River & Earth Adventures

Don’t waste your time here. I gave this business a benefit of a doubt and they failed. These reviews are fake and from family and friends. Look at the reviews that are hidden on Unilocal (scroll down to the not recommended button and click on it) and those are the real reviews.
Cancelled last minute after I spent thousands coming out for their trip. Also failed to issue a refund even though I asked numerous times so I intend to challenge the payment through the bank.

While all the staff was friendly and the scenic views along the river were beautiful my daughters and I feel the overall experience was disappointing. We arrived at the starting point in Tennessee and almost turned around to drive the 1 ½ hours back to our hotel. The place was not easy to find as advertised. The office was a hastily constructed plywood shack. There was even a bird’s nest in one of the souvenir hats. We assumed they might have been a new business and so we were inclined to make allowances. However we later learned that they have been in business since 2008. There seemed to be a lack of pride in the business. It looked neglected and run down. The equipment was broken and one of the boats was patched with duck tape. When the staff learned that the church that they had been «borrowing» the electricity from had cut them off, some of the male customers were enlisted to hand pump up the rafts. On the trip we did more rafting than white water. The class 2 and 3 rapids turned out to be class 1 to 1 ½. The guide though very pleasant, was uneducated about the local flora and fauna. The advertised «Eco Tour» consisted of a series of corny jokes sprinkled with made up «facts» and «tidbits» about the area that left the guests feeling that their intelligence had been mocked. Had it not been for the natural beauty we would have been very disappointed with our experience

Great guides took care of us. The cave excursion was taxing and worth it. Not a walk through. We crawled, rolled, swam, climbed and got muddy. A real challenge.
Rafting trip was relaxing after that. Just a few rapids. Zeb and Brody great guides.
Cliff climbing was hard work and worth it too. Guides Josh and Caitlyn pushed us and it felt like a huge sense of accomplishment.
Just ask what you need for each trip so you’re prepared

Located easy to find on 105, with a float location about 15 minutes away.
We had to be a bit more, how do you say, ah yes, relaxed, on this trip so we opted for tubing rather than white water rafting. All in all a great way to chill out is floating down the New River (don’t let the name fool you, it’s old).
Staff was great, friendly, accommodating, said they rented our cooler-​tube but actually had one for us. River was running slow that day (not their fault) so it took us just over 3 hrs of floating to reach their second de-​rivering spot about a 3.5 miles down. Once we got off the river their van was pulling up to take us back to our car. They indicated due to the speed of the current the day of our trip that it would take about 5 hrs to make it to the 3^rd exit spot.
Suggestions:
— Bring a rope/​bungie cord to tie your rafts together. Or chase each other around all day, see what I care.
— Pack a large cooler, bring drinks, snacks, sandwiches, foie gras crostinis, whatever floats your raft — there are several «beaches» and large rocks along the way you can pull off to and grub.
— Bring a trash bag, if I see you littering in my North Carolina I’m going to spit in your eye.
— Bring sunscreen. While it is much cooler in mountains than it is in Charlotte floating down a river on a tube all afternoon is hard work on your skin, as I write this I have burnt-​knees, nothing else, just my knees, pretty weird, but they do stick up in the air when one is in proper tubing position.
— If you are a bit more of an active person, and maybe have a bit of experience I would probably recommend renting a kayak. a more active way to spend your day, but know that parts of the river can be tricky during low flow, do not expect you will not have to get out of your kayak/​tube at some point to re position yourself downstream.

We had an excellent experience with River & Earth Adventures (REA) (in June 2012). We did a combo caving and white water rafting trip for $ 100 per person. Expensive, but well worth it for us (parents and 2 boys ages 9 & 11) who are new to both activities. We were staying in the Blowing Rock area and had to drive to Elizabethton, TN which is about 75 minutes drive. The drive on US-​321 is beautiful as you wind your way through the mountains.
We met at about 10am in Elizabethton. The caving party was about 12 people (3 families) plus 2 REA guides. Both guides were GREAT… full of excitement, knowledge of the area, and friendliness. They drove us in a van to Worley’s cave about 15 minutes away. They tell you on the website to dress to get muddy… I recommend blue jeans and long sleeve shirt you don’t mind throwing away after caving. Also, I would recommend you find some way to bring water with you as 3 hours of strenuous work in the cave wears you down. The cave was a great adventure, but very physically demanding. My body was sore for the next couple days. My family loved the cave.
Between the cave and rafting, they provide a deli lunch… they arrange a bunch of deli meats, cheeses, mustard, mayo, (or you can have peanut butter and jelly) plus bread to make your sandwich. Lunch also included chips, watermelon and water. Nothing elaborate but all we need to replensih our energy.
The white water rafting trip on watagua was just what we needed to cool off and relax. Not a lot of work on the raft and the rapids aren’t bad at all for a family like us who are new. We really enjoyed the ride.
I highly recommend REA.

They overbooked for tubes, how is that even possible? It caused us to have to sit around and wait for 3 hours. After three hours they offered us kayaks and canoes instead, they should have offered that as an option at the beginning. When you are on vacation, there is nothing worse than having to sit around and waste a day. I’m not sure if other places are any better than this one, but definitely worth looking around at other options.

We’ve had a cave adventure on our to-​do list for a long time — finally had a day off of work that coordinated with a school holiday and we took advantage of it. Grant (the owner) was so nice and great with my kids — they never knew that they were learning a thing! They loved that we had «real miners hats with headlamps» — they loved crawling through a 2 foot high passage (optional — there is an easier way for those that opt out of that) — they loved crawling over boulders that looked like they have been untouched since the time of dinosaurs. Grant gave us the option of which way to go — we opted for the way that you returned by wading through a (shallow) underground river. We saw a few tiny little brown bats sleeping, and were able to get very close to them, and an albino crawfish. No other animals are in the cave (because it’s pitch black). The stalagmites and stalactites were beautiful — we’ve never been able to get so close to them (without touching of course) in commercial caves. I’d highly recommend this trip to anyone — and have to all of our adventurous friends!

Overall our experience with River & Earth Adventures was wonderful. When I called for a tubing reservation for a group of twelve, Ashley made the procedure quick and easy. Chris at check-​in was efficient and clear on his instruction to the New River. When we arrived in Todd, Willie, our shuttle driver was ready to load up and go. In addition, Willie was a great tour guide. He filled us in with various tidbits about the area and the New River. The prices for River & Earth adventures were very reasonable. We would love to do it again next summer.