Pocono Whitewater Rafting — Local services in Penn Forest Township

To be honest, overall, the experience wasn’t bad. However, my group and myself were yelled at by Trey (believe that’s his name), the main instructor who gives the introduction speech before heading to the bus, and wears neon colors (wore neon pink on our trip). It was my birthday celebration 07/19 and it was also my first time Whitewater Rafting. We were all rotating positions every time we took a break and so everyone got an opportunity to be the captain And to switch sides on the raft. We were not very experienced so we ended up in the back a lot and ended up being one of the last rafts to reach a rest point. We did end up going with the 12 mile journey down the river Booked by my friend and I’m sure you could imagine how tired we were. Towards the very end of the journey My group and I were stuck on a rock as many other people did that day And Trey came up and screamed “ I don’t know how many times I have to tell you guys the same thing, about six times today it’s ridiculous! “ he must’ve got our raft confused with another because that was the first time he helped us that day It was mostly another guy helping us. He then proceeded to rudely instruct us how to get off the rock with an annoyed and irritated tone in his voice also while yelling, but we would have figured it out because we got stuck and unstuck A lot by this point in the trip. It is one of the instructions to not use the oar to assist in Getting off of the rocks, And that is completely understood, but I believe his demeaning and intimidating presence cause us to want to get off the rock as quickly as possible, and another member of my team ended up using the back of the oar to get off of the rock and push off. Which Trey then Tells my friend something along the lines of “ I see you weren’t listening to the instructions! How many times did we say not to do that and look at you doing that right now! How many times did you do that today?! You guys are in the back because you can’t listen!“. I had been the captain (which helps to steer and instruct at the back) at that particular moment and honestly, I just really needed a break because my arms were hurting we may have been already 9 miles in. He then proceeded to berate me about how poor I was doing as a captain and yelling at me with the same aggravated tone about how the oar needs to be IN THE WATER , IN THE WATER IN THE WATER! YOURE NOT LISTENING!! At that point I’d had enough of his yelling at us for 5 minutes straight and I told him to leave me alone. He then argued back with me and verbatim said “I DONT KNOW WHO YOU THINK YOU ARE BUT YOU DONT KNOW ANYTHING!!!” Then said he was hounding me like this for my “safety” . I really just needed a break and the waters were pretty calm in that area. At that point, my group and I were happy that we even made it that far and it was almost done and we were all tired, just for him to sort of ruin the end of the trip. We know that the people who work there are professional or close to it And are able to help us best, but talking down on your guests and people that pay good money for this is not the way to do it. Maybe some staff training is necessary to remind those who work there to have some grace. I really can say that the woman who was the “ Mother duck” was fantastic and mostly the other Instructors were great. It was a little hard to receive a rude talking down to when the trip was almost finished and we felt like we accomplished something for the first time. We received and took instruction from many others that day with no problem so it’s not about anything else other than the fact that he presented himself in an unprofessional manner and didn’t only provide instruction but made us feel extremely uncomfortable and upset by the end...

A group of us enjoyed the ‘family style whitewater’ rafting in July 2020. I can honestly say that everyone had a blast!

Here are a few thoughts—if you’re like me, you like a review that helps you learn a little more about the experience.

It rained all day—so it is truly a rain or shine activity. But, I don’t think the weather affected our experience. If anything, the temperature was cooler.

This rafting experience is perfect for a family including children. I’ve done Class IV rapids—-I bet this trip was a Class I the whole way. So, if you are hesitating because you are not sure how ‘rough’ it might be, I would recommend that you go ahead and try it. There is just enough little rapids to make the trip feel like an adventure without requiring a guide in each boat and helmets. Our families included an 8, 10, and 13-year-olds.

I suspect that if you time your trip with a damn release (higher, faster water), the trip would be even more fun (if you are looking for a more adventurous trip).

I enjoyed being the ‘captain’ of the boat. PA is the only state that allows white water rafting (for class I and II) without a guide. But, don’t worry, you don’t need any experience to help steer the boat. It’s common sense and mostly forgiving on the family trip. We got stuck on a rock once or twice, the guides helped us get moving again.

Lunch was wonderful. Lunch was hot dogs, chips, lemonade, and apples; what a great way to break up a few hours on the river. It seemed to me that there was plenty of food for everyone. This was truly a great little out-door family day. I will certainly book again. We want to try kayaks next.

Oh, if you should have to carry medicine and/or an Epipen, they will store it with the first-aid kit (waterproof pelican type case). I kept mine on me in my cargo pocket (in a baggie), but it’s an option if you need it (I would recommend for rougher water).

My wife kept her phone with her in a lanyard case to take photos, so this is an option. I wouldn’t try holding on to a phone for higher class trips, but it wasn’t a problem for the family trip.

There were three ‘swim spots’; the kids enjoyed the opportunity to jump in and float around for a bit. Most spots were only a few feet deep (on this day).

They take photos at one spot—I thought $10 for the group photo in the raft was a fair price.

Our river guides were very friendly and helpful.

Our trip included about 10 boats and maybe 80 people. A few boats hold nine people, most of the others hold five. But, it’s a river, so there was plenty of space.

The trip begins and ends with a 10 to 15 minute bus ride. Yep it’s an old school bus, but it does the job.

There are lockers if you need them, but I think most everyone left a change of clothes, water, etc in the car. The restrooms and changing rooms were well maintained.

Well, I love getting out on the river and I’m glad I found Pocono Whitewater. I live maybe two hours away, and I hope to get back...

First of all, let me preface my comments with this. I am a former whitewater rafting guide and my wife and I love rafting. After running a river in Costa Rica earlier this year, she really wanted to run a river at home, and with the Poconos being so close, it was the logical choice. In retrospect, we should have allocated more time and run the New River instead. So, with those things in mind, here is my honest opinion of the Dam Release run. If you have never been rafting before, skip to the paragraph that begins with “however”, and I’ll address how YOU should view this run.

We have had a dry summer and I acknowledge that. However, when I go on a dam release day, I don’t expect to be rubbing rocks the whole way down the river. The guides were pleasant enough, but I would rather have had a more in depth briefing at the beginning and run the river straight through, rather than pulling off all the time for the to explain the next set to us.

The run was legitimately about 3 hours, but it took us around 5 to complete it. That was because there were at least 5-6 times where we stopped completely and pulled over to the side and uncountable times where we were just sitting there floating down the river without being able to really go anywhere. I don’t like it when people try to pass the point guide, so we didn’t, but our whole group was pulling their hair out having to sit there doing nothing. My wife asked me probably 20x “Can we paddle?” With nowhere to go, we really couldn’t.

Second, this was pitched as a class III run, with three class III rapids. I could maybe call one of them a true III. Maybe they run better at high water but it was greatly disappointing for people with prior rafting experience.

HOWEVER, if you have never been rafting before, this is an interesting blend for you. You get to run rapids at the top end of what you can run without a professional guide in the boat with you. That means that YOU are in control! Follow the instructions given to you and you will have a great time.

Overall, what was offered wasn’t BAD, but we also didn’t feel that it was what we were led to expect. For instance, we were told in the briefing, “Every inch of your body will be sopping, soaking wet.” That is true if you end up out of your raft. Otherwise, your shorts will probably get a little water once or twice. We felt that the rapids were pitched as more than what they were, and the constant stopping didn’t make our day feel very worthwhile.

TL;DR If you have prior rafting experience, temper your expectations. If this is your first time, have a great time...