We did a 2.5 hour ride. Our guide, Devon from Indiana, was awesome! Most of us were first time white water rafters. He gave us simple and easy instructions, which we quickly learned and were able to steer our raft down the river for 2.5 hours. No one fall out of our boat. There were 7 of us raning from 9 to 59 years old. A couple of people went in the water to swim. The last bit, rapids, was choppy for the swimmers. Most of us took a turn to ride at the front of the raft. It was ecstatic! Like the guide said, there was not time for water and bathroom breaks. Other than a pair of water shoes, you don't need a hat or glasses. You will get plenty wet and lots of fun. We bought the USB key with photos. Some are pretty blurry but captured your experience for the trip. Highly recommended family activity. read more

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It's always a good time on the river, especially with Shaka. Our river guide, Matt was awesome! We all had a great time and felt really safe. We will be back next summer! read more

Shaka Rafting - Rafting/Kayaking Near Me - Maupin, Oregon

Had a great time last weekend on our Deschutes day trip. They make it very easy to learn about whitewater sports. These are trips for noobs with lots of stops to let rafters jump from rocks, etc. So keep that in mind... You'll only be going a few miles on the river but it takes about 6 hours. Lunch is good, 7/10. This is a great outfit if you're bringing friends or family who have never rafted before. read more

The crew at FP are the very beSt river outfit! I've tried many over the years and FP are professionals. They make certain everyone is safe and having fun. The guides are knowledgeable about the terrain, wildlife and history of the river and it's surroundings. They are the only river outfit I'd hire! We go back year after year. Every year is better than the previous year!! SuNny read more

We booked a rafting trip with this company in July of 2021. They were able to accommodate our party of 13 on short notice . We had such a great time ! Our guides were knowledgeable and we felt safe and in good hands . We will be booking again with this company ! Thank you for the great memory and fun time !! read more

Had a great time. Courteous and knowledgeable guide. Was safe but adventurous. You hit all the big holes well. Shuttle bus is easy. A few chances to float. Thanks for a great trip read more

Shaka Rafting - Rafting/Kayaking Near Me - Maupin, Oregon

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Ask for Cole. He is the best guide. You will not stop smiling through the entire trip.

Let me start by saying how AMAZING the staff was. From the lady who checked us in to our guide, everybody made us feel welcomed and PUMPED UP before we even got into the river. Our guide (Captain Jim) was super entertaining during our entire ride down the river. He has been a guide for many years and was very knowledgable about Oregon and gave us a bunch of places to check out while we were in the area. He even lead rafting guides in the Amazons, so you can def trust his crew with your life. The company is a FAMILY OWNED business and they truly make it their goal to give everybody an amazing trip down the river. We had the opportunity to jump into the river and float with the current to cool off from the summer heat, which was one of my favorite parts of the trip. They also let us "bull ride" in the front of the raft, which was pretty awesome and hilarious. But I must say, the most memorable part of the trip was seeing how much fun everyone had going down the 8FT WATERFALL. Don't worry, they prepare you beforehand :) If you are even thinking about going rafting, I highly recommend Forward Paddle. We're already in the process of trying to plan another trip with this company again! read more

This outfit was professional, motivational and energetic. The office is small, expect to enter with your party. Only one party at a time. When you get all signed in hang out in the parking lot until you're assigned a shuttle. Complimentary coffee is available next door and there are two restrooms and changing rooms if needed. The shuttle was smooth and pleasant. Once at the drop every one gathered for directions and safety instructions. Once aboard the raft we got to know our guide and the river well. Our guide Jeremiah wasted no time getting us wet. Social distancing is encouraged and guides wear masks. Some changes have been implemented due to COVID-19. They do not mix parties together anymore. Each party gets their own raft. Jeremiah was an excellent guide. He told us about the wildlife in the area, current conditions, the Deschutes and White River and showed us how to ride a wave front first and told us all about chocolate milk (ask Jeremiah). This experience was not only great but unforgettable! read more

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Choose this company for rafting! Of all of the companies in this area to paddle with I HIGHLY recommend Forward Paddle. The river is incredible, of course, but the guides with Forward Paddle just go above and beyond to help you have the best time possible! They are knowledgeable, fun, and make sure you're safe and happy! While we only did the half day trip this time, you better believe we will be back for the full day. We had an amazing experience - check them out! read more

