5 reasons rafting trips are the best family vacations
Call me biased but I think multi-day rafting trips are the best family vacations you can go on. My kids have been on some amazing vacations but we keep coming back to the river and every year they are itching to go. Here are 5 reasons rafting trips make the best family vacations.
1. Escape the screens! This is not just the kids. Sure my kids are at their best when they have been away form the screens for a couple days. You can watch their creativity come out, their playfulness grow, their ability to just sit and relax increases. But so does mine! As a busy business owner I live on my screens, answering e-mails from employees and customers, dealing with issues and also just reading the news. When we go on the river the cell service disappears and so does my phone. Floating away from service mean floating into presence as a parent. I love it and my kids love it.
2. Embrace the challenge, embrace the growth. River trips put your kids in enviroments where they can challenge themselves in great ways and discover the confidence that comes from taking on new challenges and having new experiences. I love watching my kids discover they are capable of more than they thought they were. It is one of the great joys of being a parent and river trips are the best for this.
Watch this video of my daughters first trip down the Main Salmon River a few years ago.
3. Everyone can have an adventure, while still being together. Going through rapids is an adventure for both you and your kids. As a parent you can paddle an inflatable kayak through the rapids which is a great adventure for the adults and the older kids. The younger kids can ride in a raft, but go through the same rapids and have a great adventure that is perfect for them. This way both the parents and the kids are having an adventure that is perfect for them while traveling together and having an adventure as a family. River trips are not the kind of vacation where the parents sacrifice their fun for the sake of their kids. This is the kind of adventure where everyone has fun at their level.
4. Have your kids slept under the stars? There is something amazing about sleeping under the stars and sharing it with your kids. In the river canyons like the Rogue and Salmon Rivers, where you can escape light pollution, just spending the evening looking up at the sky is a moment you will cherish.
5. NO LINES - So many of the activities for kids involve places with lots of people and standing in line. Not on the river. Escape the crowds, escape the lines and escape the stress that comes with them. 
If you are thinking you may want to get on a river trip with your kids, here are three great ones:
1. Wild and Scenic Rogue River 4-day camping trip
2. The Gorges of the Lower Salmon River - 4-day trip