Watauga Kayak Reviews

Amazing team, we had such a greast time. They took great care if us and our safety. Highly recommended

A group of my friends and I tried going rafting/kayaking around the area, all of which two attempts failed. I guess, third time is the charm!! Teresa at Watauga was welcoming and friendly to us as soon as we stepped out of our vehicles. Her kindness was refreshing compared to the other rafting places we visited such as Wahoo's. She was also a great instructor in teaching us beginners how to kayak. She even took us on a secret nature tour through the trees. During our kayak break we were allowed to use a rope to jump into the river which was a very fun experience. Overall I was very pleased with the trip and grateful we found this place. You will not regret it!

My daughters and I had an amazing experience in our first time rafting. Micah, our guide, was knowledgeable and had a really relaxed vibe. We really enjoyed our trip and would recommend Watauga to anyone interested in rafting.

This company has significantly lower prices than other whitewater places, has great guides, and doesn't skimp or charge you extra for things.

They take pictures of you on your outing, and email them to you for free. Out whitewater tour included lunch, which ended up being hot subs, soda, sweet tea, and cookies (I was expecting water and cold lunch meat). They had bottled water in the boat for you, free of charge.

In general, I felt like these guys were more worried about us enjoying our experience than about squeezing a few more dollars of profit. I'd highly recommend them for any rafting or kayak tours (I hear they do caving, too).

Great people and guides. We did the rafting and Worley cave.

Karen was an awesome guide. Such a beautiful and relaxing trip down the Watuga!

Booked a 7 person guided boat trip with Myah, best guide ever! Had so much fun, and they provided snacks and a stop for us to get a chance to swim. Was the highlight of our trip to johnson city.

Our guide, Micah, took our family of four out on the classic upper rafting trip. Micah was an awesome guide and made the trip very enjoyable. The rapids were mostly easy, and a few were just fast enough to add some splash and excitement. We did get a little wet, and Micah gave us an opportunity to get in the water for a swim about mid trip. Further down we stopped at a quiet spot with a rope swing and relaxed with snacks and water supplied by Watauga Kayak. Throughout the trip, Micah took lots of pictures of us, and when we came back, a bunch more were taken from the pier. We received all the pictures by email for free!
We highly recommend this adventure, especially with Micah as a guide.

My family and I rafted here on 8/7/2020. All of the employees were top-notch. Our guide, Jerry, was friendly and is great with kids! The owners were so pleasant and thanked us for coming. If you are in the area and are looking for several hours of relaxing fun from a company that really seems to value the customer, check them out.

Our group of 5 had a great experience with Watauga Kayak! Everything was very organized, our guide (John) was very informative, and they even shared photos with us. Would recommend if you're in the Tri-Cities area!

Myah was our guide and was a great joy to be around. What a positive person.
My wife and I enjoyed a trip on the Watauga the Saturday of Labor Day and really enjoyed it.
The whole process went smooth, from check in, to transport, to put in, and of course, the trip down.
That was some fast moving and cold 45 degree water pushing us down as the dam was releasing full flow. Looking forward to returning.

I went rafting with some friends from work. We were all first timers and Teresa did a wonderful job of explaining everything and putting our worries to rest. Our guide was Karen. She was energetic and did a great job of keeping things interesting. She knew a lot of the history on the river. We paddled, relaxed and even stopped at a swimming hole and had a snack. Great experience, cannot wait to give the river kayaking tour a go!

Very accommodating and great time. Highly recommend. Beautiful day drifting down the river. Tons of fun and very kind people. We will be back for sure.

Great place! Great owner! If you want to kayak or white water raft, this is definitely the place to go!!!

We had a great time!! Tyler was a fun guide, and very skilled!!! Can't beat it for the price!!!

Great family fun! Our guide John was very knowledgeable about the river and accommodating. Would highly recommend!

My wife and I spent a few days in Johnson City and decided to try some whitewater rafting. We had a wonderful time! Not only was the trip down river great, but we were told not to worry about bringing our phones because they had cameras and would take and send lots of photos, which they did. The quality of them and the speed in which they sent them were amazing! I highly recommend this as a fun trip.

Me and my family had a great time here. Our guide, tyler, was entertaining and helpful, all of the equipment was in good shape aswell. Definitely worth the money and I would recommend this place to anyone.

