I've done them all with several rafting companies - Blue Heron is at the top of the list. What matters on a raft trip in random order besides the river itself: your personal raft guide, the facilities, how far or close they are to the put in location, the food, and the keepsake pictures they take. Blue Heron excels in all facets....fair pricing on the trip and love the way they handle pictures, they also don't smack you over the head to tip your guide every 10 seconds...love them! read more

The people were great and quite helpful. I'm an Eagle Scout and the safety video they had ahead of time was more than enough. If you have someone who has never done any whitewatering this is just a great place to start. They even took pictures and were priced for all the photos your in quite well. There was two of us in our group so it was $25 for every photo we were in. If you want a picture that's great, but if you want a story this is the place to go. read more

Had a great time on French Broad river with Sandy. The whole family enjoyed the ride down the river even in December! Sandy's knowledge of the river and the local area was outstanding. They had all the extra gear we needed to keep us warm and dry. Couldn't have been a better outing. Thanks so much. Larry Pritchett & Family (Austin, Texas) read more

We had a party of 7 from first-timers to several who had a bit more rafting experience. The French Broad is a fun river for many levels. This outfit we chose as it came up as one of the first couple of suggestions in our search. Glad we went with them. Very professional and experienced company with a sense of "safety first" and fun second. All of the staff we encountered were friendly and encouraging from arrival to finishing our ride experience. They are fully engaged even on the bus rides to and from the river with fun facts about the area and constantly making sure everyone is comfortable and safe with enjoying the river. Lunch was good as well. Highly recommend. read more

Fantastic rafting outfit thanks to the crew. They know every inch of that river, and are alot of fun! We took Kim's suggestion and rented duckies, and were very thankful we did. It was a blast! read more

Can't say enough about Sandy and her crew at Blue Heron! Polite, accommodating, professional and, most importantly, FUN - how fun? When you're still laughing and hollering through a literal monsoon of rain and lightning for half the trip, you know it's a good time! We did the half-day trip hitting rapids that are engaging and entertaining without being scary, even as the water flow increased with the rain. Guides were great, lots of interesting history shared on the ride in and out (short), their HQ is just a couple years old and beautifully constructed and every effort is made to capture great photos throughout the trip by their pro photographer who races ahead in a kayak at the big rapids. I personally thought it was a great value for the very reasonable $44 a head we paid. My family can be finicky about activities and everyone was talking about the trip for the rest of the day. Will go back soon with our next set of visitors for the full day trip! read more

This is an impressive outfit. We did a company outing last week and Fritz, Wags, and Matt were professional, outgoing, entertaining and informative guides. read more

Amazing experience from beginning to end. We had an absolute blast, I'd leave 10 stars if I could!

We did a half day down the French Broad River and it was a lot of fun. Our guide, Laura, was very easy to work with and kept us all working together. We had two member of our party try the "duckies" (blow-up kayaks) and Laura did a great job of keeping us all together. My kids, who've jumped off huge cliffs, were less-than-impressed with the rock jump. It's a smaller jump and you are rushed through it so the next group can come ashore. The scenery along our route was beautiful and the overall experience was very good. read more

It was our first time whitewater rafting and had a blast! Our guide (Caroline) was great! Everyone had so much knowledge about the history of the area that was a bonus for the trip! Highly recommend! read more

Today my husband and my daughter and her husband booked a day trip with lunch. I highly recommend this group ,excellent facility and staff.. Warm showers after the trip.. Guide was fun and very professional .. Lunch was good with a vegie option ... You can purchase pictures after the trip if you want but no pressure... read more

Amazing experience, a wonderful staff truly makes this experience. Our guide was wags and he led us a fun safe adventure down the river. His knowledge and expertise was top notch and we will return again for sure. A must do if you are planning on white water rafting in the area, if you haven't been before this is the best way to start! read more

We absolutely would recommend Blue Heron Whitewater to everyone. They made sure everything went smoothly. From my calling and Patty patiently answering all of my questions, to arriving and being welcomed right in. read more

My family had the best time white water rafting with Blue Heron and Kiana (our guide for both trips). We booked 2 trips because we like rafting and we are so glad we picked Blue Heron. They are located a very short drive from downtown Asheville. Both trips were a blast. The safety brief before the trip was very through. The guides made sure our life vests were fitted correctly, and then we were off down the river. We did the half day afternoon trip on class 1-3 rapids. Our guide made the trip very fun and even took us through some river shenanigans that made our trip even more fun. The more the group worked together, the more fun we had. This is definitely not a passive trip down the river. It's a team sport to get the most fun out of the trip. Be prepared to get wet, but in the summer, that's a pretty nice way to cool off. There are showers and changing rooms at the office area, so you can bring a change of clothes to clean up after your river trip, if you would like. They have a photographer that takes pictures as you go down the river, and she got some great shots of my family. The local history and stories shared during the short bus rides to and from the river and during the float are really nice. We enjoyed learning more about the area as part of our trip. We will definitely book with Blue Heron the next time we make it up to Asheville. read more

The facility was nice at Blue Heron Whitewater. They reviewed safety and training thoroughly. The French broad river is excellent for beginner Whitewater rafters. Kids can go eight years and older. After the trip it was nice to be able to take a shower at the facility and return to Asheville clean and dry. read more

We went on the calm water trip with guide Sandy. Our 3 boys, ages 10,7 and 4 had a blast!! She taught them how to splash with their paddle and soak us and overall was very patient and answered all of our kids many questions. We saw lots of wildlife and loved every minute of it. Highly recommend! read more

Everything was, overall, surprisingly well managed. The guides were great; very informative and entertaining. You'll have a nice time.

