First and foremost: Wear comfortable, well-broken-in shoes on your river trip. Do NOT buy a brand-new pair of fancy boots or sandals the week before your trip and expect to wear those on the river. In no time you’ll be left with blisters and unable to participate in all of the adventures of your river trip.

RIVER SANDALS/SHOES

Many of your hikes will be through water and your feet will be getting wet as you step on and off the boats. The best all-purpose shoes are river sandals or amphibious shoes.

You’ll want something with a sturdy sole and grippy tread. This tread will keep you from slipping around on the boats and various slippery surfaces you’ll encounter. A heel strap is important so you don’t lose a shoe in a rapid. You might prefer a covered toe, to prevent stubbing your toes on rocks. Chaco, Bedrock, Teva, and Merrell all make excellent river shoes/sandals.

The constant contact with water and sand can lead to blisters or sore spots on your feet.  You’ll want to bring a couple of pairs of synthetic or wool socks to wear with your river shoes. Socks also offer great sun protection if necessary.

If you are rafting with us on an oar trip, or have the tendency to run cold, you might consider packing a pair of neoprene socks to wear under your river shoes/sandals. See below.

COLD FEET?

The water is ALWAYS going to be chilly. Usually about 50-70°F, and it does not change much if you’re looking at April or July. (You can check current water temperatures here.) The reason is that the water in the Canyon is released from the bottom of the Glen Canyon Dam. Having a good rain jacket and pants are great ways to keep the chilly water off your skin, but your feet are another issue.

For people who are worried about cold feet, we recommend neoprene socks. NRS makes a great pair that is super thin but also warm. These you wear literally just like socks: put them under your river sandals, and you should stay pretty warm. We don’t want anyone just wearing these on the boats because it would be too slippery; make sure to wear your river sandals as well.

If you have cold feet, then you most likely have cold hands as well. No worry. NRS also makes great gloves that keep your digits warm on the rafts. These are nice because they do have grip on them, so you’re able to wear them and still hang on tight during the rapids.

HIKING SHOES

There may be a few side hikes where you’ll be glad to have an alternative to your river shoes. Make sure to pack comfortable athletic shoes or hiking boots. These don’t have to be anything fancy an old pair of sneakers is perfectly appropriate, as long as they still have some decent tread on them. These are a must-have item for those guests who are on one of our hiker’s special trips and hike in or hike out trips.

Waterproof Community Shoe Bag:

Some people prefer to change into socks and shoes for longer dry hikes. You’ll place your extra pair of shoes with socks inside our provided community dry bag at orientation. This bag will always be accessible and brought out before side hikes. Do not leave hiking shoes in your personal duffel bag since you can’t access that during the day.

IN CAMP

An optional pair of lightweight flip flops are great to have while you’re in camp. If your river sandals are comfortable, those are great to wear in camp as well.

We DO NOT recommend bringing thin, water-moccasin type shoes, also sometimes called water socks or water shoes. These shoes typically don’t have a substantial enough sole on them to keep your feet happy. They tend to be slippery and don’t offer enough support.