Essential Guide to Rafting with Kids

This guide to whitewater rafting for kids compiles all we’ve learned from years of paddling with kids of all ages, including choosing the right river, safety considerations, keeping kids fed and hydrated, essential gear, and more. (We’ve included some affiliate links to gear that we recommend.)

When boaters have babies, their thoughts soon turn to how and when to take their new offspring on a river trip. Although whitewater rafting with kids comes with challenges, the effort is undoubtedly worth it.

River trips were the hands-down favorite vacation destination for our kids as they were growing up, despite the fact that these excursions involved a heroic effort from the kids. As soon as they were old enough, they threw themselves into the work, from helping prep meals to packing their river gear to loading and unloading boats. They learned how to cope when the weather was dicey, when ants attacked them, or when they left their Chacos on a rock at the lunch stop. 

They also learned the indescribable joy of watching falling stars above a dark canyon in a remote section of the desert, surrounded by good friends and family, after a full day of riding the waves. Here are a few things we’ve learned about to make rafting with kids a great experience for all.

Choose an easy river stretch

Of course, the younger your kids, the mellower the rapids should be—but other factors come into play when you’re bringing kids along. Every family will have different opinions about how much action is too much for their kids, each of whom will have their own tolerance for waves and outdoor elements. Especially for your first outing with kids, pick a river stretch that has these characteristics:

• Familiarity—Most if not all the adults should know the river well, including how it behaves at different water levels, difficulty of recognizing camps and getting into eddies, likelihood of wood and debris creating new hazards, and other factors. Don’t take young kids on a stretch you haven’t scouted yourself.
• Optimal water flows—You’re looking for water that’s not too high and not too low so you’re neither battling flood-stage circumstances nor banging off rocks all day, which is time-consuming and frustrating. 
• Minimal rapids—Float trips with barely a ripple are fine starting points for family raft trips, such as the San Juan River in southeastern Utah, Labyrinth Canyon on the Green River in Utah, or Ruby-Horsethief Canyon on the Colorado River. 
• Easy camping—Although you might relish hoisting several rafts worth of gear up a steep trail to a bench camp, your kids will not. To minimize discontent, choose camps that are easy to access, have lots of sand, and have somewhat decent footing, especially for young children. Bonus points for wide, shallow eddies that they can play in. Of course, this is the outdoors and you can’t have everything, but many of the aforementioned floats have an abundance of camps that meet this criteria.
• Short length—For the first few trips with your kids, stick to an overnighter or two nights on the river. These first trips will be your shakedown runs where you discover your kids’ tolerance for unpredictable situations, get your river routines established, and dial in the kids’ gear and clothing. (For more tips on simplifying river trip planning, check out “Easy Overnight River Trips.”

Plan for every type of weather

If the weather forecast looks bad, consider postponing the trip. Especially for very young children, getting caught in a hailstorm on the river or dealing with a flash flood situation is scary and dangerous for all. Also consider canceling if the heat looks relentless: It’s tough to keep kids properly hydrated on the river. But even if the forecast looks ideal, plan for the worst. 

• Heat—Bring a bimini for the raft, sun shelters for camp, and head-to-toe sun protection clothing, sunscreen, and plenty of easily accessible water for the kids. (For more resources, check out Best Sun Protection Clothing for River Trips and our post on water filters and water jugs for river trips.)
• Cold—For camp, bring fleece layers, socks, and hats for kids even when the weather looks to be hot and sunny, and good waterproof gear for the river, including neoprene socks to keep their feet warm. Even in the desert, when the thunderstorms roll in, kids can get cold fast.
• Wet—Bring 2+ changes of clothes for each kid per day in case things get wet, especially for kids under 5. And make sure your family tent can withstand wind and rain. 

Plan for one adult to be on constant kid duty 

One aspect of boating with kids that we had to re-learn a few times is that one adult is canceled out at all times when it comes to loading gear, unloading gear, setting up camp, setting up the tent, setting up the groover, and on and on. Someone needs to have eyes on the kids, so keep that in mind when you’re planning how fast you can strike camp, how long to float each day, and the adult-to-kid ratio of the overall river party. When kids are along, everything takes longer, which points to shorter trips and less time on the water each day.

Especially on the raft, very young kids (2 to about 5) need an adult in the raft with them who is completely devoted to their happiness and safety (in other words, not rowing the boat or otherwise distracted). 

Prioritize safety

Putting safety first seems obvious when your kids are involved, but sometimes it’s hard to set aside your go-to river decision-making. A few things to watch for when you’re boating with kids:

• Make sure the adults are completely comfortable with the river stretch—this is not the time for exploratory missions, even down the left channel when you usually go right.
• Don’t rush anything: Don’t try to squeeze in one more hike when the sun is dropping behind the canyon walls. Don’t keep pushing for the camp with the stunning waterfall when it’s 5 o’clock and everyone is hungry and tired.
• Diligently stock your first-aid kit: Make sure all supplies are topped off, and pay specific attention to the maladies that commonly afflict kids, including bee stings, ant bites, scrapes, and sprains. One first aid kit that we recommend: Adventure Medical Kits Mountain Series Mountaineer.
• Have one adult with eyes on the kids at all times. 
• If weather is threatening and you’re nowhere near camp, look for a decent place to pull over and post up. Even huddling under a tamarisk bush under a tarp beats being out in the middle of the river with hail pounding on your kids’ knuckles.
• Bring a satellite communication device if you’re headed into a remote area. (Check out the Garmin inReach Mini 2.)

