2013 Wenatchee River Festival

Getting ready for the R2 Surf Competition

This year the 2013 Wenatchee River Festival and Raft Games included tons of fun, laughter, and community for the Washington whitewater scene. Each year this is a special opportunity for boaters to come out and show their skills and join together on the Wenatchee river. The festival includes raft, kayak, and SUP competitions in surfing as well as downriver racing. In addition to the friendly competition, there is also a healthy dose of laughter and silliness. Everyone knows boaters can’t stay serious for long!

Wildwater had an awesome time at the R2 Raft Surf Competition at Rodeo Hole. Here’s a video two of our guides, Neils and Josh, getting crazy in the winning surf of the competition!

Riverboarding at Rodeo

The Raft Games and the Wenatchee River Festival raises money each year for American Whitewater to help protect and conserve our precious whitewater resources. Whitewater companies from near and far sponsor this event, allowing it to offer clinics and demos in kayaking, rafting, SUP and riverboarding. It’s an all around awesome event, and we look forward to it every year!

Community is a big part of what we do here at Wildwater. Taking people down the river is one thing, but building relationships and sparking that whitewater bug in people is really what makes the experience. Events like the Wenatchee River Festival help bring our community together, and we love taking part of the fun!

An Inflatable Kayaker tearing it up!

All photos taken by RiverBooty

Welcome to the Wildwater Blog!

The River. Outdoor enthusiasts, adrenaline junkies, environmentalists, hippies, sages, and mystics have been writing about it since the beginning of time. It can be a source of fun and excitement or a place to take in nature’s beauty, and it is what has inspired the new direction of Wildwater River Guides.

Over the last few months, many people have likely noticed the change in aesthetic and name of Wildwater, as we moved from “Wildwater River Tours” to “Wildwater River Guides”. The change in name came with an expansion of our relationship to the river here at Wildwater. For over 30 years, Wildwater River Tours took people on rafting trips all over Washington state. During the end of the 2012 season, however, some new ideas started to brew. Wildwater could become a center for river enjoyment and education in many more ways than just rafting. Whitewater kayak instruction and the fast-growing sport of stand-up paddle boarding (SUP) would invite new ways to experience the excitement of Washington’s rivers. This is where the idea of Wildwater River Guides begins; a group of guides coming together to share the river with all of you, whether that be in rafts, kayaks, or on stand up paddle boards.

This blog is a place for you to check in with us, the Wildwater crew. We want to keep you involved in the new and exciting things going on as we grow in our new direction. We are so incredibly stoked about rafting, kayaking, and SUP that we want to bring you in on it too, so check back in to see what’s going on with Wildwater and the rivers around you!

written by: Julianna Fultineer