Purchased a tour through Groupon for an 8-person 1/2 day trip. We had two last minute cancellations but that turned out for the best since 6 adults in the raft was just the right amount of bodies. We had a fantastic day out on the water. Everything was super well organized with a lot of reassuring attention to safety details. Our guide, Trevor, was perfect. Gave us lots of instructions and encouragement plus was a genuinely friendly and funny guy. Would absolutely recommend Forward Paddle Rafting. Also, definitely recommend getting the flash drive of photos. For only $35, you get a lot of professional quality photos. read more

My 14 year old son and I had so much fun! We did the half day trip and it was perfect. It allowed us to have the right amount of time on the river. The trip was 11 miles and along the way we experienced numerous class II and III rapids and of course the class IV (my son's favorite). Our guide Teddy was great! He was very friendly and extremely knowledgeable...I felt very safe. I recommend Forward Paddle and would definitely go again! read more

Amazing day! Teddy was our guide and he was awesome. Talkative, knowledgeable, and professional. This is our second time rafting with Forward Paddle and will definitely be back. Thank you!! read more

This company is family owned and operated. The staff was friendly, knowledgable, and made you feel welcomed. They made me feel super safe which was important because I was a beginner. They really take their time to explain all the procedures but dont overwhelm you with info either. Our guide was Travis, he was super friendly and fun. He gave us great tips on where to eat and cool local river knowledge. I especially liked how I didnt feel rushed to get on the lake and paddle quickly just to end the trip faster and get the next group going as I noticed with other companies that were out on the river too. We took our time, hit some great waves, and really got a chance to enjoy the scenery. Forward paddle gave me awesome memories or Oregon, I would use them over again! read more

This was my very first white water rafting trip, and I haven't done any rafting since I was a kid. We did the half day in the morning. It was just the best! We all got a good work out, learned a lot, and felt extremely relaxed after 3 hours on the soothing water. And what a rush those rapids were!! Plus the Deschutes is beautiful. The morning trip was the least populated and perfect temperature. I am normally cold, but even in the morning it was very warm. Teddy was our guide. He was very personable and down to earth; He even memorized all of our names! He was quick witted with lots of dad jokes. Try not to let it go over your head, even if it's the morning trip. Very clear instructions and will do wonders for team building. Make sure to follow the tempo of the person paddling in front of you, please! :) Loved this company and their new cut of the edge rafts. Would go with them again. read more

We planned a half day family outing at Forward Paddle and had a good day but a day worth reviewing. We were 6 of us with two teenagers of 13 and 15. We arrived on a 100F Saturday afternoon on the 4th of July weekend to check-in and get ready for the bus ride to the river. When we were all in the bus without AC, we sat for about 10 min with the bus's engine not starting until the owner had to find another older, decrepit bus to take us to the river. That was an interesting start, since we all had to also help push the bus out of the way for the rafts to make it to the river. We were assigned Rissa, a new guide that shared with us had been working a month there. Let's say that in the very first minor rapid we all stayed in the boat and she was sent flying out to the river, from where she yelled at us terrified to help her. Nobody from the other rafters came to help so we had to figure out how to control the boat and get her back. Did I share for most of us this was a very first rafting trip? Yup. This didn't give us a lot of confidence, but we laughed about it. We keep going, day is fantastic but hot; and we get to the most challenging part of the river where Rissa decided for us 'my raft is not ready, we take the other route". The translation "I have no idea what I am doing so I am scared to take them through the place everyone else is going". We all looked at each other and let it go but when we take the 'easy' route, she again lost control of the boat and started screaming at us because it was our fault, we were talking and laughing and not listening to her (what???), and we missed the area where she was supposed to take us to wait. She created a chilling moment on the boat, where we were all pondering if we should reply back or not. Let's say I don't pay to be yelled out when the person in charge is totally unable to control the boat. The rest of the ride was no longer fun, while Rissa tried to recover the day but taking a selfie and telling us she will upload to Facebook without even asking us if that was okay. Overall, we didn't feel safety was top of mind for this company and definitively, Rissa is not ready for the role on her own. At no time the owner or other more senior staff came to check on us or apologize in any way. The organization was not great, with the team never telling you if you should take water or not and then not providing water throughout the ride, as we had expected. Luckily we all had our bottles with us though we were originally told to not take them if we didn't want to lose them. Well, let's say we would definitively do this again but not with Paddle Forward. read more

