River City Rafting LLC.

One of the great things about the James River is that there is no experience necessary! There will be a trained guide in each raft to give you instruction and to help insure the safest and most exciting trip possible!

Yes.  The River Trip allows for rafters as young as 9 years old, while the City Trip and the River City Trip require rafters to be atleast 12 years old and at least 90 pounds.  The only age restrictions are on the younger end of the spectrum. We expect everyone to reasonably evaluate his or her fitness level before taking a whitewater rafting trip.

Whitewater rafting, as well as any activity or sport, requires a degree of physical exertion. 

ALL rafters must be able to properly wear a River City Rafting PFD and Helmet; our PFDs will accomodate torsos with cirumferences less than 56 inches.

Participants with potential health concerns: if you are in poor physical condition or are overweight, have a history of asthma, allergic reactions to bee stings, heart trouble, epilepsy or any other medical condition that may endanger yourself or others or diminish your enjoyment of the trip, you should consult a physician prior to making a reservation.

We strongly discourage women who are pregnant from participating in our rafting trips, for obvious reasons.

River City Rafting's staff will do everything possible to provide you with a trouble free river experience. The safety of our guest is the foremost concern of our staff. River City Rafting's guides are highly trained and prepared for your trip. However, it is important that you and your group know that whitewater rafting, like all adventure activities, involves inherent risks that are beyond human control and must be assumed by the participant. River City Rafting does not assume liability for personal injuries or death. All customers will  participate in our safety instructions and  read and sign an Assumption of Risk and Waiver Agreement prior to your trip. All customers will wear a River City Rafting PFD and helmet. We cannot allow anyone impaired by drugs or alcohol to go on any of our trips. No refunds will be made to customers that arrive under the influence of drugs or alchol. We want everyone to be comfortable and to have a safe and fun experience.

Going for a short swim is always a possibility on a whitewater trip. You'll be wearing a Type V United States Coast Guard approved PFD (personal flotation device) and we will brief everyone on what to expect and how to behave in the event that someone does fall out. Keep in mind that the likelihood of swimming increases as the rapids get bigger!.

Most of our boats will seat 6 customers and 1 guide; however, depending on the river level we may put fewer customers in a boat. We do not require a full boat to go on a trip, but we do require a minimum of 4 customers in order to reserve a date.  We can usually pair up smaller groups in order to fill a boat or make a reservation.

Whitewater rafting is a very wet sport and we raft rain or shine, you are going to get wet anyways! In the outdoor adventure business it would be hard to do business according to the weather, so we do run our trips RAIN OR SHINE. Whitewater rafting is one of those sports where you are going to be wet from about the time you get on the river until the time you get off, but you will be having so much fun you probably won’t even notice. We do have splash jackets available for cool, rainy days.

The James River is a very dynamic river and the river level is always changing due to rain fall.  Generally, the higher the river level the faster the trip will be.  Check-in, PFD/helmet fitting, and the safety talk takes about 30-45 minutes followed by a 15-20 minute shuttle to the river. The River Trip and the City Trip can generally range 2-4 hours while the River City Trip may take 4-6 hours on the river.  All trips are followed by an additional 5-15 minute shuttle back to River City Rafting. 

Everyone must wear shoes that will stay on their feet.  Old tennis shoes, water shoes, and strap-on sandals are great! NO FLIP-FLOPS!

On warm days we recommend wearing sun-block and a swim suit, women may want to wear shorts for comfort, you will be sitting on an inflated tube all day.  Shirts are optional and many prefer to wear them.  On cold days you should not wear anything cotton (denim jeans, sweatshirts, cotton sox or cotton underwear), wool and synthetic clothes will keep you warm and will dry much faster.  We also have splash jackets to help keep you warm and dry. You may also wear a hat or visor under your helmet. Sunglasses may be worn however anything that you bring on the river could be lost in the river! If you don't need it then please leave it in your car or at home, especially jewlery. 

After your trip you may wish to rinse off in our outdoor showers and change in our changing rooms, so bring a towel and fresh set of clothes so you can go out and enjoy all that Richmond has to offer. Don't forget a plastic bag for all your wet clothes!

We're often asked if tipping one's river rafting guide is appropriate.Yes, tipping is greatly appreciated, if you enjoy your ride you may tip your guide!  A tip is a great way of communicating your satisfaction with your trip. 

River City Rafting offers whitewater photography on our City Trip and our River City Trip by reservation!  If you are interested in photography please call ahead to book a photographer.  You are welcome to bring or purchase a water-proof camera for your trip.

Please be sure that you fully understand River City Rafting's cancellation policy prior to making any reservations and please inform all members of your party of this policy to avoid confusion.

There is a $30 fee (per transaction) to cancel any trip and you have until 2 weeks (14 days) before your trip to recieve a refund.  If you want to cancel within two weeks of your trip there is NO refund, we may be able to reschedule.  If you do not show up for your trip or arrive too late there is NO refund.  If you arrive intoxicated by drugs or alchol there is NO refund and you will not be allowed on the trip. 

Please understand that when you make trip reservations with us, we reserve that space for you and  turn away other clients from those dates. If you cancel it becomes very difficult for us to re-book so near to the departure date. We are, therefore, required to be firm with our cancellation policy.

River City Rafting  reserves the right to cancel a trip due to water level, weather, insufficient reservations, or for safety considerations.  If River City Rafting cancels a trip due to these reasons re-scheduling or a full refund will be offered.