There are few things I love more than an adventure on water, whether rafting, paddleboarding, or a waterfall boat tour, but throw in the absolute adrenaline rushes of pounding Class IV and V rapids and that’s pretty much the best day ever. 

The Nantahala Outdoor Center offers all those thrills of rafting through some serious rapids on their Section IV trip on the Chattooga River, just an hour and a half drive from Greenville, SC. 

The river is absolutely gorgeous and the rapids are so much fun. This is the ideal trip for teens as well – we took two teens and they had smiles plastered on their faces the entire day. 

WATCH! Our Trip Rafting with the NOC

About Nantahala Outdoor Center and Chattooga River

The NOC has been around a long, long time. It started back in the 1970s and is still going strong today with several outposts. In 1971, the founder of the NOC, Payson Kennedy, actually played a stunt double in the movie, Deliverance, which was partly filmed on the Chattooga River. The NOC was officially founded the following year. 

In 1974, the Chattooga River was designated a Wild and Scenic area, which meant it was now federally protected land. This is the reason why the river is still so pristine, wild, scenic, and absolutely gorgeous today. 

The NOC guides trips on the following rivers throughout SC, GA, NC, and TN: French Broad, Chattahoochee, Chattooga, Ocoee, Pigeon, and Nantahala. They have river outposts in or near Bryson City, Chattanooga, Asheville, Gatlinburg, and Atlanta.

If you’re looking for a well-established outfitter with well-trained guides on a variety of rivers, the NOC is the place to go. 

They also offer zip lining, lodging, and other adventures at several of their outposts, which you can find on their website. 

Why Raft with the NOC?

The NOC extensively trains their rafting guides. The NOC is the only outfitter where their raft guides go through a month of training before getting their own rafts. Most other outfitters don’t even come close to this amount of training. 

The NOC is also an established and trusted outfitter. They handle guided tours on several rivers with lots of technical rapids that take someone knowledgeable and experienced to handle correctly. 

When I went on my first whitewater rafting trip nearly two decades ago in West Virginia, I thought I wanted to be a rafting guide. What a cool job to basically do what you love in some of the prettiest places in the world. Then I came to my senses and realized that these guides have an enormous amount of responsibility when it comes to caring for and protecting the rafters – us. I decided I didn’t want that kind of burden! 

Caroline, our guide, has many years of rafting experience and it truly showed in how she guided us and made the trip into a memory that my daughter and I will talk about years from now. All the guides on our trip on Section IV worked incredibly well together. Their instructions to us were concise and clear and they were all in position with ropes to pull us out if needed on the more dangerous rapids. 

I was nervous doing this trip – nervous about falling in and getting seriously hurt or worse. And accidents happen, which is the risk that you assume when you do something like this, but I felt safe with Caroline and all the guides. They worked like a well-oiled machine and it was easy to see how trained they were and how much they cared about all of us on the trip with them. 

Section IV has Class IV and V rapids. Rapids are designated by class – Class I, II, and III are easy to moderate. Class I and II are what you may see while tubing a river. Class IV and V are much more difficult where advanced skills are needed (that would be our guide, not us!) and where the rapids can be unpredictable, large, and potentially dangerous. Those are the kinds of rapids we ran on this trip. 

Rafting Section IV 

Thrilling doesn’t even begin to describe this trip. My adrenaline was pumping the whole trip and getting to not think about anything except what Caroline was telling us to do was awesome. I have to think all day and don’t get to run rapids. Here I didn’t even have to think, just follow directions.

Once you watch your safety briefing and get all your gear, you’ll load onto the school bus for the drive to the put-in location at Bull Sluice. You’ll be assigned your guide and your boat and then take all the gear down the quarter-mile trail to the river. 

Thankfully, you have a little bit of time and some smaller rapids to get acquainted with your boat crew and guide until you really get into the tougher rapids. Our boat crew was just awesome. Besides my own teen and her friend and myself, we had a young couple with us who were super adventurous. It was a lot of fun to trade our bucket list trip ideas with each other. Plus, they were just a cool couple to be around all day. 

