Summer Family Adventures With River Dancers Whitewater Rafting

Hikes to spectacular waterfalls, breathtaking starry nights, stories and music around a campfire, watershed education and history, epic water battles, jumping off rocks, swimming rapids, kayaking – these are some of the fun activities that families can enjoy on rafting trips with River Dancers Whitewater Rafting Company located in beautiful Siskiyou County.

River rafting adventures for children and families of all ages

“It’s such a lovely experience out on the river,” says Marty Sochet, a River Dancer whitewater rafting guide who specializes in guiding family rafting trips. A marital and family therapist for 45 years, Marty specialized in working with dads and facilitated many men’s groups. He combined his love of whitewater rafting with his counseling expertise to create “dads’ rafting trips.” Marty says, “We would go out on rafting trips to connect, have a good time and broaden our experience together.”

Marty Sochet is well prepared for safety AND fun on his family River Dancers river rafting adventures.

The trips were such great fun that when many dads expressed the desire to share them with their kids, Marty expanded the rafting adventures to “dads’ and kids’” trips. “Its’ really fun because I’m not a very intimidating person and I make a great target for water guns, so the kids would really gang up on me and the dads loved it,” Marty says. “Over the years, a lot of women expressed the desire to join these trips, so they eventually expanded to whole family trips, and it became an annual tradition.”

Marty still guides men’s group trips on the upper Sacramento River early in the year. “But the Klamath is a warm water river, so it’s a great experience for kids,” Marty says. “It’s a great privilege to take kids down the river. The sweetest thing is to see the kids wake up in the morning with sleepy eyes, sticking their heads out of their sleeping bags.” However, Marty explains, some family rafting trips include grown children and their parents who set out to experience this exciting adventure together!

Building a community on the river

A longtime guide for River Dancers, Marty says guiding these family trips is a labor of love. “There’s nothing like getting off the river, setting up a tent and building a community. Kids do pitch in, but invariably the kids just want to play.” Although he describes himself as a “latent camp counselor,” Marty says for the most part, kids and parents get along well on these trips because they are out of their normal environment and they are having fun. “Sometimes parents get into a conversation with me about a particular challenge they are having, but most of my work is being a river guide and focusing on safety.”

Marty runs a special group family trip in July each year, scheduled this year July 26, 27 and 28. But families can book trips through River Dancers any time during the summer. River Dancers owner, Aaron Beverly, recommends the Tree of Heaven run, about 20 minutes from Yreka, as appropriate for all ages and the best run for families with small children as young as 3 years old. “Some young children might be bothered by getting splashed at first,” he says, “but they quickly get used to it and enjoy the ride. This is a class II run, so there are some fun rapids and it is also a very relaxing trip. Teenagers enjoy it and we bring inflatable kayaks for them to use during the run.”

River Dancers offers relaxing, rejuvenating, inclusive experiences

Aaron says, “Everyone is always happy on the river. I used to be a mountain guide and I observed that people were cold and tired and stressed when mountain climbing. It’s different on the river. It’s warm; its relaxing. The river puts people in a good mood. It relieves tension. Families spend the whole day together on the river enjoying sandy beaches, good food, just hanging out. People want to come back and in fact, they do year after year. From the guides’ perspective it’s great to see the kids grow up over the years.”

River rafting trips include what Aaron calls “river gourmet” meals with dinners such as sushi, Pad Thai, pesto risotto, gumbo, spaghetti and meatballs, burritos and tacos. Lunches are deli style sandwiches and wraps. Breakfasts are often vegie scrambles, pancakes or fancy bagels. “You won’t go hungry!” Aaron says. They cater meals to accommodate vegetarian, vegan, dairy-free, gluten-free diets and food allergies.

They also offer adaptive river rafting trips for families with cognitive and/or physical special needs. “We partner with Rotary Club of Mount Shasta, which, for the last 30 years, has provided financial support and volunteers to help with caregiving to provide caregivers a break for the day,” says Aaron. “These trips are free; use of boats and gear is donated by River Dancers and our guides volunteer to lead the trips.” They can also accommodate families with special needs throughout the rafting season. Call River Dancers to make arrangements. If you would like to support these special trips, have questions about the Rotary volunteers or the Rotary Club of Mt. Shasta, call Donna Boyd at (530)925-4750.

To find out about when adaptive trips are scheduled this year, or to schedule a river rafting day or multiday adventure, go to riverdancers.com or call (530)918-8610.