West Virginia whitewater rafting guidance available

The people leading the charge against COVID-19 in West Virginia and the whitewater rafting industry have come up with a plan to get people out on the water for Memorial Day weekend.

Gov. Jim Justice announced Thursday that whitewater rafting industry can reopen, with restrictions beginning Thursday, May 21 as a part of the state’s comeback plan.

Only six people will be allowed in a raft at once. Only 18 people will be allowed on a bus at a time to take people to the launch point.

According to the guidelines, rafters are not allowed to share equipment with anyone other than their immediate rafting group.

The guidelines go on to say:

“Outfitters must coordinate to stagger the loading and unloading of rafts and launching and takeout of rafts to maintain proper social distancing, Guests must remain on the buses/rafts until their group loads or unloads, and outfitters should maximize the distance between rafts while on the river.”

In addition “outfitters must implement an advanced reservation model for all guided trips.”

You can find a detailed version of the plans in the "related documents" tab (right on desktop, below on mobile).