We are so happy to announce that we are the 2023 Leave No Trace Community Partner of the Year winner! We applied with our sister company, Arizona River Runners.

From Leave No Trace: “Arizona River Runners and Grand Canyon Whitewater are proud and committed stewards of the Leave No Trace principles. Running multi-day river trips through the Grand Canyon, ARR and GCW have gone above and beyond to ensure that all of their guests learn about essential Leave No Trace practices that will help protect the delicate canyon ecosystem for generations to come. These companies include Leave No Trace messaging in everything from email campaigns and blogs to conversations before guests arrive and during their time in the canyon. GCW and ARR have been proud partners of Leave No Trace for 17 years and reach an average of 4,000 guests a year.”

Our river guides help solidify the Leave No Trace message continually throughout the trip. Leading by example, guides teach guests to pick up micro-trash, fish stray items out of the river, and teach a pack-in/pack-out mentality that everyone can learn from. Camping only in designated areas in the Grand Canyon is essential for us to maintain the beauty of the national park. Guides also inform guests about the beautiful and extremely fragile crypto-biotic soil crust that looks simply like dirt but is actually a living organism. Guides encourage everyone to stay on designated trails with the motto ‘don’t bust the crust!’

“The extra effort put into retrieving shoes, trash, a can of Rosé, and a container of Feta cheese from the river clearly showed the level of care and love the guides have for this special place,” guest Chris Maroney said.

We strive to embody these principles while in the Grand Canyon so they become something that our guests take with them for the rest of their lives.