days and even up to three weeks. There are many companies that offer guided white water rafting tours, such as Grand Canyon WhiteWater. Grand Canyon WhiteWater has a variety of trips, but their full length trips range from seven to 15 days.

When booking a trip, there are two rafting options: oar-powered or motor-powered. Oar-powered trips have oars as the main power source, while motorized rafts have motors and move more quickly over the water.

Since trips often last many days, camping on the shore of the river commonly occurs and adds to the outdoor experience. Additionally, rafting in the Grand Canyon includes hiking, whether it is trekking down into the canyon to get to the start of the rafting trip or simply hiking on daily stops.

White water rafting is said to be an amazing outdoor experience, particularly in the Grand Canyon, but unfortunately comes with a hefty price. Short trips, which last three to five days, can cost between $1,000 to $2,000, while longer trips that last two weeks can range from $3,000 to $4,000.

Despite these prices, the opportunity to white water raft should never be passed up. One Xavier student who both experienced and loved white water rafting is senior Tessa Weiss. Weiss rafted down the the Canyon of Lodor in the Green River in Utah and Colorado for three nights and four days. She said, “it was a great experience to completely disconnect from the business of the world. We rafted down a canyon and we often took breaks to go hiking and swimming in the calm parts of water.”

Though white water rafting may be an incredible experience for some, others might be hesitant to partake in rafting. If this is the case, many books on white rafting are available to learn more, such as Sunk Without A Sound by Brad Dimock, There’s This River by Christa Sadler and The Very Hard Way by Bert Loper.

Regardless of whether you are an adventure junkie or not, white water rafting poses the opportunity of a lifetime to surround yourself with nature. Even if you do not tackle intense rapids, simply floating down a river may be one of the most awe-inspiring adventures to experience.