Cascade Outdoors

We white water rafted with Cascades for my friend’s birthday and it was one of the best outdoor adventure experiences I’ve had! Brad was our guide and he has been a rafting guide for 20 years. He knew exactly how to maneuver all the rapids. We had a safe yet exhilarating time. If you’re in the area, I highly recommend this rafting company to anyone looking for adventure at a decent price.

Callie, Caleb and Dave were fantastic river rafting guides today. We chose this mom and pop rafting company because of their reviews and their great rates. We were definitely not disappointed. Their personal service and style of business was so appreciated. We were beyond happy with our trip down the Middle Ocoee. We would highly recommend this company and these specific guides.

If you are thinking about taking a rafting trip on the Ocoee, there is no other rafting company to even consider. Cascade was recommended to my father-​in-​law by someone who worked for a different rafting company in the area. If that doesn’t say a lot about the options, I’m not sure what does. And there are a lot of options. We learned there are about 20ish companies on the Ocoee River that have commercial rafting permits.
Other things we learned (besides how to raft, but more on that later): Cascade is one of the smallest companies, meaning the guides go on fewer trips down the river per week. Some of the companies send the guides on 40+ trips. If I was someone’s third rafting trip that day, I would be nervous about my safety. Cascade is also the only company owned by a river guide. He knows the river, the best equipment, and the proper way to run a rafting business. Also, because they’re a newer business, the equipment is newer, and in great shape.
We opted for the full river trip, which lasts about five and a half hours, with a lunch break. Upon arriving at Cascade, you sign some waivers, and get a quick introduction to the river guides. They then bus all the rafters to the river (about a 20 minute ride in an old school yellow school bus) and give a safety lesson next to the river. It is quick, but there really isn’t a need for an extended explanation.
The first part of the river includes the rafting course from the Atlanta Olympics. It’s the only course that is open to the public, so there aren’t a lot of people that can say they went out on an Olympic course. Following this section, you break for lunch.
After eating, you move on to the middle Ocoee, which is also where the half-​day trips begin. I’ll say that we loved rafting so much, and we’re already planning a return trip. We would NEVER skip the first part and go with the half day trip. They were both SO awesome!
I feel like this is getting really long, so I’ll wrap it up by saying we were so so happy with our experience at Cascade. The river gets a little crowded, so we had the chance to scope out other companies and how they did things, and it seemed impersonal, crowded, and a lot of the guides seemed young enough to require a baby sitter while their parents went out for the night. While fun, it is a potentially dangerous activity, and we trusted our guide (Dakota – request him if you can – AMAZING!)to know the river, rafting, and be hilarious while he’s protecting out life.
Make your reservation now! Cascade Outdoors is great!