It’s better to have company in Las Vegas. The best Sin City vacation stories come from vacationing with friends or family – whether for a raucous bachelor party, a family reunion or a company retreat. The Strip offers plenty of museums and nighttime activities for large groups. However, if you’re craving a bonding experience that doesn’t involve tequila or acrobatics, it’s best to look beyond the downtown lights. There you’ll find group-friendly activities with an outdoorsy bend.   

When you think about the beauty of nature, Las Vegas probably isn’t the first place that comes to mind. That’s not your fault. The city has more tourists than residents – around 42 million per year. The Strip is dominated by smoke-filled casinos and kitschy hotels plucked from the pages of a fantasy novel.

Part of Lake Mead National Recreation Area, the 30-mile stretch of the Colorado River known as the Black Canyon Water Trail is one of the area’s best spots for river rafting. The river here is classified as “moving flatwater,” which makes for a gentle, easy ride that’s ideal for sightseers and first-time rafters.

Rafting is a unique way to see the Hoover Dam. Visitors get a fish-eye view of the impressive concrete gravity-arch structure with its dual spillways and turbine powerhouse, plus the newer Mike O'Callaghan–Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge – completed in 2010 to divert heavy traffic away from US93. Rafters can view artifacts from the dam’s creation and snap Instagram pics of wildlife on the shores of the Colorado River.

The Hoover Dam is recognized as one of America’s modern marvels. The Federal Highway Administration named the gravity-arch dam one of America’s Top 10 Construction Achievements of the 20^th Century. Photographer Ansel Adams was fascinated by the structure, which took five years and 4.36 million cubic tons of concrete to complete. Countless artists have painted this stunning view, and about 7 million visitors line up each year to snap a selfie or Instagram picture.

Las Vegas has a reputation for being an adults-only city, thanks to its abundance of casinos, nightclubs and showgirls. But there’s more to Vegas than the Strip or the Fremont Street Experience. Just a short car ride from the Luxor’s famous Sky Beam, families can find outdoor and indoor activities that appeal to every age and type.

The Hoover Dam is a feat of modern engineering. At 1,224 feet long and 726 feet high, it’s America’s second largest dam and one of the top twenty concrete arch dams in the world. Spanning the Colorado river between Arizona and Nevada, Hoover Dam attracts more than seven million visitors per year.

The Hoover Dam has long been recognized as a modern marvel. Photographer Ansel Adams famously captured the dam’s magnificence in 1942. Since then countless artists have captured its image, and about 7 million visitors line up each year to snap a selfie or Instagram picture. The Federal Highway Administration even named Hoover Dam one of America’s Top 10 Construction Achievements of the 20^th Century.

With more than 40 million annual visitors, Las Vegas is the state’s top tourist destination. Many tourists never look past the glittering casinos and star-studded shows of The Strip and nearby Fremont Street. Locals, however, know that there’s far more to Las Vegas than showgirls and poker tables.

When the Hoover Dam was constructed in the 1930s, the reservoir it created offered additional resources for the area’s natural wildlife. Already teeming with reptiles, fish, and other native critters, the vibrant Mojave Desert Ecosystem now had a stable freshwater source in Lake Mead. On your Black Canyon River Adventures rafting tour, you’ll get an up-close and personal look at the flourishing wildlife inside Black Canyon Gorge on the river side of Hoover Dam.   

Planning a trip to Las Vegas and not sure how to fit in everything you want to see while you’re in town? You are not alone. After all, Las Vegas and the Mohave Desert offer some of the greatest sightseeing and vacation opportunities in the southwestern United States. At Black Canyon River Adventures, we make it easy for you to fit a river float into your Las Vegas itinerary, no matter how long you are in town.

If you are visiting Las Vegas, chances are you have a list of things you are looking forwarding to doing while in town. At Black Canyon River Adventures, we believe a day trip to the Hoover Dam should be at the top of your list.

All along the Black Canyon National Water Trail, there are some beautiful caves and canyons that were formed by the erosive power of the Colorado River. There are also some stunning ones that are manmade. At Black Canyon River Adventures, our tours will give you a unique opportunity to explore these marvels. Here are just a few of the unique caves and canyons you might see.

At Black Canyon River Adventures, we are committed to providing tours of the beautiful Black Canyon National Water Trail that are fun, informative, and most of all, safe. We work hard to ensure all of our equipment is in good repair and complies with all mandatory regulations. Moreover, our skilled raft tour guides are trained in boat safety and appropriate procedures in the unlikely event of an emergency.

From the base of the Hoover Dam to the rugged mountains surrounding Willow Beach, a raft tour on the Black Canyon Raft will offer unforgettable views along the lower Colorado River. At Black Canyon River Adventures, we offer a one-of-a-kind a Black Canyon Raft Tour on the first National Water Trail in the southwestern United States.

Are you planning for your first river rafting trip and aren’t sure what to bring? You are not alone. At Black Canyon River Adventures, we are proud to take many of our guests on their very first river rafting tour. Although our single day trips don’t require much, there are a few things you will want to bring with you.

Las Vegas is a popular family vacation spot. Despite the city's reputation as a playground for adults, there is a wealth of family fun in and around the city. Although many of the casinos and resorts in town feature activities appropriate for all age levels, Vegas and the surrounding area offer much more beyond the bright lights of the hotels.

More than a million people visit the Hoover Dam every year, but most of them miss out on the best view of this National Civil Engineering Landmark without even realizing it. There’s no denying that looking down at the dam face from the walkway at the top will take your breath away, but at Black Canyon River Adventures, we invite you to take a different perspective and experience the magnificent and picturesque Hoover Dam from the bottom.

Running through the Southwest desert lies the Black Canyon Water Trail, the first trail of its kind to be designated in the United States. The Black Canyon Water Trail includes over 30 miles of wilderness and serenity along the Colorado River. Selected as a National Water Trail in 2014 by the United States Secretary of the Interior, the trail became the first National Water Trail in the Southwest and remains the only National Water Trail in a desert climate.

The bright lights of the strip are not the only sights worth seeing on your next visit to Las Vegas. Less than an hour from the choreographed Bellagio fountains, the waters of the lower Colorado River in Lake Mead National Recreation Area sparkle in the desert sun. At Black Canyon River Adventures, we cannot help but recommend you include nature as part of your Las Vegas trip.

Christmas Eve is a great day to spend time with family. Perhaps though, a new tradition is in store for how you spend the day on Christmas Eve. If you're just in town visiting family or reside in Las Vegas, then go visit Santa on a river raft with our team at Black Canyon River Adventures!

Black Canyon River Rafting never looked so good! Recently, our very own Slade got a chance to take John from Nevada PBS's Outdoor Nevada on a rafting trip on the Colorado River. While on the river John had a chance to experience and see the beauties and relics that make the canyon so unique.