About
RVA Paddlesports offers activities such as Lower James River Whitewater Rafting, Intro to Whitewater Kayaking, Flatwater Kayaking & SUP, Pipeline Adventure Camp, Junior River Guide Camp, Kayak Roll Classes – River Sessions, Fireworks on the James River, Paddle in Your Park, Whitewater Rafting, James River Kayaking, Classes and Training, Intro to Rock Climbing, canoeing trips, snorkel ecotour expeditions, SUP ecotour expeditions, and kayak ecotour expeditions. Pipeline Adventure Camp is described as a week full of outdoor adventure, interpersonal development, and leadership for ages 9–14 (grades 5–8), and Junior River Guide Camp is described as a week-long summer camp to empower youth to become leaders in the outdoors for ages 10–14 (grades 6–9).
• Ages: 9–14 years old
• Schedule: Lower James River Whitewater Rafting is 3 hours; Intro to Whitewater Kayaking is 4 hours for a one-day session or 4 hours each day for a two-day session; Flatwater Kayaking & SUP is 2 hours; Kayak Roll Classes – River Sessions are 2 hours; Fireworks on the James River is 4 hours
• Price: Lower James River Whitewater Rafting from $71; Flatwater Kayaking & SUP from $63.60; Pipeline Adventure Camp from $575; Kayak Roll Classes – River Sessions from $68.90
The leadership team includes Patrick Griffin (Founder, Kayak Instructor, Raft Guide, Shuttle Driver), Andi Sorenson (River Manager, Trip Leader, Raft Guide), Sara McWilliams (Operations Manager, Flatwater Guide), Eric Sorenson (Trip Leader, Raft Guide), Ingrid Shannon (Trip Leader, Kayak Instructor, Raft Guide), Andrew Reinhardt (Trip Leader, Raft Guide), Shep Roeper (Raft Guide), and Charles Ware (Raft Guide). Staff credentials include qualifications such as ACA Level 4 Kayak Instructor, Sierra Rescue River Rescue, CPR, First Aid, Wilderness First Responder, Wilderness First Aid, Virginia Teaching License, Nehru Institute of Mountaineering BMC 28-day, Leave No Trace Trainer, Swift Water Rescue, and Disability Etiquette. RVA Paddlesports focuses on offering a wide variety of rafting, kayaking, climbing, and canoeing trips for adventurers of all skill levels, and Paddle in Your Park focuses on bringing the joys of paddlesports to participants, offering a variety of paddling experiences appropriate for all ages and skill levels, to increase diversity in the sport and promote inclusivity in the paddlesports community across the Richmond area.
Patrick Griffin learned to guide rafts with Richmond Raft Company in spring 2003 and has paddled and guided in Alaska, Norway, Costa Rica, Mexico, Nepal, Uganda, India, and Chile over the past decade. Andi Sorenson has been a river guide since 2011 and graduated in 2011, Eric Sorenson started guiding rafts in 2009, and Charles Ware stated that 2021 would be his 38th year as a raft guide on the James, that he started working for James River Experiences in 1982, and that he made his first open canoe run down the lower section of the James in Richmond in 1976. Charles Ware states he is the only guide who has worked for every company that has run trips on the Falls of the James.
RVA Paddlesports was named Best Virginia Raft Guide Company of 2020 by Blue Ridge Outdoors. Community involvement includes Paddle in Your Park, which focuses on increasing diversity in the sport and promoting inclusivity in the paddlesports community across the Richmond area, and a long-standing relationship with Beyond Boundaries, a local non-profit that provides outdoor adventures to individuals with disabilities, at-risk youth, veterans, and substance recovery programs, with both organizations starting the same year and described as friends and river partners ever since. RVA Paddlesports is described as the #1 destination for outdoor adventures in the Richmond area, and participants can paddle among the skyscrapers on the James River, including a one-of-a-kind, classic run of urban whitewater on the Lower James River consisting of class II–IV rapids.
