A lot of folks ask us whether their family can do a Grand Canyon whitewater rafting trip during spring break. This doesn’t work out for most families, unless your school has a late spring break, because our first trip of the season doesn’t launch until April. Our launch schedule, like the schedules of all the Grand Canyon raft outfitters, is set by the National Park Service. Commercial rafting companies are only allowed to run trips from April to October. The rest of the year, the river is reserved for private rafting trips.

However, if your spring break happens to fall in mid- or late-April, you might just be able to make a raft trip happen. We only run two trips in April, our Hiker’s Special trips (one motorized trip and one oar-powered trip, both of which can be split into an Upper Canyon or a Lower Canyon trip). We call them Hiker’s Specials because, the idea is, we can do some longer day hikes in the milder April weather. These April trips are also a few days longer than our regular-season trips, which makes them special. Another thing that’s special about these trips is their price; they cost about the same as a regular-season trip, even though you’re getting a few extra days in the canyon.

Our April Hiker’s Special trips often fill up fast. April is, after all, an incredible time to be in Grand Canyon — wildflowers are blooming, birds are nesting, and the river often is flowing a clear, beautiful aquamarine color. If you’re hoping to do a trip this season, we do still have a few spots left on our 2014 Hiker’s Special trips. We might not have room for your entire extended family but, if you give us a call, we’ll try to find something that will fit your needs!

Photo: One of our motor boats on an early season trip