RiverBent, the friendly guide to river running, is a river running information site for private boaters created by Audrey Crockett and Michele Crockett (daughter and mom), rafting and kayaking enthusiasts based in Colorado with years of experience planning and organizing river trips.
Michele Crockett is a longtime marketing and publishing professional in the tech industry and editor/writer for consumer publications including Backpacker and Vegetarian Times. Audrey Crockett is a hydrogeologist.
Our mission is to provide information, based on our combined decades of experience, about planning multi-day private river trips, including researching specific river stretches, applying for permits, planning river trip meals for large groups, and the best river rafting and paddling gear for rafters and kayakers.
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We primarily paddle rivers in the Rocky Mountain West, and most of our content for RiverBent focuses on private trips, although we also have some well-researched tips for families looking for commercial trip adventures (check out How to Choose the Best Commercial Rafting Trip for Kids).
Our goal is to get more people who aren’t surrounded by former river guides to make river-running a way of life. We believe that sharing river running information will help newcomers break through some of the barriers that keep them from putting in.
In this hyper-connected world, we’ve found that floating a river—with no access to cell service for days on end—is the best imaginable way to press the mental reset button. We’ve made a few converts over the years, and we’ve realized that it comes down to information. The more people know about how to organize a river trip, what gear to pack, and how to stay safe, the more likely they are to become addicted to river running.
In addition to passing along getting-started advice to new river runners, we hope to spark some discussions with more experienced boaters. Our river-tripping group is (probably like yours) an opinionated bunch. We have had passionate, extensive discussions about everything from the best groover to the best dish-washing system to the lowest water level we would actually put in at Boundary on the Middle Fork.
Our river running content focuses on three general areas:
- Trip Planning—tips for organizing your trip, from choosing your crew to dividing up chores, assigning cooking duties, and the dozens of other logistical details involved in a private river trip. Here are some of our most popular posts in that category:
- River Info—information on running specific stretches, including put-in and take-out info, permit processes, camp info, etc. for some of the most popular river trips in the western U.S. (such as the Middle Fork of the Salmon and Browns Canyon on the Arkansas, as well as a few overlooked gems (such as the Gunnison Gorge)
- Gear, including boats, wearable stuff, and river camp set-ups, including these popular posts:
- Rafting Gear Checklist for Multi-day River Trips: Our comprehensive gear list that provides links to additional resources and specific recommendation (plus, it includes a link to a free printable PDF gear checklist!)
- Picking the Best River Toilet: We’ve tried almost every groover, so use our experience to compile your own shortlist
- Game-Changing River Camp Kitchen Gear: This stuff makes river kitchen camp more efficient, so you can spend more time hiking or fishing
- 11 Essential Inflatable Kayak Accessories: This list includes the often-overlooked but critical thigh straps.
- Tips for Choosing and Using Dry Bags for River Trips: Dry bags for every river situation
- 5 Essential Accessories for Your Stand-up Paddleboard
- Resources: A compilation of go-to information we use ourselves to plan river trips, buy gear, and learn about river issues
- Community: River advocacy groups to support, plus stories about groups such as Diversify Whitewater, Protect Our Rivers, Team Riverrunner, and American Whitewater, whose team members are fighting to keep rivers healthy and accessible for us all
- RiverBent Bookshop: Our curated list of favorite books about rivers, from nonfiction resources to favorite river-related fiction reads
Thanks for checking out RiverBent.
Disclaimer
Outdoor adventures, especially river running, can be dangerous in various ways. We urge you to always take safety precautions and never, ever jump into any outdoor activity that makes you feel uncomfortable. The tips and guidelines we share here are for your consideration only. It’s up to you to take personal responsibility for your own safety. RiverBent is in no way responsible for any scrapes you might get into out there. For more information about how RiverBent operates, check out our Disclaimer.
Privacy Policy
Your privacy is very important to us. Here’s a link to our full privacy policy, including how and why we collect your data, how long we keep it, and your rights regarding your data.
