Everything You Need to Know About the History of White Water Rafting in the Smoky Mountains

While Smoky Mountain Outdoors is well known for our action-packed white water rafting excursions on the Pigeon River, you might be wondering how this unique leisure activity started in the first place! You’ll be surprised to know that the first rafting trips began over 1,700 miles away in the American Northwest before becoming popular in the Smokies! Here is everything you need to know about the history of white water rafting in the Smoky Mountains:

1. First Rafting Trip in the United States

White water rafting can be traced all the way back to 1811 when the first recorded attempt to navigate the Snake River in Wyoming was planned. However, due to a lack of the proper equipment, training, and experience, the river was found to be too difficult and dangerous. The first rubber raft was constructed in 1840 in an attempt to survey the Rocky Mountains via the Snake River through the Grand Tetons. Unfortunately, this was another failed attempt as the rough waters proved to be too much for the raft and it was destroyed. It wasnʼt until the turn of the century the first commercial rafting trip took place when, on June 9, 1940, Clyde Smith led a successful trip through the Snake River Canyon!

2. Introduction of White Water Rafting Companies

Despite Clyde Smith’s successful rafting expedition, commercial white water rafting companies didn’t form until years later. In the 1950s, John D. Rockefeller Jr. opened a resort on the Snake River in Grant Teton National Park that began offering float trips (they used surplus war rafts that were 8 feet wide by 27 feet long). While less than 500 people went on these trips during the first year, the demand quickly started to increase. As a result of this demand, commercial white water rafting companies began to form in the 1960s and 1970s. The demand eventually grew so much that white water rafting was included for the first time in the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich! Since those days, rafting has grown into a popular activity, including right here in the Smoky Mountains!

3. Smoky Mountain Outdoors Sets the Bar High for White Water Rafting

The most important moment in the history of white water rafting in the Smoky Mountains took place in 1993 with the debut of our guided white water rafting trips on the Pigeon River! The Pigeon River is a dam-controlled river running alongside the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, traveling for 70 miles from Haywood County in North Carolina to Newport, Tennessee. By 2003, the Upper and Lower Pigeon River had become the fastest-growing white water rafting destination! Since those early days, we’ve been setting the bar high for whitewater rafting service, safety, and fun. Smoky Mountain Outdoors services an average of 60,000 people at our outpost every year!

Now that you know about the history of white water rafting in the Smoky Mountains, come experience the joys of rafting for yourself with our white water rafting trips in the Smokies! Our rafting adventures kick off for another season of thrills this spring and we would love to have you join us on the Pigeon River!