May is the beginning of the season and is for the more adventurous. This is when the river is a true class IV, as the river is at its highest and packed with monstrous holes.

There are no crowds, and you’re sure to find plenty of peaceful time on the supping portion of the experience quite easily. It will be colder though. We do provide river clothes, and the boards and boats are stable. But if the cold really bothers you, wait for the summer months. 

June is still early in the season, though the water level typically drops rapidly through the month while the weather gets a bit warmer. Crowds are still small. June usually provides many of the best all-around days of the season. 

July is the beginning of peak season. Things can get noisy, especially during the hotter days and the weekends. We recommend booking a weekday if you can. The river also gets lower as the summer months go on, making the rafting more about dodging rocks than hitting the big, exciting waves. All that said, during the hottest days there’s nowhere better to be than out on the cool clear water.

August may seem like the best month, as it is certainly the hottest and the best time to get on the river. But within the last decade wildfires and the haze from other major wildfires from California to Siberia, have gone from non-existent to nearly an annual occurrence. This has caused us to cancel trips in the past, and the trends suggest it will continue to get more frequent. It’s also typically the most crowded month. We’ll take you out if this is the only time you can make it, but there is a possibility that the trip may be cancelled, especially as the month goes on. 

Labor day is the end of the commercial permit season on the Clackamas.