Jim Thorpe River Adventures — Attraction in Lehighton

I recently went on a whitewater rafting trip with Jim Thorpe River Adventures and had an absolutely amazing time! The guides were top-notch, especially Grant, Jacki, and the older gentleman who stayed back with us slow boats. They were all incredibly accommodating and took the time to make sure we had a great experience, even though we had 5 small children with us.

The older gentleman, whose name I unfortunately forgot, was so patient and understanding with my kids. He took them out on his kayak a few times and zoomed them around the rafts. They had so much fun! He also made sure they were safe at all times, and gave us very detailed a specific instructions, which I really appreciated. I also peppered him with a few questions he said he hadn't gotten, he answered each so perfectly. He even explained the reasons why each of the 3 straps in the vest are tightened to different degrees. He also gave us a great tour of the river and pointed out all the interesting features.

Jacki was also an inspiration to me and my kids. She shared her story of how she coped with a catastrophic injury and still loves her life and her job. It was really heartwarming to see. She was also a lot of fun and made us all laugh. She handled an awkward question from a 6 yr old with grace, she was excellent.

Grant was exactly what I expected from a whitewater rafting guide: funny, fun, and exceedingly well-qualified. He made sure we were all safe and had a blast. He was on the middle of the pack, and I could see he was working extremely hard to help stuck boats... Not ours tho, we didn't get stuck ;)

I was really impressed with the whole crew at Jim Thorpe River Adventures. They were all so friendly, helpful, and dedicated to creating a perfect customer experience. I would highly recommend this company to anyone looking for a whitewater rafting adventure.

Here are some specific things that the guides did that made me feel so welcome and appreciated:

They took the time to learn our names. They made sure we were all safe, even though we had young children with us. They made us laugh and had a great sense of humor. They were patient and understanding, even when we were getting a little rowdy. They went out of their way to help us have a fun time. I also appreciated the company's commitment to safety. They have a strict safety protocol in place and all of the guides are highly trained. I felt very safe the entire time I was on the river.

I spent the 45 minutes driving home wondering who runs that place, and how they managed to build such a capable, public facing team. Everyone simply seemed so happy to be there, super genuine. Clearly the team is well treated.

Overall, I had an absolutely amazing time on my whitewater rafting trip with Jim Thorpe River Adventures. I would highly recommend this company to anyone looking for a fun and...

This was supposed to be a relaxing summer adventure, but it quickly turned into a nightmare I wouldn't wish on anyone.

From the moment we arrived, we were misled. The woman at the front desk greeted us with a smile and confidently told us the water tubing experience would be “easy” and done in three hours. We were handed waivers to sign, not knowing we were signing away our safety. Not once were we informed that there would be no guide, no supervision, and zero support for people with little or no swimming experience. We were blindly thrown into a vast, unpredictable river completely on our own.

Within minutes, our tubes were repeatedly getting violently lodged between massive rocks. We were stuck, struggling, for over an hour with no clear path forward. When we finally managed to call for help, we were met with perhaps the most reckless, heartless response imaginable: we were told to abandon the river and climb up a steep, unstable slope directly toward a freeway with 70 mph traffic flying past us. We were still soaking wet, carrying oversized tubes, and trying not to slip. And still—we were told we had to bring the tubes with us, as if their cheap equipment mattered more than our lives.

As if that wasn’t enough, the alternate route they gave us led us through an unmarked wooded trail crawling with insects, thorn bushes, and god knows what else. At this point, we were scratched, exhausted, and utterly disoriented. The trail was barely walkable, and the sense of fear and danger was overwhelming.

In the end, we were forced to trek back through the water, dragging those ridiculous tubes behind us for another hour. The river's current nearly knocked us over multiple times. I slipped and smashed my knee, narrowly avoiding a fall that could’ve split my head open on the rocks. I genuinely thought I was going to drown. My heart was pounding with panic the entire time.

This was not an adventure. This was a hazardous, unprofessional, and traumatic experience. There was no safety, no rescue protocol, and no empathy from the staff. It was a clear case of negligence, and I am deeply disturbed that a business like this is allowed to operate.

If you care at all about your safety, your time, or your peace of mind, go to Lake George instead. Their tubing experience is safe, scenic, and worth every dollar. What we endured at Jim Thorpe’s River Adventure wasn’t just disappointing! it was...

This is a beautiful location and a great way to spend the day outside with friends or family. Overall the staff is absolutely lovely and there is a good amount of organization. We did the Intro to Whitewater Rafting and that meant we waited for a group of 90 people (we were a group of 10) to assemble prior to safety briefing and a short ride on a school bus to the river. Why 3 stars? There were several thing that need to be done better. First of all, you do need a good lever of fitness as this is 4 hours of rowing and brutal on the arms, neck and shoulders. We had an 11 am spot but finally got on the river closer to 12:40. We were told there would be a stop for lunch but we didnt actually stop until about 2 h 45 min into the rafting and the spot we pulled over in was disgusting. So, it was muddy and smelled like a swamp (we passed so many nicer, open, flat rocky surfaces), our sandwiches melted by that point (we ordered their lunch and complete dissapointment - it said turkey, cheese, lettuce, tomato, but there was no lettuce or tomato), the granola bar was melted as well and on top of that there was no time alloted to actually chew our lunch. So after a 7:30 am breakfast we finally get lunch at 4 pm and we cant even enjoy it. Warn people and just tell them to eat on the raft or better time planning needed. Also note that you are keeping up to stay in a group of 20 rafts so unfortunately, we felt that we didnt get much opportunity to really enjoy the surroundings or each other as we were focused on just rowing. There was only one opportunity to float in the water - wish there were a couple as my son really enjoyed that. Expectations need to be set better. Tell people how long to lunch (we waited a long time for the briefing and could have just eaten our food then), let them know only one opportunity to float in the water, do not stop in that swampy area for "lunch" and allow for more time to rest and enjoy the food and the break. If you put "lettuce & tomato" on the sandwich description, actually include that in the sandwich. Do not describe this as suitable for anyone - you need stamina and upper body strength to enjoy this vs suffering through it. Having accurate expectations of timing and what to expect would have made this...