Rafting

in the wilderness of Denali.

Our Exclusive Raft Trips are an excellent way for family and friends of varying ages and physical abilities to enjoy a customized adventure together on the river—at the same pace.

Raft Trip Features

Like all of our custom adventures, our raft trips are private—or as we say in the rafting world, “exclusive.” That means that it’s just you and your group, with our safe, professional, and experienced River Team.

The Nenana is a glacially-fed river that makes up the eastern boundary of Denali National Park. Each trip is customized to your group’s interests and activity level, with options for “less splashy” Class I-III or “more splashy” Class III+. Minimum age 5+ for any rafting trip, 12+ for Class III+ experience.

Your River Team will take into account your group’s interests, and customize the trip based on current conditions—as the river is very dynamic.

All transportation to/from your lodging and to/from the river is private. You and your group will have our boathouse to yourselves, where our River Team will outfit your group with all the safety gear for your rafting trip. We provide all required safety gear: boat, paddles, PFDs, drysuits, helmets, neoprene gloves, and river shoes.

We prefer to stagger our trip times to avoid the larger commercial operators on the river. Your group will have the river to yourselves—as you move at the speed of water—along a wild, glacially-fed river bordering Denali National Park.

Want to learn more?

See Faq

HIKE & RAFT

UP TO 8 HOURS

An exclusive multi-sport, full day of adventure combining hiking and river rafting in the Denali area.
$1,995 for up to 4 people, $250 for each additional person.
No prior rafting experience required.

Exclusive 2-Hour Raft Trip

UP TO 4 HOURS TOTAL

A personalized rafting experience with just your group and your River Team, traversing one section of the Nenana River.
$1,095 for up to 6 people, $150 for each additional person.
No prior rafting experience required.

Ride & Raft

UP TO 6-8 HOURS

Get more out of your travel day to/from Fairbanks or Talkeetna by adding river rafting in the Denali area to your Private Transportation.
$2,195 for up to 4 people, $150 for each additional person.
No prior rafting experience required.

Exclusive 4-Hour Raft Trip

UP TO 6 HOURS TOTAL

A personalized rafting experience with just your group and your River Team, traversing two sections of the Nenana River.
$1,495 for up to 6 people, $150 for each additional person.
No prior rafting experience required.

Private Packrafting 1.5 Day Adventure

1.5 DAYS

1/2 day flat-water class + 1 day packrafting on the river – $2,590 for up to 4 people

What Our Clients Say

Katie K.

Joe & Mollie made trip planning so easy for my husband and I. It was our first time in Alaska and they did an amazing job making our vacation one of our most memorable and personalized vacations. They are both excellent people who have great ideas and superb local knowledge. We were very well taken care of on the trip. For outdoor adventures we went on some gorgeous day hikes, pack rafting (first time for both of us and highly recommend this), biking, sea kayaking and fly fishing. On the plane ride home we decided that Alaska is a place…

Liz G.

Go visit Alaska on land and use an Alaskan guide. Not just any guide, use Traverse Alaska. They use Alaska residents as their guides, and are knowledgeable and skilled. We were fortunate enough to have Vicki as our guide when my husband, two adult daughters, and I visited Denali. I indicated when I first contacted Traverse Alaska that we wanted a hiking experience at Denali. I did my best to describe our skill level, and Vicki worked with that. They also highly recommended a rafting trip. I was dubious, but said okay. While we did parts of our trip in…

Diana D.

“This was such a great experience from the very first contact. Joe was responsive from the start via email or phone. I stumbled upon packrafting and just knew it would be a unique experience. AND it sure was. We were picked up at our hotel and brought to an area only accessible with their access. The equipment was ready to go. We strapped on our (heavy) packs and away we went bushwhacking thru the forest of Alaska. Our guides made us feel comfortable and safe the whole trip. We were given plenty of options to meet our level of adventure….

Bracken K.

“We thought we got to see so much while we toured through Southeast Alaska. This excursion with Joe in the Denali area was the real showstopper of our entire vacation. With teens in tow, we preferred something active and had originally planned a river rafting tour. Due to low river levels, Joe suggested a pack rafting tour instead. What a great decision that turned out to be! We enjoyed a terrific hike through the boreal forest while we each carried the mode of transportation on our back that would get us down the river and back to civilization. Joe showed…

Hannah O.

“We did a single-day packrafting trip with Joe and Mollie. They were incredible! We hiked for a few miles through blueberry bushes to a spot on the Jack River where we ate lunch and then rafted back to our starting point. The guides were kind, smart, and great teachers about the nature, wildlife, and adventuring that we were doing–not only on our trip with them, but they were also giving us tips for doing trips on our own. This was just simply a perfect day.”

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