Ocoee Adventure Center

We picked OAC for our company outing on Sept 12^th to raft both the upper and the middle section of the Ocoee. Our two guides (Norwood & Ken) did an excellent job instructing and navigating. One of the primary reasons we picked OAC is because they have a reputation for getting the rafts in holes for surf rodeos (if you want) and not blasting down the river. The river is much more enjoyable if you take some time to recirculate in eddys. Also — I told Joe we wanted to hit the meat of every rapid and he delivered. His lines were really good and we hit the big stuff just about every time. He also got us into a fast series of 360’s as we went down «accelerator» rapid — which was really cool. I kayak the Ocoee regularly and I hadn’t seen a raft do that until this trip. The lunch in between the run was above average and much welcomed as we caught the last upper dam release of the year and it was a little chilly. Hot sandwiches/​coffee was a plus. Both guides had a lot of great history to impart as well. I will definitely use OAC for our next trip. They delivered. Great outfitter!

We had an excellent time on the water with William who was a very accommodating tour guide. At our request, we hit the Upper Ocoee as hard as we could spending extra time making sure we did it safely, but maximized the «fun» factor for a bunch of us on a bachelor party weekend.
The staff was professional and friendly. The only reason I am not rating OAC at 5 stars is the fiasco with the Go-​pro video. It was promised within two weeks of the completion of our adventure, and despite multiple calls and e-​mails it did not show up (and only one of the three edited videos ran properly) before the wedding over three months later. Lots of excuses, but not worth the additional fee. Lesson learned, BRING YOUR OWN GO-​PRO!!! Other than that OAC is highly recommended.

This place is awesome! We came here for a company outing and split up into a few different rafts. Our guide was Gator (funny story behind that name) and he was hands down the best guide. He worked us down the rapids so that everyone had a chance to get soaked. I would definitely recommend requesting him for your trip. At no point did we feel unsafe or like we weren’t in good hands.

My family enjoyed our trip with OAC so, so much. Our guide, Jacob, was very skilled and fun. This was my first time to white water raft and I never felt unsafe or scared during the entire ride. We were able to get out of the raft and float down the river for a while, which was probably my favorite part. The Ocoee is beautiful and seeing it by raft is an unforgettable experience. I will definitely choose to ride with OAC again.

We had a terrific experience rafting today on the Ocoee. Our guide Alexander did a great job making our trip down the river both exciting and safe. I need to comment on how clean I found the changing/​shower facilities, something I wasn’t expecting. There were even hairdryers provided. Another nice surprise was their café. Following our rafting and showers we enjoyed a draft beer and light lunch from their friendly bartender. All in all a 5 star day.

Nothing but great things to say about this company! Super friendly staff, our river guide AMY was the absolute best that I’ve had out of all of the times I have ever been WWR — you should definitely ask for her! She’s been doing it for over 22 years. The company’s philosophy is for them to give their customers the greatest experience possible on the water and that includes spending as much time as possible and not rushing the experience. We were the only company to «surf» on the hydraulic rapids meaning we got more time on the water! Great experience!

First time white water rafting and these guys made it an amazing experience! They are very professional and focused on safety but still make sure you have a fun time. Jacob was an awesome guide. There were a couple other companies on the river and I felt like this company’s guides were definitely the best. Some of the guides from other companies got flustered and were yelling at the people in their raft. OAC guides were personable, cool, calm and collected. I was terrified at first but felt very safe with Jacob. Would love to come back and do it again!

These guys are great! They are very professional. They focus on safety first, but they are one of the few companies on the Ocoee that make sure they’re on the river long enough to play in a couple of the fun rapids like Double Suck and Hollywood. Some companies on the Ocoee will try to get the trip down the river as quickly as possible so that they can fit more trips into a day. This is not one of those companies. These guys make sure you get your money’s worth (and then some).
We had a great experience, and can’t wait to go back!
Disclaimer and/​or Validation: I was a raft guide for 7 seasons at another (great) company on the Ocoee.

I agree with everything Heather F. Said below. Also want to add the we came here 4 years ago and had just as much fun then. We have done others and came back here and again on Thursday ⁶⁄₁₉ and would highly recommend this rafting company ! We had 2 rafts with our family of 11 ppl and our guides Richard and Chris made our day soo enjoyable. What a freakin blast !! Thanks guys !!

Wow!!! It was amazing. Our guide, Bugg, was very knowledgeable and informative. We will definitely go again!

Had a great time! Our guide was George, and he did and excellent job with keeping us in the raft. He named all the features and explained the history of the river in great detail. I would and will recommend this company (and George) to everyone I know, and my wife and I are already planning our next trip.

Me, as we were driving the windy roads out to Copperhill to go white water rafting for the first time: «Nobody ever dies while white water rafting, right? I mean, when they are doing so with professional companies taking you out on the water?» Turns out I was wrong.
This year alone there had been at least 3 deaths on the rapids and all were with professional rafting companies, though I cannot confirm which companies. This is why you have to sign disclaimer forms before going on your adventure, hahaha, eh. Hmmm.
The Ocoee is known worldwide for its rafting. It has waters that are classified as Class III (difficult) and Class IV (very difficult) both of which you will find on the upper and middle portions of the Ocoee. The middle Ocoee has been around for decades and is available to raft most of the rafting season. The upper Ocoee was actually created by the TVA in the 1990’s for the US Olympics during the 96′ Atlanta Olympic games and is only open 30 days out of the year. The difference between the middle and upper is that they are both 5 miles long but the middle has more rapids to enjoy whereas the Upper has less rapids but more class IV (bigger) rapids than the middle. Ocoee Adventure Center offers trips on either/​or or both. If you choose one it is considered a half day; if you choose both it is considered a full day.
The cost is actually pretty cheap. I would recommend booking an early morning trip as you save $ 5 (total price: $ 35 each person with the discount for half day) plus the river is not nearly as crowded as it will be during the heat of the day. There are numerous rafting companies that serve the area so the river can get busy, in addition to the kayaks and locals.
Our guide was a woman named Amy who has been doing this for over 15 years. Amy was pretty awesome. Your guide is very important as they will be the one directing you to paddle or dive down in your seat when you really hit the big waves. Hence you need to bring cash to tip your guide, especially if they help keep you from capsizing. Amy was awesome and even complemented our group, saying we were above-​average rafters though most in our group had never done rafting before.
The individual rapids have names such as Grumpy, Double Trouble and my personal favorite Hell’s Hole. Some of the rapids are available for «surfing» which is when your guide instructs you to steer the raft up into the sloshing water, facing the rapids, while they hold it in place and ride the wave for seconds or even a minute or two (if they are that good). There are other calmer sections of the river where this company allows you to get out and take a dip if you wish.
At some point during the trip down river the Ocoee Adventure Center will have a photographer standing on a bridge to take pictures of you drowning, I mean rafting. This is a great keepsake as they take tons of pictures you can choose from to purchase after your trip is over. It is not recommended to bring any cameras on the trip (even water proof) because you won’t have much time to deal with such, though I saw some people with cameras around their neck.
The instructions given were clear and the equipment in good condition. If you fall out of the raft they have methods to help you back inside.
(FYI: this place is located on the outskirts of the Cherokee National Forest. I have AT&T (specifically the iPhone) and had zero signal, the kind that says No Service for miles leading out to the location. My friend who has Verizon had full bars. Though having no signal was kinda nice).
The reason why I would pick this company over others is that their tours are slightly longer than a lot of the other companies offering rapid adventures and I feel that they give you more time on the water. The more time you spend on the river the more fun you will have. I sure had a great time.