Rip Roaring Adventures — Attraction in Newport

Earlier in the summer we took the kids on their first rafting trip with the larger rafting company just outside of Hartford. Even though the trip lasted about 45 minutes, the kids loved it and were dying to go back. When the kids completed their reading goals this summer (1,000 pages each, great job!), they chose to go whitewater rafting as their reward.

We initially booked our trip with the larger rafting company that is just outside of Hartford since we had a good experience with them previously. A day prior to the trip at 8:15 PM, we received a call from them saying they had to cancel our trip. With hotel plans already made, we were in a panic trying to figure out what to do.

My wife called Rip Roaring Adventures around 8:45 PM in hopes of hearing a recording regarding times and availability but was pleasantly surprised when she actually spoke to Crystal, one of the owners of the company.

Crystal was great and was able to squeeze us into their 1:00 PM trip.

We arrived about 15 minutes prior to our rafting time, changed in the dressing rooms and met up with our guide Dirty Mike. After a quick loadout with our gear, we walked over to the river and began the float down the Lower Pigeon River.

Dirty Mike was great. As an original local, he shared stories of his childhood along the river and built up the excitement for the three kids with us.

We are DEFINITELY returning to Rip Roaring Adventures next season. Due to their location on the Pigeon River, you are able to raft longer than most of the other rafting companies. Our trip lasted about an hour and a half and we passed the other rafting company about 30 minutes into our trip.

If you're looking to do rafting, DEFINITELY GO WITH RIP...

This was fun at the beginning but when we got to the stage 4 rapids, 4 of the people on our boat fell out. It was a very scary situation. My husband floated up the rapids very fast and by the time he was caught in another boat he was completely out of breath. He had been pulled under several times. My son fell out the front as well and floated away. He is 16 and and thankfully very strong.. he was picked up by another boat. He was very shook up and scared. The rapids were very intense. Myself and my daughter fell out as well. We were Thankfully stuck beside a big rock which is why we flipped. The rock stopped us from floating up the river like my son and husband. I was pulled in quick by Emily our guide and once I was back on the boat, my other son and I pulled my daughter in. Our guide blew her whistle for help. It was a very scary situation but thankfully our guide called for help fast. I do not recommend this ride for anyone with any handicaps because if you fall out you have to swim until you are pulled in. My husband and son were able to get out of this situation and are both pretty strong but the waves overtook them at times. We are thankful to be okay but it was very scary. The lead guide shared safely tips before we set off which is what help save us all. Please listen carefully to him if you decide to do this. We were told that it's very rare for people to fall out of the boat but not sure this is truly the case. This is not something we will do again but it will definitely be something we remember forever. The staff...

This was such a blast for us and our kiddos. We had rafted before (Nu River in WV and in Costa Rica) but our kids hadn't. Our oldest was cautious, but our guide, Joey, was so chill and explained everything thoroughly to our family before we hit the water. Our kids (8 & 11) had only ever canoed and they really loved this. Our youngest cackled and laughed the whole time. I looked at the weather a few days before and it had changed (would’ve been miserable). They were so great and let us switch our date to a day that was perfect! We did the Upper Pigeon River trip. They had Class III, Class III+, and Class IV rapids, all of which were perfectly appropriate for our kids. They provide life vests and helmets for everyone. You can rent wetsuits if it's too cold. We went at the end of May 2023 and the water was cold but not unbearable. The first rapid is where they take photos--there's a big blue tent. You can buy all the pix (we got 17) for $40 and have them emailed to you. Or you can buy one photo for $20 and download it online. I would HIGHLY recommend taking your own phone/camera (in a waterproof case!) as there are plenty of places with calm water between rapids to take pix and vids. I really regret not taking mine but will take it next time. They sell waterproof cases and straps for sunglasses for a very reasonable price. They also have a gift shop with shirts, hats, etc. There are only two places to eat in town (we didn't try either bc we had to get back) so check those out ahead of time or...