The Venture Out Project is partnering with our friends, Mikah Meyer of Outside Safe Space and Holiday River Expeditions to announce the inaugural LGBTQ River Rafting Trip series through Cataract and now Westwater Canyon.

This 3-day river trip will allow for a quick get away for the busier among us while bringing together members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer community to have a safe, restorative, and fun experience connecting with nature and disconnecting from the hustle of everyday life.

While queer culture has been long-established in cities–where communities can consolidate and flourish–it doesn’t mean we haven’t existed in rural and wild places forever.   The LGBTQ community has a long and often overlooked relationship with the natural world and we are hoping to help change that perception. This second offering in this pilot river trip series is a chance to intentionally reclaim a deep and meaningful connection to these wild places while having a relaxing and thrilling vacation with a supportive community.

Holiday River Expeditions has a longstanding history of fostering an inclusive and restorative ethos on all of our river trips, and was a pioneer in starting women’s specific rafting trips in the mid 1980’s. Now with the leadership of Lauren Wood, Holiday’s 3rd generation co-owner, we have centered queer and non-binary leadership from the top down in Holiday’s management and guide culture.

Outside Safe Space and The Venture Out Project are both founded by and created for the LGBTQ community as well.  Mikah Meyer has been an outspoken advocate for the queer community in outdoor spaces since starting a long-won journey to visit every national park in a very visible way starting in 2016.  The Venture Out Project is committed to facilitating a variety of wilderness experiences that are for the queer and trans community, by the queer and trans community.

We are all beyond excited to take the next step creating this intentional safe and liberating space on some of America’s most iconic rivers.

Westwater Canyon rafting trips are a great place to get a little taste of everything a river trip has to offer. Spend a long weekend trying your hand at an inflatable kayak or stand up paddle board, beneath smooth pink and orange sandstone walls. Run exciting rapids through a canyon made of polished black stone (over a billion years old!). Explore side canyons and climb to the rim for the bird’s eye view. Or, just relax! Kick back on a raft and let the world float by.

This is a trip intended for adults 18 years & older. While sober folks are more than welcome it will not be an explicitly sober trip. Additionally, due to the historic lack of accessibility to a wilderness experience of this nature within BIPOC* communities we are also intentionally setting aside seats for individuals identifying as QT-BIPOC. If that is how you identify please let us know when booking! 

*BIPOC stands for Black Indigenous & People of Color

 Want to know all the details? Check out our Insider’s Guide to Rafting the Colorado River through Westwater Canyon.