Fireworks on the James River is described as offering the best view in RVA of the 4th of July fireworks on the James, rafting to a secluded island for dinner and fireworks. Sara McWilliams hopes to bring SUP Yoga to RVA Paddlesports. Testimonials mention experiences such as a Whitewater Kayaking for Beginners course taken as a family, a first-time rafting trip with guide Eric described as welcoming and patient, a father–son trip that included jumping from “jump rock” 15–20 feet above the river and filming with a GoPro, and a family rafting trip with guide Noel, with multiple reviewers stating they highly recommend RVA Paddlesports.
Last updated July 17, 2026.
• Ages: 9–14 years old
• Schedule: Lower James River Whitewater Rafting is 3 hours; Intro to Whitewater Kayaking is 4 hours for a one-day session or 4 hours each day for a two-day session; Flatwater Kayaking & SUP is 2 hours; Kayak Roll Classes – River Sessions are 2 hours; Fireworks on the James River is 4 hours
• Price: Lower James River Whitewater Rafting from $71; Flatwater Kayaking & SUP from $63.60; Pipeline Adventure Camp from $575; Kayak Roll Classes – River Sessions from $68.90
The leadership team includes Patrick Griffin (Founder, Kayak Instructor, Raft Guide, Shuttle Driver), Andi Sorenson (River Manager, Trip Leader, Raft Guide), Sara McWilliams (Operations Manager, Flatwater Guide), Eric Sorenson (Trip Leader, Raft Guide), Ingrid Shannon (Trip Leader, Kayak Instructor, Raft Guide), Andrew Reinhardt (Trip Leader, Raft Guide), Shep Roeper (Raft Guide), and Charles Ware (Raft Guide). Staff credentials include qualifications such as ACA Level 4 Kayak Instructor, Sierra Rescue River Rescue, CPR, First Aid, Wilderness First Responder, Wilderness First Aid, Virginia Teaching License, Nehru Institute of Mountaineering BMC 28-day, Leave No Trace Trainer, Swift Water Rescue, and Disability Etiquette. RVA Paddlesports focuses on offering a wide variety of rafting, kayaking, climbing, and canoeing trips for adventurers of all skill levels, and Paddle in Your Park focuses on bringing the joys of paddlesports to participants, offering a variety of paddling experiences appropriate for all ages and skill levels, to increase diversity in the sport and promote inclusivity in the paddlesports community across the Richmond area.
Patrick Griffin learned to guide rafts with Richmond Raft Company in spring 2003 and has paddled and guided in Alaska, Norway, Costa Rica, Mexico, Nepal, Uganda, India, and Chile over the past decade. Andi Sorenson has been a river guide since 2011 and graduated in 2011, Eric Sorenson started guiding rafts in 2009, and Charles Ware stated that 2021 would be his 38th year as a raft guide on the James, that he started working for James River Experiences in 1982, and that he made his first open canoe run down the lower section of the James in Richmond in 1976. Charles Ware states he is the only guide who has worked for every company that has run trips on the Falls of the James.
RVA Paddlesports was named Best Virginia Raft Guide Company of 2020 by Blue Ridge Outdoors. Community involvement includes Paddle in Your Park, which focuses on increasing diversity in the sport and promoting inclusivity in the paddlesports community across the Richmond area, and a long-standing relationship with Beyond Boundaries, a local non-profit that provides outdoor adventures to individuals with disabilities, at-risk youth, veterans, and substance recovery programs, with both organizations starting the same year and described as friends and river partners ever since. RVA Paddlesports is described as the #1 destination for outdoor adventures in the Richmond area, and participants can paddle among the skyscrapers on the James River, including a one-of-a-kind, classic run of urban whitewater on the Lower James River consisting of class II–IV rapids.
Fireworks on the James River is described as offering the best view in RVA of the 4th of July fireworks on the James, rafting to a secluded island for dinner and fireworks. Sara McWilliams hopes to bring SUP Yoga to RVA Paddlesports. Testimonials mention experiences such as a Whitewater Kayaking for Beginners course taken as a family, a first-time rafting trip with guide Eric described as welcoming and patient, a father–son trip that included jumping from “jump rock” 15–20 feet above the river and filming with a GoPro, and a family rafting trip with guide Noel, with multiple reviewers stating they highly recommend RVA Paddlesports.
Last updated July 17, 2026.
Is this your business? There is no cost, but you will be asked to sign up or log in.