Wet Planet Rafting and Kayaking — Local services in Hood River

A First-Timer’s Wild Ride – and a Huge Thank You to the Wet Planet Team

This past season, I finally got to do something I had been looking forward to for a long time—whitewater rafting. We booked our trip with Wet Planet on the White Salmon River, and it was my first time ever rafting. I was equal parts nervous and excited, but the experience turned out to be unforgettable in every possible way.

From the moment we arrived, the professionalism and care of the staff stood out. Every team member—from the folks who fitted us for our vests, helmets, and booties, to the guide who walked us through the safety briefing—was kind, helpful, and totally on point. You could tell that safety was the number one priority, which made me feel a whole lot more confident.

Now, here’s the twist: I was actually the one assigned to monitor the safety instruction process. My job was to make sure our guide touched on every critical point in the pre-raft rundown. I listened intently, checked every box mentally, and took it seriously… but let me tell you—when things go sideways, your brain doesn’t exactly work like it does in the calm.

Our raft flipped at Rattlesnake Curves. It happened fast. I hit my head, and I woke up under the water completely disoriented—not knowing where I was or even who I was for a moment. I was freezing, tumbling, and by the time I surfaced, I could taste blood in my mouth and realized I’d bit my lip. Despite that moment of panic, those safety instructions did start kicking back in. I remembered not to stand up, not to reach for anything, to let people grab me by the vest—not the oar—and to go with the flow, literally.

With the help and presence of mind of the Wet Planet team, I got through it. I was able to rally, face my fear, and finish the trip. It may have shaken me up, but it also made me stronger. I can’t thank the staff enough—they were completely on top of everything, calm, focused, and clearly trained to handle situations just like this.

The White Salmon is no joke—it’s beautiful, wild, and powerful. But with Wet Planet, you’re in good hands. I’m already thinking about giving it another go this year, and this time, I’ll be coming in a little wiser—and a lot braver.

Thank you, Wet Planet. You’ve...

Wet planet was the best rafting experience we have ever had! My family has been rafting several times in different states and this company by far exceeded our expectations. From the moment I called I was greeted with someone who was friendly, personable and accommodating. We were visiting family in Portland and last minute we decided to go rafting. I called same day and they did not have a scheduled rafting trip going out that day but they called up a guide just for us to be able to raft on the warm sunny day that we wanted. They accommodated a rafting trip just for our family which was immediately what caught my attention to the great customer service.

We were sent a confirmation email within minutes and given directions to the site. Upon arrival we were greeted by our guide Durham. He was super friendly, enthusiastic and funny. He led us to get suited up. What I really liked about this company was that everything was organized, timely, well thought out and safe. My boys and I were given wet suits, booties to cover our feet, FTDs and helmets. Afterwards we got on a shuttle and headed down to the river. Durham explained all aspects of how to safely raft down the river. He made this part of the trip engaging and allowed both of my boys to pay attention to his instructions. We had an additional rafting guide there for safety which was awesome! Durham gave really great instructions that kept us safe the whole time and he made the trip very enjoyable. Communication from the guide was very clear and everyone knew what we should be doing. We were laughing and having the best time and we would have loved to do the full day rafting experience. This was a trip my kids will never forget!

At the end you are able to purchase pictures of your family going down the rapids! Definitely worth it and will be using this company again on our next trip...

Great experience! Would highly recommend to anyone who is interested in rafting! Even if you are a beginner they make everything as safe as possible while still being fun and exhilarating. Wet Planet had the entire system from getting equipment, arriving at the launch location, to rafting down the White Salmon river figured out very well and efficient. (They even have a cool zipline system set up to get their rafts, with no-one in them of course, down to the water from the bus drop off point) My rafting guide "Squid" (Sydney) was very knowledgeable and fun throughout the entire trip. I went with my Dad who is a little hard of hearing and while we were at the front of the raft, partially due to no-one else in our group wanting to be at the front and partially since my Dad was pretty gung-ho about the event, Squid was very accommodating and helpful during the whole trip. It can get pretty hectic while going through some of the rapids so I had to relay whatever commands she said to us so my Dad could hear and Squid was willing to alter her normal commands on the fly so that it would be easier for myself to repeat the command for everyone in the raft. I can't express how thankful I was that she was so considerate and flexible as she could have easily just told me that we need to stick to the proper commands and left it at that. Wet Planet also has their own private launch location above the normal launch site on the White Salmon so if you book through them, and weather/water level allows, you can get a bit of extra rapids that you otherwise wouldn't be able...