Whitewater Center Day Date
My mom arrived in town late Friday evening (she’s staying with us for a week) and kindly offered to watch Chase all day on Saturday while Ryan and I headed off to the U.S. National Whitewater Center for a daytime date!
I planned the adventure as part of Ryan’s birthday surprise and while we’ve been to the Whitewater Center before to hike, this was our first time purchasing a day pass to try a bunch of the activities on the property.
When we arrived, we quickly learned that Saturday was the final day of the Whitewater Center’s Fall Festival that culminated in a boat race where people could make their own boats to race down the rapids. It was hilarious but also really neat to see the boats people made out of everything from air mattresses and cardboard boxes to doughnut inner tubes and giant floating water bottles.
The creativity was amazing and we had such a great time watching the event throughout the day. (I personally loved the group that dressed up as every member of Gilligan’s Island and sailed down the rapids in their homemade S.S. Minnow.)
We spent the 30 minutes we had to spare before our first adventure of the day watching the boats and then made our way over to the briefing area for everyone who signed up for the 11:30 a.m. whitewater rafting adventure.
After a quick rundown of safety procedures, we were outfitted with a helmet, lifejacket and paddle before the guides split everyone into boats of eight. Soon we were gliding through the water, getting soaked by splashing rapids and paddling our hearts out. It was SO much fun and a definite adrenaline rush!
There are two different channels of rapids at the Whitewater Center and we did each of them twice. Our guide changed things up each time we went down the course so we hit the rapids in different ways and it was really awesome! On our second time through the first rapid, we got a bit turned around and hit a rock hard which sent the guy in front of me flying. I dug my legs into the seat to try to secure myself, but when he pulled on my hip, I fell in with him and we both immediately did what we were taught and floated down the rapids on our backs with our feet in front of us to protect us from any rocks.
Another raft called out to us and I grabbed onto the rope and hurled myself into their boat before I was transferred back into mine. It all sounds quite dramatic and kind of scary but the freakiest part was realizing I was about to fall in. Once I was in the water, I felt a lot more comfortable and in control. It was quite a rush even though it was a bit unnerving at first!
The rest of our rapid adventure was less dramatic but still a ton of fun. We ended our run on the final channel soaking wet with smiles on our faces!
Thankfully Ryan and I packed a change of clothes and shoes (I wore Columbia Drainmaker Water Shoes for rafting and they were perfect!) and made our way to the locker rooms to put our dry clothes on before heading off on our next adventure. Our entire visit to the Whitewater Center was quite wet and dreary and the rain only picked up throughout the day. We crossed our fingers and hoped that most of the available activities would be open and were happy to find that the Figure 8 zip line and ropes course were both still running.
It was raining hard by the time we got suited up for the zip lining and ropes course which gave the whole experience a bit of an eerie feel. I’ve done a lot of zip lining before but never through the rain so it was kind of spooky!
The people working the zips assured us they were safe and said they never close unless lightning is spotted but soaring high in the sky as rain pelted my body and face was quite an experience! I wasn’t able to have my phone out on the course at all so I didn’t capture any photos of the suspension bridges and ropes course but it was a blast! The first bridge was probably 50 feet in the air and since the wood panels were slick, it took a few steps to ease my nerves and get into a rhythm. The ropes course wasn’t too long and before I knew it, we were zipping back to the beginning of the course and walking back down toward the rapids.
The bike trails were closed to to the rain and it was raining hard by the time we finished zip lining. We were both soaked and quite chilly, so we figured we should call it a day and headed home around 3 p.m. Despite the rain, our day date to the Whitewater Center was so awesome and something Ryan and I both agreed we must do again soon. It’s an outdoor adventure lover’s paradise!
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White water rafting is so fun! Looks like you guys had a blast. I will have to add this idea to the ‘great dates’ ideas list!
It was so cool!! And a fun date alternative to the usual dinner out somewhere!
