Essential Eligibility Criteria

Below are the physical and mental criteria for eligibility to participate in any Cascade Raft & Kayak river trip:

• Ability to comprehend written and verbal information, and to make a rational assessment of risks and physical requirements for you as an individual and your dependents; and to assume the risks of your assessment and participation.
• Wear the appropriate Coast Guard-approved personal floatation device (maximum chest size of 56 inches). Wearing leg straps may be required to ensure proper fit. Where required, properly wear a helmet.
• Be able to remain seated and balanced on the raft while holding on with at least one hand. For class IV river sections, be able to paddle effectively through whitewater.
• Be capable to board and exit the raft independently.
• Be capable to independently navigate shoreline terrain. This can include traversing across slippery rocks, logs, uneven surfaces, vegetation and low branches. This can include maintaining balance while near cliffs or elevated terrain.
• Be able to assist in self-rescue in the event of a capsized raft or being thrown from the raft. Ability to swim in swift water or in whitewater may include the ability to: orientate yourself in the river, reposition yourself to different swimming positions, swim aggressively to boat, shore or rope, receive a rescue rope and possibly let go, get out from a capsized boat, keep your airway passages sealed while underwater and regain breathing control while being submitted to repeated submersion in currents or waves.
• Be able to swim 100 yards in flat water while wearing a PFD.
• Be able to comprehend and follow both verbal and non-verbal instructions. This may include stressful and dangerous situations.
• Ability to assist another passenger that has fallen out of the raft by pulling them back in.
• Be physically and mentally capable of participating a trip without endangering or negatively impacting the health and safety of other participants on the trip.
• Be able to remain adequately hydrated, fed and dressed properly to avoid environmental injuries such as sunburn, heat related illness, hypothermia and frostbite. 

If the above criteria are not met then the person will be disqualified from participating in a river trip with Cascade Raft & Kayak. These criteria exist for your own safety as well as the safety of other trip participants. None of the criteria are meant to discriminate based on mental or physical disability and are applied uniformly. Cascade Raft & Kayak is committed to making reasonable modifications/alterations to a trip for any person with a disability as long those accommodations do not fundamentally alter the nature of the trip. For children of any age who may need assistance from an adult, these criteria will be modified to allow the child’s parent to provide minimal assistance with tasks as needed.



Please take time to consider any medical or health condition that could potentially endanger yourself or diminish the enjoyment of a whitewater experience. Factors such as age, weight, physical ability, heart or other disease can increase/worsen by changing and unpredictable environmental conditions. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact us.