Northern Waters Outfitters — Hotel in Errol

Northern Waters Outfitters is a family-run business that offers a great opportunity to experience rafting on class II & III rapids. During our visit, the rapids were at class II. They transported us to the top of their property just below the dam, and from there we floated down through some rapids, learning techniques along the way. Each run lasted about 25 minutes, and we repeated the process three more times. It was a fantastic experience, especially getting to use the Spud kayaks on our own and even surfing the rapids independently. My son had an absolute blast, and because the rapids weren’t overly intense, it was a perfect environment to learn and build confidence.

Unfortunately, our excitement was dampened by a customer service issue after the trip. Guests are offered the chance to purchase photos of their experience for a reasonable price ($15 with the ability to print as many as you’d like). We paid for the photos but never received them. I’ve emailed three times and called countless times, but no one has responded—and you can’t leave a voicemail. I understand that photos can be lost or files can become corrupted, but the lack of communication is unacceptable. My biggest frustration is not knowing what happened. If the files were damaged, a quick response would have been appreciated rather than leaving us in the dark. We were so excited to share the photos from our wonderful day, but that experience has unfortunately been...

Unsafe Rafting Experience – Poor Leadership but Grateful for Maggie Our rafting trip with Northern Water Outfitters was a serious disappointment and, more importantly, a safety concern. The owner, Thomas, behaved in an extremely unprofessional and irresponsible way throughout the entire experience. Shockingly, Thomas appeared to deliberately flip our raft, targeting specific members of our group in what seemed like a cruel and intentional act. When people ended up in the water, he did nothing to help. There was no proper rescue effort, no concern for safety — just a reckless attitude that put everyone at risk. His customer service was non-existent, and his behavior was absolutely unacceptable for someone leading a rafting trip. The only bright spot was his daughter, Maggie. Despite her young age, she showed far more maturity and care than her father. Maggie truly helped everyone, including myself, during a very stressful and dangerous situation. She stayed calm, assisted people in the water, and made a genuine effort to look out for others. Without her, the situation could have been much worse. While I’m grateful for Maggie’s efforts, I cannot recommend this rafting . The leadership is careless, and the experience was unsettling. If you're looking for a safe and enjoyable rafting trip, look elsewhere — your safety is not something to...

Terrifying and Unsafe – Rescued by Fellow Rafters, Not the Staff

I had an absolutely frightening experience on this rafting trip. Our boat started to sink, and I was in a life-threatening situation—especially since I don’t know how to swim. Shockingly, the rafting coach provided no assistance at all. Even the rescuer assigned to help just stood on the riverbank, watching us struggle, without taking any action.

What saved me wasn’t the company’s staff—it was one of my teammates from another boat who jumped in to help, along with Maggie, the rescuer from another raft, who thankfully acted quickly and helped get me out of the water. I’m incredibly grateful to them, but it’s appalling that the actual team responsible for safety did nothing.

This kind of negligence is unacceptable. If you’re thinking about booking with this company, be aware that your safety might depend more on your fellow rafters than the...