Class VI Mountain River

For world class white water routes and world class rafting guides, go here!
Today was the second time our group rafted the Marathon Gauley River route, both times were with Class VI and both times everyone has a blast. A year ago we rafted in the 8 man boat with 5 in our party, today we rafted in a 4 man boat and also had 7 people in the 8 man; all of my friends thoroughly enjoyed it and felt safe with the guides.
I had Miles as a guide the first time we went and we specifically requested him again this year; he is an excellent guide with tremendous experience and a great attitude! He will allow your group to run the routes they’re ready for and we felt extremely safe with him as our guide even while on these dangerous rapids. I’d recommend him to anyone looking to go rafting on the Gauley (or in Colorado’s Gore Valley, where he is also a guide).
Be safe and have fun!

Outstanding time, had a blast. Ark was our guide and he was fantastic, very educational, knowledgable and entertaining!!!

First time rafting in West Virginia and Class VI company did not disappoint. There were 5 of us, many had never been in a raft before, that went on the whole day New River trip and it was worth every penny. We rafted on a Tuesday which gets you a special deal, so if you are flexible on dates that may save you some cash. This trip was scary enough to be fun, but not too scary that members of our group were scared off of rafting forever. In my opinion, these trips are made or broken by the guide and I thought we couldn’t have been luckier than to have Shannon H. I’d request him if you are able!

My rafting buddy and I – he a first-​timer, me a veteran – were thoroughly impressed with the professionalism and customer service of Class VI. Our guide, Andrew, truly made us feel like his raft was our raft. He knew much about the waterway, its history, and how to brave even its most daunting of swells (that and his sense of humor added levity to the run). My advice is to trust Class VI with your next adventure; we know we will.

I have been on several whitewater raft trips with different companies and I can recommend this one as one of the best. Very professional, good equipment, great guide.

I’ve rafted Gauley Season here three years in a row and LOVE, LOVE, LOVE them.
Our guides (and here I have to share a special shout-​out for Glenn and Carsten) have always been fantastic, and given us an experience that totally matched what we wanted. When we were a bunch of newbies, they kept us in the boat for the whole wild ride. Once we felt more comfortable on the river, they took us through the crazier lines and more unusual surf spots. Plus, they were friendly and entertaining whenever we weren’t screaming in exhilaration and/​or terror.
Seriously, the guides rock, and are reason alone to raft here.
Some of the other great perks include:
–Free coffee in the mornings (critical for your 6:30 am Gauley marathon start)
–A hot lunch on the river (I highly recommend the chicken, and the sausage)
–Beer on the bus back to the facilities (Coors Light has never tasted so good…)
–Hot showers post-​rafting (for the women, at least, hotter the farther toward the back you go)
–Cornhole
And then, of course, there’s drinking at Chetty’s Pub while you wait for the video of your run to play (don’t forget to smile for the camera while you’re paddling furiously through your Class V whitewater).
Bonus tip: If in doubt, rent a wetsuit. You’ll enjoy your rafting trip much more if you aren’t cold.

This place is well done and a good vacation spot for families, but I had one experience that left me with a bad taste in my mouth.
After arriving and taking a look around the complex, my family went to the shop to make reservations for activities a couple days out. They scheduled a canopy tour but I wanted to go mountain biking. The woman I spoke with at the gift shop hadn’t booked a bike trip before and didn’t want to do it incorrectly, so I had to go across the street to the check in building to do it.
By the time I waited in line and talked to someone over there, all the biking trips were booked. This new woman was nice enough to put me on the list anyway because I was going to do it by myself, but said I would have to pay the full-​day rate for the half-​day trip. This was a totally exploitative move that served no purpose but to squeeze a few extra dollars from me after my family easily spent $ 2000 to rent a 3 br cabin and do several days worth of activities. The woman claimed I had to be charged extra «because it’s hard on the guides to take an additional person.» Really? I doubt that guide will get the additional $ 40 I had to pay. If you want to milk a guest for extra cash, I’m sure there are plenty of ways to do it that aren’t blatantly insulting. On top of it, the woman told me I would have to wait an hour for my invoice because there was a back up at the printer. It seems weird to charge $ 100+ and not give someone a receipt.

5-​star company to work with for rafting/​lodging packages…
our rustic cabins were great — very clean and complete with a fire ring, grill and furniture. the bathrooms were surprisingly clean — the only complaint was that the showers had to be «propped» on for the water to flow. otherwise, my showers were always warm. we did the class v rafting trip down the lower new river and it was fun-​tastic! our guide, thom was full of fun and historic facts and made our boat of «virgin rafters» feel at ease the entire trip. he gave us a play-​by-​play — on what to expect once we reached a certain rapid site and what to do if we fall out! we had quite a spread lunching alongside the river: bread and wraps, deli meats and cheese, chips/​salsa and crudités and chocolate pudding for dessert!
the class vi campus has cornhole/​baggo playlot to pass the time while you wait to raft/​for dinner. we enjoyed drinks at chetty’s pub as we viewed our rafting video (trevor did a great job catching our «best moments» on the river although i wish he had some better angles to catch the entire crew and not just the people up front) and feasted at smokey’s for dinner. smokey’s buffet served up a rather nice salad bar and carving stations including mahi mahi and roast beef. no huge chafing dishes and sneeze guards — a very nice display. the sponge cake at the dessert bar was my favorite :)

Terrific company — don’t even think about rafting with anyone else! The guides are very knowledgeable, and the owners are always very friendly and customer-​service oriented.
The on-​site restaurant, Smokey’s on the Gorge, is really great. The buffet will hit the spot after a day spent on the Gauley or New River.