Guided Whitewater Rafting Trip Near Yellowstone National Park

We arrived late in Gardiner, Montana on a June Summer evening. We had just made the drive in the GuideTime R.V. from Jackson, Wyoming. We passed through Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks on our way up. Much to our surprise, an elk was standing right in the middle of main street eating from local businesses flower pots. I knew from that point on that this guided experience would be unique.

GuideTime has a great operating system for how they run their whitewater rafting trips. The guide service is nestled on the steep upper bank of the Yellowstone River. On one side, you have the Yellowstone River, where they put in for rafting trips and on the other side is the main road that runs through Gardiner. Once they get you geared up for your trip, they walk you down the path directly to the river from the shop and get you going in the raft.

Reserve a Yellowstone National Park rafting trip HERE

I got to go on the expert guided full-day (which includes lunch) whitewater rafting trip. The trip starts a bit slow in regards to rapids. However, this allows you to take in the scenery and get to know your guide. Due to the proximity to Yellowstone National Park, you will likely see deer, elk, bison, and even grizzly bears on the trip. The guides pointed out a grizzly carcass on the river bank which had either died from old age or injuries from another bear, a really cool sight to see!

The best of the whitewater rapids go through a series of rocky canyons, which adds to your overall adventure experience! Not only do the guides make sure that clients are having a good time, but you can also tell that the guides are having a great time as well! If you want to add to your Yellowstone Park trip or you’re in the Gardiner area, you can book a trip with Flying Pig on the GuideTime marketplace! Just be careful if traveling with flowers, it attracts hungry elk!