Bring kid-friendly river trip food

Good food tastes even better on the river, and every kid delights in watching meals come together outside. Older kids will likely want to help on the cook teams, too. To keep kids happy and well fed, do your best to accommodate their food favorites and make it easy for them to eat when they’re hungry and drink when they’re thirsty. Here are a few tips for keeping kids well-fed and well-hydrated on river trips:

• Keep food and water accessible at all times. Keep snacks handy in a small dry box on top of the raft that’s easy to reach by the kid minder. Make sure each kid has their own water bottle (with a self-sealing lid or a straw—our favorite is this Contigo spill-proof water bottle with a straw) and keep a water jug accessible on the raft so you can refill as often as needed. Although I’m not a huge fan of sugary drinks, I’ve found that spiking water with a little Gatorade powder helps make water more palatable for kids on hot desert trips where it’s hard to keep the drinking water cool. 
• Balance the snacks as you would at home with a good mix of protein, carbs, and fats. It’s fun to experiment with new snacks on any vacation, and river trips are no exception. But for the most part, try to stick to food your kids are familiar with and love to reduce food fights and upset stomachs. Some of our favorite go-to snacks are mixed nuts with dried fruit (and maybe a little chocolate, although that usually turned into a melty mess), cheese sticks, peanut butter on tortillas (less prone to smashing than bread), and fruit that isn’t fragile (yes to grapes, cherries, and blackberries; no to bananas). 
• Take advantage of well-made convenience foods, such as low-sugar/high-protein energy bars, fruit roll-ups, and other parental lifesavers.
• Plan easy-to-make meals for dinner and breakfast. The less complicated the cooking, the more time you have to spend with your kids playing in the water, building sand forts, or playing bocce. Noodle-based concoctions and anything wrapped in a tortilla are winners among the kids in our crew. Save the Dutch oven eggplant parm for another time. (For more food tips, check out Time-Tested Guidelines for Raft Trip Meal Planning.)

Embrace a leisurely pace

As with any activity that involves kids, river trips with children will unfold in their own time. When drafting the daily itinerary, plan to spend about half to two-thirds as much time on the water as you would with a crew of adults. Kids get tired of sitting on rafts rather than running around. Plan for some stops for lunch, hikes, and playing in the water. Keep the time on the water relatively short so you have plenty of time in camp to set up the kitchen, eat a leisurely meal, and enjoy the river.

Invest in essential river gear for kids

As any parent whose child pursues outdoor sports (especially skiing!) knows, it’s frustrating to buy expensive gear that’s outgrown in months. But by keeping your eye on local consignment shops and online used gear purveyors (GearTrade has an extensive kids’ outdoor gear collection), you can reduce the cost. And of course, all well-made items can be handed down and traded with friends and family. Some essential items for kids on river trips:

• Good rain gear—paddling gear is hard to find for toddlers, but you can find rain jackets with snug closures at the neck, wrists, and ankles. This Helly Hansen rain bib and jacket set for toddlers and kids is made for the job.
• Sun protection—Sun hats (ideally with a wide brim and neck gaiter), water-resistant sun protection clothing, sunglasses, and foot protection are non-negotiable for hot summer river trips. This Sunday Afternoons hat is our favorite for toddlers and young kids.
• Long swim pants and swim shirts to guard against sun and sand abrasion—Long-sleeved swim tops or rashguards for toddlers are fairly easy to find new or in consignment shops but pants are a little harder. We recommend pants like these SwimZip swim leggings
• Water shoes with good tread—these protect little feet from the sun and annoying rocks better than sandals. These Merrells are a good pick if you have other kids to pass them along to, or these extremely affordable water shoes for kids will work, too.
• Warm layers for night—Fleece jackets, fleece pants, warm socks, hiking boots, and a warm cap will all get used at some point.
• Well-fitting life jacket—PFDs for kids are getting better and better, with high-quality options available even for babies. (We recommend this Mustang Survival PFD for toddlers and kids.)
• Personal gear—Give each kid their own toiletry kit with sunscreen, lotion to guard against dry skin and chafing, lip balm with sunscreen, and face wipes.

Make kids comfortable in river camp

One way to prepare your kids for a river trip is to take them on a few overnight camping trips beforehand so they’re somewhat familiar with the gear. In general, think about what makes you feel comfortable and happy on a river trip and give your kids that same consideration. A few examples: 

• If your toddler typically sleeps in a Pack-and-Play when you travel, bring the thing along and set it up in the tent. 
• If your kids are old enough to sleep in their own sleeping bags, get one that is well-made and fits them reasonably well, like this Big Agnes sleeping bag for kids. We are huge fans of the Morrison Outdoors Big Mo sleeping bag for toddlers (which is essentially a down sleep sack with sleeves).
• Bring an adored stuffed animal (but maybe not the most favored one as accidents can happen) and maybe another as a backup.
• Make sure every kid has a river chair—it’s awful for anyone to be excluded from the camp circle because they don’t have a chair. (Nobody wants to be relegated to a cooler.) We love this compact camp chair for kids, which comes with its own bag and a detachable tray.
• Although it’s true that most kids can entertain themselves with rocks and sand, it doesn’t hurt to bring a few fun, easy games like bocce or cribbage for older kids. Water toys never go out of style, either.
• Bring a headlamp for every kid so they’ll be at ease when the sun goes down. We like the Black Diamond Wiz kids’ headlamp as it’s affordable (these things tend to get lost) and automatically shuts off after two hours.
• Kindly explain all aspects of the groover to them so they aren’t embarrassed about where to go to the bathroom.

Take your kids early and often on river trips

River trips were a defining aspect of our kids’ lives going up. If you love rivers, share them with your kids as soon as you feel comfortable. You’re bound to see that canyon sunset in a whole new light.