Once we all got comfortable learning to paddle together and listen to the instructions of our guide, we hit some of the bigger rapids, which were super fun. Caroline called them “splashy things”, which was way better than what my mind was calling them – possible falling-out-of-the-boat-into-rapids things. 

Our first big rapid was Seven Foot Falls, which is exactly what the name suggests. It was a churning waterfall that engulfs many rafters right off the bat, kicking them out of their boats and into the water. The first boat that went down lost all their riders. Then it was our turn. Caroline expertly guided us towards the falls and then over it. We all made it! None of us fell out, which I considered a minor miracle. 

We slapped our paddles together over our heads for a paddle high-five and proceeded to watch the rest of the boats pretty much get owned by that rapid. After that, it was several more rapids, some bigger than others – but none that we fell in at. I was definitely scared of falling in but we never did because Caroline was awesome. 

But all day long it was these big rapids that Caroline guided us through while we worked together to have fun in a safe manner. I could not have asked for a better guide or trip. 

The whole trip lasted from when we arrived at the outpost around 9:15 am to check in for our 9:45 am trip and then we got back on the bus to the outpost around 4:30 pm.

Lunch & Waterfall 

One of the reasons why I really wanted to go on this particular trip was because when I had hiked out to Long Creek Falls in the spring, I saw a NOC rafting trip stop on the beach and set up this crazy lunch spread. Who does that in the middle of nowhere? The NOC. I wanted to go with no one else from then on out. 

And the lunch spread did not disappoint. They had an assortment of meats and cheeses for sandwiches, plus peanut butter, jelly, fruit, cut-up vegetables, goat cheese, crackers, and Oreos. What a win. 

A close second to the lunch spread was getting to walk under Long Creek Falls and really feel that pounding, frigid water. This is one of my favorite waterfalls so experiencing it up close like that was a real treat. 

Need to Know Before You Go 

• Ages 12+ are only allowed on the Section IV trip. The NOC at this outpost does run an easier trip, Section III, where kids have to be 8+.
• Bring a change of clothes and a towel. Wear shoes that won’t fall off (aka not flip flops).
• Bring sunscreen and water. It’s hot and sunny.
• Leave everything of value in your car. The NOC will hold onto your keys for you.
• Tip your guide if they give you an excellent experience, which they will. 
• For a delicious dinner afterwards, head five minutes down the road to Humble Pie. We had their Chattooga White and a cheese pizza and both were fantastic. Next door, they sell fantastic, homemade ice cream.

Honest Mom Review: Rafting at the Nantahala Outdoor Center

I cannot say enough good things about this adventure. Caroline was just such a joy to have as a guide and made us all feel safe, and made sure we had a great time. The river is gorgeous, and you feel like you’re out in the middle of nowhere, which is a welcome break from daily life. 

The kids had a blast. It was the first thing my daughter talked about the next morning. As a mom, to see your teen having a truly wonderful time is priceless. 

The NOC is so organized and it was easy to see they all knew exactly what they were doing. The safety team was always in place and Caroline never failed to give us exact instructions for each rapid and where to swim if we fell out and what to look for. While it was still nerve-wracking at times, I always felt prepared and in good hands. 

The lunch and waterfall stop was also a highlight. It was awesome not to have to worry about what to pack for lunch. They had everything right there for us and took care to make sure we didn’t leave any trash behind in order to keep the place just as beautiful as when we got there. 

I really wouldn’t hesitate to recommend this trip to anyone, especially if you’re looking for something fun and unique to do with your teens or whole family. 

Booking Your Trip 

You can easily book your Section IV trip online. Once confirmed, you’ll fill out a waiver and be on your way. The trip we did was a full-day adventure, and at the time of this writing, is $155/person.

If you’re not up for Section IV, the NOC also offers an exciting trip without all the big rapids in their Section III trip. Kids only need to be 8 years old to participate. That trip is $145/person. 

Nantahala Outdoor Center – Chattooga River Outpost 
851A Chattooga Ridge Road, Mountain Rest, SC 
Nantahala Outdoor Center Website | NOC Facebook