Ocoee Adventure Center — Local services in Etowah

First timer. I don't recommend this, but I showed up on a whim and was totally prepared to be turned away. BUT these ppl are so awesome they threw me in last minute (I was alone-flying solo lol) with a few other girls and gave me a FANTASTIC guide. As much with any guided activity, they can really have a huge impact on your entire experience. Our guide Kevin was SO good. Not only could he competently control the raft but also compensates for our untrained mishandling. None of us were able to get back into the raft after swimming, so I was SHOCKED to see him physically haul soaking wet lady after lady out of the water like beast mode lol. I saw some other guides having the other members of the boat help each other back in. It looked painful and embarrassing for them. I'm very grateful Kevin was so strong. He was very kind and actively watched out for other guides and rafts to ensure everyone was safe and under control, including waiting for anyone who had issues to catch up or offer assistance. Not once did I feel unsafe or unprotected. Which was very very nice for a solo first timer. ❤ ok so now onto the actual river ride...WOW! So much fun! Its unlike anything I've ever done. You gotta work hard for your fun. I love it. Kevin told us lots of interesting fun facts as we were passing rock formations, vegetation and of course the huge dam. It was not only fun but educational. But he also allowed us our own conversations amongst ourselves without dominating the boat conversations. With 4 girls I'm sure you can imagine how chatty we were ;-) it's not full time paddling. There's a lot of down time you can enjoy resting. We were also able to disembark to swim. That was fun! I would highly recommend this company and specifically Kevin. I can't wait to go back for an all day full river ride! Every single employee i encountered took EXCELLENT care me. From me walking in to me leaving the parking lot, I was treated like Gold. From admission to the photos at the end. Those girls might be my new heroes. I simply can't express what a lovely, chill, welcoming, positive and memorable experience I had. Great company on a great adventure. Incredible. I also watched another guide named Katrina. She was fun to talk to, very friendly and appeared to be a great guide. Also: don't forget your shower gear for after the ride. It's no fun dressing without a towel to dry...

We flew in to go white water rafting and this past Saturday we were very fortunate to have a highly skilled and extremly experienced raft guide named Jordan take us on the upper and middle river tour. We commuicated very well and as we know that white water rafting is extremely risky, Jordan knew early on to teach us how to be prepared for what we were going to encounter easing our nerves and fears. In fact he knew that our boat was working together so well, even though it was my wife and brother in law with 3 complete strangers, that we were able to try some cool manuevers; such as spinning around while going down some rapids and surfing in several spots throughout the river without any flipping. Whereas other rafts did not take the opportunity to spin around and few flipped while surfing. I feel strongly that because we were somewhat likely but also had a highly skilled raft guide such as Jordan (who gives the safety rules speech, is the first to lead the rafts in order to be ready to throw other rafts, which potentially could flip, safety ropes and sometimes last for safety to make sure no other rafts have fallen behind. He is also the one who puts all the rafts atop of the buses). His leadership and experience level we were second to none. Furthermore, our boat was able to work together super effectively with his lead and not flip the raft at any part of the Ocoee river. Even when one of our teammates drop a paddle we were successful in cathcing up down the river to retrieve it, on multiple occasions. I highly reccommend Jordan as your raft guide shall you go white water rafting with the Ocoee Adventure Center. Again, as white water rafting is a dangerous risk, Jordan is highly knowledgeable of this river and all the dangerous obstacles and I would definatley make sure that he is your raft guide because he is the best! Awesome staff and customer service at the friendly center. The lunch was delcious and we did have a blast all day long. Definately would go again coming from first time rafters, who were initially nervous...

Before choosing who to go with, I read reviews on just about every company offering rafting trips down the Ocoee. Time and time again, reviews from other people steered me towards these guys- and I was thoroughly impressed. Granted, it WAS my first time doing a guided rafting trip anywhere. I have done a good deal of canoeing in my home state of AL, but have always had my sights set on doing something a bit more turbulent. My party and I informed our guide (Tim) of our intentions to possibly discover our limits as a team, get our heads wet, have fun... and of course come out of it alive and in one piece. He certainly delivered... we surfed, we did some crazy 360s... if we got a bit ahead of the group, we'd back paddle a bit and do little things more than once. At a quiet point in the trip, we jumped in the river for a break and just floated next to the boat with the current carrying us at a nice pace. We had time to enjoy the scenic beauty of the river and its surroundings. And most importantly, we got several nice adrenaline rushes as the rapids tossed and dowsed us again and again. It was the best way to punctuate a nice 3 day weekend backpacking and camping in the Big Frog Wilderness. Best Memorial Day I've had since I was a kid.

And before I forget, I also want to comment on how well these guys and gals worked as a team... they were very friendly and organized... it was apparent that every guide out there wanted to be there... and enjoyed the opportunity to perform in that role. The equipment was more than adequate, and the facilities were quite nice. I just can't sing their praises enough... will definitely be going back.

Thanks again to Eric (the supervisor/coordinator of the trip) and Tim (our guide) for doing an excellent job and getting us...