Highly recommended! Staff is very personal and did everything to make this adventure the best that it could be. We had a blast in the Ducks! read more

I've been whitewater rafting before around different rivers, and have always enjoyed it. This was my first time at French Broad, and I went with Blue Heron. 'It was awesome' seems like it would be a massive understatement to describe their service, and they're not at all like your typical business trying to nickel and dime you for everything. They make sure you have everything you need for a memorable trip! read more

We had a group of 13 enjoy rafting and kayaking on the French Broad. All loved it! Four did the calm run which was very scenic and peaceful. Our guide (so sorry, can't remember her name) was friendly and very knowledgeable about the area and history of the river. Three did the inflatable kayaks and the others did the white water run. It was a little calm for some of the more adventurous folks but all had a great time. They stopped at a place where they could jump off a cliff into the river. The office staff and guides were friendly. The facilities were clean and even had a nice gift shop. Had an option to purchase pics at the end. The only minor hitch was they were a little unorganized getting everyone signed in, so arrive early. Overall, I highly recommend Blue Heron! read more

Wonderful experience! We were greeted and welcomed upon our arrival and we were set up to succeed with the wonderful staff. They lent us fleece jackets and water resistant covers along with water shoes (they have a stock of shoes that others leave behind that can be borrowed in case you don't want to get yours wet!). Everything was washed and cleaned. Bathrooms have showers and changing stations. They took awesome pictures during our trip and our guide Caroline was awesome and told us some history as we went down the river. They also provided water and cookies after our half day afternoon trip. My only regret is not booking a longer trip with them! Very professional, beginner friendly and they do all that they can to make the experience both fun and safe! My boyfriend and I very much enjoyed the trip! read more

My husband and I are very outdoorsy but had never tried white water rafting. We picked this company based on other Yelp reviews and we were not disappointed. Their actual facility was amazing. The bathrooms, changing areas, and showers were extremely clean. We decided to do a half day with lunch. We were back to the car at 1:30pm. We got there and were greeted by Sandy. She was super helpful, professional, knowledgeable, funny, and friendly. I borrowed water shoes from a bunch of extra that they had. The PFD and helmet were clean and dry at the start. All the gear was top quality. The bus ride was entertaining and quick. The rafting was fun and a good intro. My husband and I will probably look for something a bit more challenging next time but I still definitely recommend this tour as we understand it needs to be suitable to all levels. Out guide Ian was fun and ensured that we had a good time. There was enough lunch to have seconds. There was a birthday on the trip and thy even packed a birthday cake! It was a great way to spend a beautiful morning on the river. read more

Had a great time rafting today on the French Broad. Sandy and her team are top notch. My wife and I had an incredible time. If you are looking for a fun full day activity in Asheville, I would definetly recomend Blue Heron Whitewater read more

Today was absolutely incredible! We were beyond lucky in choosing Blue Heron. I called two days prior in hopes of getting on the river over the weekend and they made sure to fit us in. They made it a point to stress the important points of what to/not to do while on the river and kept it straight and to the point. Sam, who was both our day trips guide and "safety briefer" was great! The short 13-15min bus ride to the river was filled with a little history of where we were and where we were going. While on the river, Caroline, our rafts guide, was great. I asked numerous questions from how and why the rapids were rated as they are to what CFS means and where we were sitting that day. The full-day trip takes a break about half way through and provide a sandwich lunch (wheat bread, turkey, mayo, mustard, oreos, chips, PB&J, some veggies) and even had hummus for any vegetarians. The trip ended with a 20-30min drive back. We will definitely be returning. read more

We had such a great time. This company is wonderful. Extremely well ran, professional and so kind and nice. They really take care of everyone and make sure people have a great time. We did not know what to expect and were so pleasantly surprised. We will come back for sure. Thanks you Sandy and team!! read more

I wanted to take my family Whitewater Rafting for the first time, and looked at the reviews of several different companies in the Asheville area before deciding to book a trip with Blue Heron. My family had a wonderful experience for our first trip, and I highly recommend Blue Heron. We booked the half day with lunch and lunch was delicious. Josh was are guide, and he did an excellent job. They have the option of Duckies which is an inflatable kayak. My husband and son had Duckies, and my daughter and I rode a raft. Next time, we will all ride Duckies. We had so much fun and hope to go again soon! read more

I had a great day. Liked the guides, but too many people were telling me what to do at once.

We were lucky to find out about Blue Heron Whitewater! What a great outfit. From the get-go, they were funny, helpful and comforting. I've been rafting before, but this was my wife's first time. They made her feel at ease from the moment we arrived. They sold water shoes for $10 and was great since we both forgot "junk" shoes. They offered offered a free pair that others left. But these $10 shoes were a great deal. They're all about fun while all about safety. Our guide was Sandy and she was fantastic. She was funny and had some great/fun things for us to do on the river. Highly recommend jumping from the boulder and doing the "budget rafting". Again, Sandy was such a great guide. Highly recommend Sandy and Blur Heron. The French Broad is definitely a great whitewater river for a first timer. We did the afternoon trip. - Scott read more

We were visiting Asheville for a combo bachelor/bachelorette weekend and this was our main activity planned. We could not have been happier with the day. Every single person on staff is fantastic. They were accomodating for our large group and had some of the best prices around. Most of us chose the full day tour and a few only did the half day. Our guide (unfortunately his name escapes me, but I think Matt??) was REALLY informative during our raft and gave interesting historical stories of the area as well as neat facts about the area in general, how different rock formations are made, etc. He let us do some funny pictures for the photographer (who accompanies you along the trip). We have some great stories and memories that we have brought home with us and are still having a good laugh about. Would recommend this place to anyone looking for an adventure in the Blue Ridge Mountains and hope to return next year. read more