The Family Travel Network

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ROW Offers "Families Only" River Rafting Vacations This Summer

If you're looking for a family adventure for this summer's family vacation, consider a river rafting trip. River rafting trips offer great opportunities for adventure and family bonding, as well as a lifetime of family memories. The best travel experiences are those that combine families, allowing children and parents to share the experience together as well as with others. Family oriented rafting vacations allow kids to travel and bond together on the river, enjoying time with their family as well as with new friends.

Once again this summer, river expert River Odysseys West (ROW) is offering Family Magic Vacations on the Salmon River Canyons. These trips are exclusively designed for families with children ages 5 and up. Families who have been on these trips with ROW tell us that it is such a joy to get away from TV and video games, and experience real adventure together on a river trip.

Since 1988, ROW has been offering rafting adventures designed exclusively for families to share the wonder of nature and family togetherness. Family trips are playfully orchestrated and staffed with an extra guide dubbed the River Jester. The vacations include plenty of fun-filled, nature-oriented games and activities, as well as campfires and visits to historical and cultural sites to learn more about the people who once lived along this river. Parents can join in the fun, enjoying swimming, fishing, volleyball games, and mountain hikes.

The Salmon and Snake Rivers are the stars of these Family Magic adventures, and they deliver tons of safe, adrenaline-pounding excitement for parents and children. The rapids have great names, such as Demon's Drop, the Gobbler, Bodacious Bounce, Devil's Slide, and Eye of the Needle. At one point in the journey, the most adventurous vacationers have the opportunity to jump in and swim through a river rapid -- an experience they can certainly brag about when they get home. Rapids can be run in paddle rafts, rubber duckies (inflatable kayaks) or stable oar rafts.

ROW's special kids menu offers kid-tested favorites, while parents and grandparents enjoy gourmet adult fare prepared fresh by the guides. Kids are welcome to join in at both meals. The day ends with stories and songs around the campfire. ROW's guides even offer "tuck-in service" for their guests.

The only requirement for Family Magic trips are that parents and grandparents must be accompanied by at least one child under the age of 16. This prerequisite helps to ensure that children will have playmates on the trip. ROW rafting adventures depart from Clarkston, Washington, located right across the Snake River from Lewiston, Idaho. Five-day trips are available every Sunday and Tuesday from early July through mid-September. Four-day trips are also available during the same time period upon request.

To get a first-hand feel for family rafting trips, read the Reif Family's Rafting Diary of their experiences on a ROW family rafting adventure. Candyce Stapen's Family Travel Network article also includes more background information on the ROW program.

River Odysseys West (ROW) offers a free catalog of river adventures. The company has been in business since 1979 and has been operating family oriented trips since 1988. ROW's trips can accommodate all kind of vacationers, including singles; families with kids as young as 4; and river trips with Grandma and Grandpa. A wide variety of trips are offered, and ROW can customize your vacation according to your family's needs.

For more information on ROW's family rafting trips, visit their website at www.family-rafting.com or call 800-451-6034 to request a copy of the ROW catalog.