Using a small backpack can be helpful to keep your hands free.
Grand Canyon Whitewater will provide the dry bags for your rafting trip down the Colorado River. You’ll just need to bring a duffel bag for your clothes/personal items and consider a small, collapsible daypack for side hikes.
If your trip includes a hike into or out of the canyon, you’ll be carrying all of your river gear in your hiking backpack. Be sure to read your trip packet for specific details regarding backpack requirements and hydration pack/water bottle recommendations.
Here’s what you need to know before heading to the Grand Canyon:
Dry Bags:
Please do not bring your own dry bags. Dry bags will be provided during your river orientation.
– Large Dry Bag: Think of this as your checked luggage. When you arrive at the river, you’ll receive a large dry bag that already contains your sleep kit. Your personal duffel goes into this large dry bag, on top of the sleep kit. You won’t have access to this bag during the day, so remove anything you might need. It will remain packed away until you reach camp in the afternoons.
– Small Dry Bag: This smaller dry bag is your carry-on. It’s approximately 7″ x 14″ and will be accessible throughout the day. Use it for things like your phone or camera, sunscreen, rain gear, lip balm, a sarong, small daypack, and your river guide. You’ll be opening this bag frequently while on the rafts, so some water will inevitably get inside. Keep this in mind when choosing what to pack. For items that need to stay completely dry, consider using an additional layer of protection.
Duffel Bag:
– We recommend a soft-sided duffel bag approximately 12 inches tall × 12 inches wide × 24 inches long. This is roughly 55 liters or less, for your personal items and clothing. Different dimensions are fine as long as the overall volume is similar and the bag can be compressed/squished down. Please do not bring hard-sided luggage.
– You don’t need a fancy duffel bag. There are plenty of high-end, water-resistant options designed specifically for outdoor adventure travel, with features like lash points and multiple straps. But ultimately, any soft-sided bag of the appropriate size will work. That old gym bag sitting in the back of your closet is fine.
IMPORTANT NOTE: If your river trip includes hiking into or out of the canyon, you will need a hiking backpack instead of a duffel bag.
Day Backpack:
A small backpack or fanny pack can be handy for side hikes, so you can keep your hands free. Friends and family can easily share a pack. There’s no need for everyone to bring their own. Most of our hikes aren’t terribly long, but several require a bit of maneuvering and scrambling.
– Drawstring bags and collapsible backpacks work great on river trips. They’re lightweight, pack easily into the day drybags we provide, and keep your hands free while hiking and scrambling. If you already own a small hydration pack, that may work too. Just make sure it’s small enough to fit inside the 7″ × 14″ dry bag we provide. Otherwise, the pack (and everything inside it) will get wet while running rapids.
– If you want to keep it simple and prefer to carry just a water bottle, a shoulder strap works great, or you can rig up your own solution.
See you on the water!