This company is apart of a string of companies that are all roped together under a church organization (probably to avoid taxes) but they are not in your face about God stuff. In fact, it was only after my friends and I unknowingly asked several questions did the truth come to the light. Their expertise on the river was undeniable. Our entire experience was perfection. Straight forward commands that built team unity while the guides navigated the river with mastery to give the rider just the right amount of joy, adventure, and challenge. Additionally, the staff were excellent conversationalist, but who can't have a great conversation when the topic is the LIVING LEGEND RuPaul. This is the rafting company you should choose when heading to Hop n' Maupin, Oregon! Hey... they could also be your next church!?! read more

GREAT TRIP. Guide Travis was awesome. Jim gave the pre trip talk and filled in for our last run at the class 4 rapid at the end. GREAT. 1/2 day trip was perfect. Very knowledgeable, organized, great equipment and were truly concerned in the experience they provided. read more

I had so much fun with this group! The guides are knowledgable, experienced, and know how to have a good time! They took their time to explain safety tips and made sure everyone was ready before we started our trip! I will be coming back for sure! Our guide was Jim and he made the 3 hour trip so much fun! He told great stories, made jokes, and we all felt comfortable. The river is beautiful and the rapids were exciting! read more

We had a great day, fantastic ride down the river. We started with a short drive to the drop in point, followed by a thorough safety overview then it was go time. Our guide was friendly and helpful. We did have a few overboard incidents, but everyone got back into the boat, no problems. The only unfortunate issue was our photo package was mixed up, which we didn't notice until after we got home. But a quick call and the manager made it right. So definitely 5 stars for service! We would go back to FPR for our next river trip, it's a blast! read more

We had a wonderful time rafting down the Deschutes river. We did the 1pm trip and it was just perfect for us. I think we got back around 5ish. We went through many rapids of level 2-3s. My daughter of 6 years old got to ride the bull; she had a blast! read more

This is one of the highlights of our Oregon trip. We went with 2.5 hours rafting starting from 1PM. Safty tips were given during the 5 mins orientation before we hopped in. Our guide, Trevor, was AWESOME. He is naturally friendly, nice, and funny. We really enjoyed the local history he told us along the trip. He knows the river stream as well as how to navigate to get all the excitements out of it. There were 4 kids (age from 7-14) on our raft and Trevor knows how to keep them busy and entertained. Highly recommended. read more

Went with 14 people in our group and we all had an amazing time. The crew was so knowledgeable, experienced and so much fun. I highly recommend this company to whomever is interested in rafting. Will definitely go again!! read more

We were staying in Redmond and looking for something a little more exciting than the lazy float down the Deschutes River. Found FPR on Groupon and had a blast! Safe, clean and a ton of fun. From check in, to the shuttle up river and our trip through each class III down river..... everyone was fun and professional. Our guide, Jeff, was excellent in explaining the expectations for rowing the river and we enjoyed his conversation! His skill on the river and fellowship were appreciated and enhanced our trip. We will definitely be back to enjoy the full day trip! read more

We really enjoyed ourselves. It was a real team effort too get everything together for all the people but they had it down. We would go again! read more

This was the most amazing experience... I would give 10 stars if I could.. Jim our guide was amazing and made me feel so safe.. worth every penny and more!!! read more

My family and I bought a Groupon offer for this excursion as an end of summer trip. We had a group of 7 with a range of ranges in our boat (22-55 years old) and all felt that this was a good outdoor activity that served each of us all. My parents and I have done this trip before with another rafting company so we have a small basis of comparison to how this specific company compares to others int the area. Pros of Forward Paddle: - Extremely thorough safety lesson before entering the raft which helped familiarize each person with the life vest, and understand the dangers of rafting - Very friendly staff. This business is family run and owned which made us feel very welcomed because the staff truly did their best to welcome us - Our guide specifically was very knowledgable and made us feel safe. He was friendly and engaged in conversation with us the whole time which helped us get to know him and feel more connected. Areas for improvement: - We had a lot fo waiting around time. Our arrival time was scheduled for 1pm but we arrived and ended up waiting around for almost 40 minutes before we actually were checked in and ready to go. A little better coordination and communication would have helped orient us during our wait time. - One thing we appreciated from our other experience the year before was that our guide did a better job at letting us know where we were on time. We had MUCH more opportunities to swim in the water and "ride the bull" the year before (basically sections of water where one person can sit at the front of the boat and have opportunities to be splashed). This year it felt like we weren't told that we could swim as many times which was a bummer. - Similarly, our previous guide gave us more "warnings" about where our final rapids were, or the final opportunities to "ride the bull" would be. This year the end took us by surprise and we wish we could have had more warning so that we could fully take advantage of opportunities to swim before the excursion ended... But hey, maybe the timing snuck up on us because we were having so much fun! Overall, a wonderful trip to take with family and friends no matter anyone's experience level. The company was very friendly, and our guide (Jeremiah) was very kind and friendly the whole time. He was full of energy and had good conversation the whole time with everyone on the raft. Would definitely recommend this trip, and our guide to others who are interested! read more