This is SUCH a fun idea for a day date! I’m totally going to look up and see if we have anything similar to an outdoor adventure in our area. Have fun in Vermont, can’t wait to see the recap!
What a blast, that sounds like so much fun!
How much fun! My Brother and his fiance are always talking about how fun that place is! I went years ago for a travel segment I hosted on tv, but did everything except the rafting because it was in early spring and it was still chilly.
That place sounds so fun! I’ve only been whitewater rafting once, but it is such a rush! Scary, too, since I’m not a good swimmer haha.
This sounds like an awesome date idea! It’s great you immediately did what they taught you after falling in. You never think that’ll be you but you really never know!
Exactly! I thought it was one of those things they go over that never really happens but we saw quite a few people fall in over the course of our time there!
Whitewater center is SO fun! They also have a ton of trails there to go running on. A friend of mine will drive there early in the am sometimes just to get a good trail run in .
Looks like you guys had a blast! What a fun day date to plan!! I would probably be kind of scared, since I’m not so sure my swimming abilities are all that great (besides swimming in a pool, haha) Hope you are having a great time in Vermont! Xoxo
I went white water rafting and zip lining on a trip in Costa Rica. I loved the zip lining, but not the white water rafting so much. I think I was just overly tired and just didn’t enjoy it. I have to give white water rafting a second chance someday. It is scary when you fall in and have to watch for the rocks.
I love this review! We come down to Charlotte often b/c my in laws live there. I’ll have to add it to my date list. Do you think it’d be too cold in November or at Thanksgiving?
Our weather can be shockingly warm that time of year but also very chilly so it’s so hard to say! My gut says it might be too chilly but you never know! And there is also SO much to do there other than the rapids that would be a ton of fun if it’s really cold.
I love white water rafting! Unfortunately, it’s probably not the best date idea for my husband and I, given that he can’t swim haha!
I love white water rafting! I went a long time ago out in California and had so much fun!
Love this idea for an adventurous date! Happy Birthday Ryan!
That sounds like so much fun!
How fun!! I have never been before but I would love to give that a try!
That sounds like a fun day date! My husband and I have been white water rafting a few times in CO. One year, we were supposed to avoid an obstacle (class V) and ended up going right through it and we all got tossed out! My husband and friend were lucky enough to popped up right next to the raft and pulled themselves in. And the rest of us went down the river (feet first) and then had to turn over to swim to the edge. It was scary while it was happening, but once I got to the side, it really wasn’t too bad. I’ve been back 4 more times since, so it hasn’t scared me off!
I saw this on your Instagram stories. It looks like so much fun!
Oooooo this sounds SO fun and right up my alley! Are they artificial rapids or is it on a real river? Curious minds want to know! Falling in and having to keep your wits about you with your feet in front of you sounds ca-ray-zayy! It seems you must have to be pretty fit to do this, too, based on your description of grabbing that other boat’s rope and pulling yourself on board. So fun and crazy!
I did a similar obstacle course on a vacation excursion in Mexico (excursion planned by a cruise line). It was pretty fun, although they didn’t give us the option to pick and choose our events, if you wanted to do thing B, you had to complete things A-Z to do it. This course of yours sounds much more to my liking!
Great recap as always! So fun!
That sounds so fun!
What?! This is so cool! Thanks for sharing. Always looking for new places to visit! Definitely adding this to the list!
As you know, after the Rafting safety seminar, that the “lifevest” you refer to in your blog is actually a PFD. Personal Floatation Devise. A lot different from something that can save your life.
Adventure dates are the best dates. Those are my favorite with my guy too. We’re actually hoping to plan a date to an amusement park soon to spend our afternoon riding rollercoasters and screaming our heads off. Should be a blast!
Happy you had fun there! I went years ago on holiday and love the bike trails and had a blast on the zip line. We opted for kayaking but I kinda got bored of that quickly!
Have fun with your Mum staying this week!