BigTime Whitewater

We call it BigTime Whitewater because it’s the most challenging whitewater rafting trip we offer… and the Lehigh Gorge State Park is where it all happens. This unique park is surely one of the gems of the Pennsylvania State Park system.

Thrill yourself with a real whitewater rafting trip in outdoor scenery that will blow your mind. 900-foot canyon walls tower over your head at times – it’s awesome. This trip is perfect for adventurous people who are relatively fit, and kids 8 years old and up are welcome.

Do you like getting your heart rate up a little bit? Enjoy a little adrenaline in your life? Then you know what you have to do… choose our BigTime Whitewater Rafting Trip! Check our schedule for trips running from May through Labor Day.

This trip is our most-challenging trip! It is the longest river trip we do in miles and ‘time on the river’. It is the most physically-demanding trip we do – requiring a pretty solid level of physical and mental fitness. You’ll be paddling your own raft, with guides in kayaks directing you.

For many people this is the reason they take this trip – they want to be captain of their raft enjoying poconos white water rafting. Your guides will ride along in their own kayaks, one in front of the trip – the “Point Guide”, one at the back of the group – the “Sweep Guide”, and two paddling among the rafts on the trip – called “Roamer Guides”. In this format you get to experience the thrill of piloting your own raft through the Lehigh Gorge State Park, but your guides are there to coach you along the way!

BigTime Whitewater Pricing

Individual $75​.95

Most people can do the BigTime Whitewater Trip with a reasonable amount of physical fitness. You’ll be in the middle of the rather inaccessible Lehigh Gorge State Park. There are no easy ways to get off the river – 500-900 foot canyon walls make it so!

The BigTime Whitewater Rafting Trip is long – and fun the whole way! You and those in your raft will be paddling through over 20 named rapids during the 12.8 mile, 5 hour long trip. This is a fabulous trip, but it isn’t for everyone!

This trip is great for:

• Experienced Rafters
• Healthy, Aggressive beginners who don’t mind paddling
• Outdoorsy Kids age 8 and older
• People seeking the maximum adventure on the Lehigh River
• People who look forward to over 20 named rapids
• People who look forward to being in a raft for 5 hours

Depending on your physical fitness level, this trip could be too much for:

• Our fine Senior Citizens
• Those with health issues or medical conditions that might affect their performance
• People who are overweight
• People who, for some reason, are fearful
• Family groups with very small paddlers – everyone in the raft paddles!
• Those people with Special Needs

If you find yourself in one of the above-listed types of rafters, we would suggest taking a shorter, easier trip – specifically our Introduction to Whitewater Raft Trip, or our EasyWater Raft Trip.

We do our very best to accommodate everyone of every shape and size. Whitewater Rafting is an Outdoor Adventure activity in which you take responsibility by choosing what activity is right for you, and right for those in your group.

As a licensed professional rafting outfitter, the goal and mission of Jim Thorpe River Adventures is to provide for you a river-rafting experience that is fun and exciting. We work and train hard to try to make rafting the river as safe as we can. It is, however, an outdoor, natural-river activity that involves some risk. It is up to you to be honest with yourself when choosing the right trip for you and for your group.

If you are concerned in any way, please call us and ask. We’ll ask you to be honest about your concerns, and we’ll be equally honest in our guidance and opinion of what trip might be a good choice for you. We’ve been doing this rafting thing for a very long time – call us and ask for our experience. We want you to have the most-fun possible!