Had such an amazing time on my first rafting experience! The guides were educated, and took their time going over the rules for safety and how to correctly paddle. I found them on Groupon so I got a bit of a deal. Purchased the entire photo album and some of the pictures are hilarious! I would definitely recommend this company for its professionalism and its fun! read more

Our group of six (purchased on Groupon for a half day trip) had such a sweet time! Our guide Ryan was great, put up with our silliness and flicked us some back. Forward Paddle has got their game down! Thanks so much and see you next summer! read more

What a great rafting company! We did a half day-which was a perfect intro for our group. We weren't sure what to expect, but this trip exceeded it all! Super fun, and made sure we had a great time and got to enjoy as much of the river as we could. We were smiling the whole time. ;) Very experienced and made sure safety was always a priority. We can't wait to return for a full day! read more

Our guide Jeremiah was fantastic. Good rapids and fun times with other rafters on the river. Everyone at Forward Paddle was friendly and positive. Highly recommend! read more

While this wasn't a new river for me - I've rafted the Deschutes a few times - this trip was probably my favorite. Jim and his team created a really unique experience for us and went out of their way to make sure that our son was safe and having a blast! Thanks to Jim and Jeff for an amazing day on the river. read more

Brought my 13 year old daughter on a business/vacation to the PNW and took a day to go rafting. Had a blast with Forward Paddle! Travis was a terrific guide and kept the conversation flowing between running the rapids. Very knowledgable about the river and some interesting facts about the area. Would definitely come back to these guys the next time I return. They really enjoy what they do and it shows. read more

What a blast! I've had the chance to go rafting all over the west coast and while there are certainly bigger rivers than the one I went on with these guys, it was a blast start to finish. We booked the half day trip which still covers the rapids of a full day and most of the river run through less time to play around of course but a perfect approach for a day out in my book. Easy to find the place, well handled service (it's a real business, not walking into some dingy rafting shack), and of course great guides to warrant the 5 stars (full safety review, tips on paddling, lots of fun out on the river). read more

We had a wonderful time! The guides are knowledgeable and informative about what to expect along the way and made us feel very safe, even with the "level 4" rapids. They gave the choice to go or not. My friend had a previous rafting experience that was quite frightening, as they weren't prepared or informed, and wanted to conquer the fear she had. We will definitely use this company again and highly recommend them! read more

Great time on the river with Teddy. He was awesome about prepping us for the bigger Rapids and let us have fun and swim in the slower parts of the river. read more

Fantastic rafting experience!! Our river guide Travis was knowledgable and friendly, put an emphasis one safety, yet still knew exactly how to keep our 11 & 12 year old kids entertained for the entire trip. In addition to the many great rapids on the Deschutes, our trip included several side adventures, including rock jumping into the river, using the underside of the raft for "slip and slide", and our kids' favorite....a side trek up the White River to a natural water slide. Travis made safety the number one priority and we were confident that we were in the hands of an expert, but we all still felt like thrill seekers at the end of the day. This is my family's fourth rafting trip and by far the best experience we've had. Thank you Travis and the whole crew at Forward Paddle! read more

We found a groupon deal for two for a half day. Right from the start everyone was friendly and helpful. They have great communication, confirming our trip a few days before and were understanding when we were late due to road work. This is the first time my wife and I have been rafting and they give you all the info you need along the way to make you feel safe. They are a small company but this is what makes them great! I highly recommend them to anyone!!! read more

Thank you to Forward Paddle for an adventure packed day of rafting! We had a blast with y'all! These guys are precise, knowledgeable, and have the best puns around! If you want a fun end of summer activity, I definitely recommend them, plus they have a great deal on groupon right now! read more

This was the most awesome experience! Everyone that worked there was so friendly and all of the guides knew what they were doing and made me feel very safe. It was such an awesome trip! My boyfriend and I did the half day trip and it was nice and warm outside so the cold water splashing us felt great. I can't wait to bring my friends to do it with us next summer!! read more