Our family of four Rafted with this company 08/08/2014. Very friendly and polite. I would not be afraid to take anyone on this trip and it was the highlight of our trip for our children. ages 12 and 14 good family fun at a much better price than the competition

We had an AMAZING time on the white water tour. We booked last minute and they were still willing to accommodate us. Jerry was our guide and he was great. He knew his history and was very engaging. Not to mention having snacks on our break. This was well worth the money and time spent. We will definitely come back!

We had an amazing experience and a great time today on the white water rafting with instructor/ Guide John. He is very knowledgeable, kind, calm and professional. I would highly recommend Watauga Kayak business services to family and friends! Best water rafting ever!

Daniel Eagle was a very professional guide. The Watauga River was beautiful and the rapids were exactly as described on their website...fun but not too rough which is what we wanted for my 11yo grandson's 1st rafting trip and my 6th trip (but I'm now 72!) I highly recommend this company.

Went out 8/6/18 with Micah. He was amazing!! We had so much fun!! Will definitely be back to do the rafting again, maybe next time we will try the kayaking also. Micah was so friendly and knowledgeable, answered all our questions and then some!
I will say, I m glad we choose Watauga Kayak over other outfitters on the river! It ended up being the best rate on the river and the longest trip compared to other outfitters.

With extremely nice people, great location, best prices and longest river trips in the area, locally owned Watauga Kayak is a great choice for your water adventures. A real bonus is the free photography memorializing your trip, sent promptly by email following your adventure. Our guide Ben did a great job providing interesting conversation, and was generally just a really nice guy. Thanks, Ben and Teresa! We had a great time!

Fun time! Guides were very nice and made the trip enjoyable.

Was here as part of a bachelor party and this was just the ticket. We were a bit late but the rafting team was accommodating. The guide got a long well with our group and gave us plenty of leway to goof off and do our own thing on the trip. Water was freezing but that is to be expected and made it even more of an adventure.

We had a great experience rafting today with our guide, Jennifer. It was fun, it was beautiful and it was informative. Theresa, you have a great team and a great business. We loved it, thank you.

My husband and I had a great experience with Watauga Kayak. The prices where great. Our guide Jerry was amazing. He had great knowledge of the history and land. He enjoyed joking around with us while making sure safety was first. We went with another boat and their guide a long with Jerry joined in on the fun at the rest stop. It made the trip even better. If they wouldn't have jumped in I don't think we would have. The service we received from everyone was excellent. Our driver had just gotten off a plane two hours before and took pride in coming in and helping out. I can't say enough good things. If you're looking for a great place to have fun and relax a little this is it. My husband gave Jerry a nickname JOHNSON because he was our motor and did all the work. Thank you Watauga Kayak and Jerry we will be back.

We had a great time rafting down the river! The staff was very friendly, and Pirate Pete was a great guide!

The four of us took the Expedition Rafting Trip on July 6th with guide Jerry. We had a blast! Jerry and the other staff were all about making the experience as fun as possible. The trip we took was on a gorgeous part of the river. We saw all sorts of wildlife, hit some exciting whitewater, and swam in a couple of serene swimming holes. I would recommend this rafting trip to anybody.

AMAZING EXPERIENCE! Teresa and John (owners) really helped me overcome my fears, and I am now a Kayak/Raft RIVER PERSON for LIFE! Thank you!!!

Seven of us (teen to adult) rented the funyaks and had a fantastic day on the Watauga. Some fun rapids, some just floating and relaxing. Overall great experience. The owners were super nice and we were happy to rent from the only local-owned business on the river. We all were given cameras to take pictures on the river, and the guide took some as well. And we get them emailed to us for free! Great day!

Fantastic guides, beautiful location, unbelievable service

We had a fantastic experience White Water Rafting with Watauga Kayak. The staff are very helpful, friendly and polite. Our guide Micah was awesome - he took care of everything and made sure we were all safe, comfortable and having fun. I loved the complimentary cameras given to us for the trip and also all the photos taken of our party by the staff as we enjoyed the river. We stopped half way and were provided with complimentary snacks and water. Thank you for a great day out!

Great tour guide and a fun experience that was surprisingly close to home. Definitely worth checking out.

So great! Teresa is very well educated on the area & so very sweet & jubilant! You can definitely tell she loves what she does wholeheartedly! Great atmosphere, great prices, great FREE pictures & a great day! Thank you for the memories!

