Whitewater Excitement, Inc.

Reviews 5

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Jennifer Longley

I loved going here in years past, after my experience this year, I wont be back. TL;DR: An unprofessional guide made the experience less than stellar, put my safety in jeopardy unnecessarily, resulting in injury and cutting short my trip. The new Managements response was flippant. I miss the old guard, and wont be returning. Looooong version: Im part of a group that has been going for years. We always have an incredible time. Our guide last week was Liz, a lead guide who was taking our group of two boats (4 in the am / 8+ in pm) along the south fork last Saturday. She was great in the Am, when she learned we usually went on the middle fork, asked us at each rapid if we wanted to do something more. In the afternoon, that changed. More boats joined our group, and Liz seemed way more interested in talking with and getting into water battles with her fellow guides on the newer boats than in working with us. We spent much of the afternoon getting drenched in water battles she initiated with boats filled with total strangers and not interacting with the boat from our trip. As I was in the back of the boat, I got more than anyone else. It definitely made the afternoon less fun for us, but no real damage per se. That changed on the last rapid of the day. On the last rapid of the day- a class 3- Liz asked if we wanted to take it going backwards as it was more fun. Exhausted at that point, I said no. In every single other experience with this company, if someone on a boat doesnt want to do something, the boat doesnt do it. Not this time. As we continued to approach the rapid Liz continued to push the boat to take the rapid backwards. I again stated I didnt want to do it. She pushed a third time, and others on the boat said ok, but it was really awkward- everyone but me turned around and faced me in the boat. Right as we approached the rapid, and I reiterated for the third time that I wasnt up to turning around and, becoming alarmed, asked if this setup was safe for a class 3 rapid. Liz said yes. She was wrong. As we descended the rapid the others in the boat lurched back and forth, as did I, but because I was facing them, when we went over a harsher portion of the rapid and the boat lurched forward and back, the other folks fell into me and I was hit in the face by the the t-grip of the rafter directly in front of me. Luckily nothing ended up being broken, but I had the worst migraine I have ever had in my life for two days and was dizzy for about 6 hours afterward, so I cut short my two-day trip, catching a ride with friends who were only staying for the day. I asked the trip organizer who was staying behind to explain the situation to the new owner (hes a twenty-something who is taking over the business from his father), and ask for a refund for the day I missed because of the guides very poor judgement call. A week later, the owner contacted my friend and offered a credit for next time. After my experience this year, there isnt going to be a next time with whitewater excitement. I am an experienced rafter. I recognize that sometimes injuries happen, and that the water can be unpredictable. This injury, however, was both unnecessary and totally predictable, and happened as a direct result of the guide pushing a boat to do something unsafe that the entire boat wasnt interested in because she thought it was more fun, setting up a situation where someone was far more likely to be injured. Not ok. Its also been my experience that the old owner took boat safely extremely seriously, oddly enough, our guide Liz was expounding on that in the river ( when describing something she wasnt doing that she should have been, no less). The newer owner didnt seem as concerned. I hope that changes in the future, for everyones sake. As for mine, I wont be back. The loss of money is irritating, but the loss of trust in the guides and management structure is a deal breaker. These are rapids. Safety first. If safety for your trip is a concern with a whitewater rapid company, Id suggest looking elsewhere.

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Jim Reilly

Four of us went rafting with WWE as my brother’s bachelor party. We expected that we would have a fun time camping and rafting. The night before we rafted, most of us estimated that it would be a 6 or 7 on a scale of 1-10. Well, it wasn’t a 7. We had so much fun, on a scale of 1-10, it was at least a 28! Our pre-trip estimate of 6 wasn’t even on the right scale! As we navigated down two different rivers over two days, I had the opportunity to observe at least 7 WWE guides in action on the river and while I thought our guide was the best, I was similarly impressed with all of the WWE guides. If I had a better memory, I would name every one of them. As we encountered other companies operating on the river, it was so obvious that WWE makes the best trip for the guest. Our excellent guides really made our experience awesome! In camp, we were consistently blown away by the outstanding customer service we received from every employee we interacted with. WWE is staffed by a bunch of helpful, thoughtful and fun people, and oh yeah the food was good too! I went in thinking ‘well its expensive, but should be fun’ and came out thinking that this experience was one of the most fun things I’ve ever done, and that it was well worth the price. Now I’m wondering how soon I can go again!

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Julia Matulionis

Had SUCH a great time camping and whitewater rafting over the weekend, highly recommend Whitewater Excitement! Our campsite was right next to the American River with provided fire pit, trash can and picnic bench, I know it sounds weird but fellow campers know how nice they are to have! Showers and bathrooms were clean and on site. They provide ALL your meals and they were delicious. Im fairly picky and I didnt have any problem finding stuff to eat. The guides were so knowledgeable and friendly, I felt very comfortable and safe. I loved the whole rafting experience and plan on going again. If this is something youd like to do I recommend going with Whitewater Excitement in Lotus, CA. There were plenty of other rafting companies on the river but these guys are miles above the rest! Ask for Scotty to be your guide, hes awesome!

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jeff kaltman

Best time ever! These people are all about YOUR experience. The owner Norm is a great operator, he understands the personal touch and goes out of his way to make the trip an experience to remember. Angel, the camp hostess was super nice and helpful getting us set up. The camp is right on the river, we rented the giant platform tent with cots and mattresses. Meals were awesome thanks to Judy the Cooker lady, BBQ tri-tip, BBQ chicken, homemade rolls, corn, salad and dessert + lotsa beer! A big shout out to our guide Ryan, not only personable, but funny and FULL of river lore :) and to the guide trainee Donnie, an awesome young man, good luck in your future endeavors! We will be back!

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Rich Singer

I did the south fork and my guide was jenna. 1. river is gorgeous. Rapids were exciting. kids loved it. Probably one of the best days of their lives. 2. guide was excellent. great job of making it exciting and safe. very patient and great with kids. 3. class operation. good food for lunch. everything perfectly clean. All employees very friendly, happy, helpful. good transportation. snack at end was a nice touch. 4. highly recommend their campground. I used Coloma Resort instead and really regretted that choice when I saw how nice and spacious their camp sites were.

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