US National Whitewater Center Review

We were off to the U.S. National Whitewater Center today. You may have seen it on TV during the Olympics. The boys did. I didn't. Maybe next time.

The U.S. National Whitewater Center is a man made white water rafting area near Charlotte, North Carolina. It's the piedmont, so we don't have hills high enough for mountain whitewater. Not to worrry. We just built whitewater.

I'd call the whitewater center more of an outdoor play complex. There's the water, of course, for rafting and kayaking. Canoeing is out beyond the white water area. There are trails for walking and mountain biking. They also have rock climbing walls and towers with ropes. They have concerts at the Center as well. Just check the web page for the dates, times, and groups.

This is a new attraction for the area. I think this is the second year (2008). Everything looks new, and they are still building and working on roads. Trees are still small. Grass and plants right around the center are not well established yet. Things are definately coming along though.

We went for an early afternoon white water trip. They have various levels and times. Really, I think there's something for everyone.

If you've been whitewater rafting in the mountains, then I'd warn you that this is city whitewater rafting and not country whitewater rafting. You're going in a circle. It's all very organized. Our guide said that they eliminated 80% of the danger, so a class 4 rapid is equal to a class 2 mountain rapid as far as danger. This may cheer some up and others not. My boys kind of like that edge of danger.

The first thing you do is attend a training session. Joe talks in a monotone and is about the funniest person I've ever listened to. The contrast between how he said things and what he said about made me wet my shorts. The guy should be on Saturday Night Live. He is super funny.

Then, you're off on the rafts.

They put us with the new guide. He was a nice guy and worked hard. He answered lots of questions, since I can't go on a trip and not ask loads of those. Our guide is 34 years old today. Happy Birthday! He used to work in Florida.  

We go white water rafting pretty often and on mountain trips. So this was mostly pretty easy white water rafting. It was kind of like the ferris wheel (which I love) after rollercoasters.

Of course, we ended up with the big wash out (so maybe it's not as easy as it seems). Three and a half of us went overboard on a big dip. I consider myself a half. This is not because I'm half the size. It's because I had my foot wedged in so good that my leg remained in the boat. The rest of me did not stay in the  boat. I yelled for my oldest (who did not fall out) to pull the rest of me back in before I broke my leg. The boys sprained my leg last year - tubing. I could tell that this was not a good position, but my kid is big and strapping enough to hoist me back in. No broken leg. Not even a sprain. Just a few bruises. And something to talk about after. 

After we finished our ride, we visited the gift shop and got drinks. They had some nice t-shirts and water gear. My younger son had his eye on a nice whitewater kayak they had.

Here at home, I looked at the photos they made and put online at the site. It's pretty darn hard to get photos when you're rafting. All ours were of the big wash out. Pretty funny shots. We can buy some right off the site if we want. Thinking on that . . . (OK. I thought about it, and I had to get one). The photo set up with the online buying option is the best set up I've seen with a whitewater company. Very easy. Fun too. And, thanks to Chris Sherman - our photographer.

I would say that the U.S. National Whitewater Center would be terrific for an introduction to white water. You learn how to paddle and the basics. It's also fun for an afternoon. A good place to take guests here in our area. They had work groups out for bonding. Would work fine for that as well.

It's not exactly our idea of white water rafting - going in a big circle. New concept. Fun for sure. And it's definately not as extreme as mountain white watering. I'd probably have a broken leg if we'd been in rough water and with real rocks. So, that's a good thing that I don't spend more time in a leg cast thing. I didn't much care for that last year. 

All in all, great day. Loads of fun. Everyone working at the U.S. Whitewater Center went the extra mile too. Super southern hospitality and good clean fun!

Our costs (vary depending on trips, activities, size of group etc.):
$5 to park
$2 per locker (we were fine with two for four of us)
$39 each (around 2 hours on the water - afternoon trip)
$20 photo download