We had a great time! Jerry was a fantastic guide! Perfect first time rafting family trip! Loved it!

Great time on the river. The staff did a great job keeping our group of 13 entertained. They are personable and really made the trip fun. I highly recommend them for a fun and wet experience!

We had a wonderful trip on the river with this company. The Watauga is a perfect "starter" river for inexperienced rafters.

Great place to rent a kayak or hire a guide for all you white water needs.

Theresa and Phil are amazing people. Very down to earth. Had a great day on the water although the temperature dropped dramatically after a hurricane and passed by. Water was high but Theresa guided us like a champ. Can't wait to come back!!!

Watauga Kayak is great! I went with my husband yesterday, and John was our guide. He made our trip so much fun, and was cool to talk to and hang out with. All the staff that I met are really inviting and friendly as well!

Watauga Kayak saved our trip!! We rented a cabin for fishing not realizing the river was up and there wouldn't be any wading for us. I called Watauga Kayak day of and 2 hrs later we were on a great trip with guide John. Excellent guide and trip. Thanks again.

I hate large crowds of people and most rafting places put you on a raft with like 20 other people and it s just not personal to me you can t really learn anything about where you are or what your seeing If you want a relaxing and exciting trip with out a huge crowd of people then this is the place for you we had the absolute best time with our guide he was so informational about the landscape and animals and taught my children a lot about the history behind some of the sites they take you past. My daughter was scared of course being an 8 year old and by the end of the trip she was talking about currents and asking when we could come back and if we could go on harder rapids. I can t stress this enough if you are wanting to have an amazing experience with the outdoors and have the sweetest most helpful people (you could tell everyone that works there loves what they do for sure) then call these people and do not waste your money on those big over worked nobody cares rafting company. Oh and I called every place on google and by far Watauga kayak was the cheapest and honestly I don t think we could ve had a better time.

If I could give this business 10 stars, I would! Teresa is such an amazing person and an excellent guide! You couldn't ask for a more enjoyable experience! Teresa and John made us feel like family from the moment we first spoke to them. Thank you for helping us make amazing memories while on our honeymoon! We are so thankful to have met yall!

Very fun trip! Owners and staff are very nice and are helpful in accommodating your needs. Ride was very safe for kids and even a dog.

We decided on a very last minute kayak trip and are so glad we did. We loved the nature and beauty of the Watauga river and Theresa was so wonderful at making sure we and our pup were safe. Highly recommend, great price and the free pics we got after the trip were so memorable and just a huge plus! Thank you!

Can't say enough good things. If you're looking for a laid-back, fun trip with a friendly atmosphere, this family-run place is it. Hannah and Maverick took our group out on two boats, and they were excellent in both their knowledge of the river and interactions with our kids. If you're looking for real whitewater, this section of the river isn't it. It's a pretty mild ride. But if you're taking out younger kids or people who aren't exactly thrill seekers for a nice ride with beautiful scenery, this is your place. Best prices too. FYI you get snacks during the trip, not a full lunch. They also email you your trip pictures for free, an underrated perk.

The views are gorgeous, the trip is fun, we learned a ton, our children said it was the best trip they ever had , and our guide was wonderful.

Highest recommendation for this outfit and a special shoutout to our guide, Karen. She was really wonderful with our children (ages 6 & 8).

Fantastic! We loved every minute! Teresa and John were very informative and welcoming! Our guide, Pete Scheuren aka Pirate Pete was fun and extremely good! Highly recommend!!!!

I remember my family renting a kayak from this rental place back in 2018 or 2017, can't remember. Before our kayak adventure, the instructor makes sure that everybody had a life preserver to ensure our safety.The kayak instructor lead us down the river as my family & I rowed. I remember that my family went in early August and the river water was still cold. There were some radical waves, however most of them were calm. We eventually lead to a spot where there are rope swings where you can go forward and backward and jump off into the river. The adventure takes about 2-3 hours and it's fun looking at the landscape of Tennessee and talking to the instructor.

What a great experience! We brought our company down to Watauga Kayak & Rafting and had an absolute blast! Highly recommended!

My wife and I had an awesome time on the river with Watauga. Jerry was out guide, and he was very knowledgable and his expertise was very appreciated. We cannot wait to go again.

Incredible, Theresa is kind and patient with everyone. A huge blessing we will be back to have additional adventurous times!