Did you know Western Massachusetts has some of the most popular whitewater experiences in all of New England?
No one knows the Berkshire whitewater experience as extensively as Zoar Outdoor’s President and Founder, Bruce Lessels.
Bruce was a medal-winner on the U.S. Whitewater Team in the 1980’s and first came to the region when there was virtually no one else paddling in the area. Later, he brought the U.S. team to train at Zoar Gap.
white water rafting berkshires
The area made for perfect whitewater conditions for a whitewater outfitter. There was the perfect set-up—one that would make this a true whitewater destination for the whole of the New England region. There was a dam release on the Deerfield River that was predictable and released throughout the summer when most all rivers will have run dry. The release schedule has only become more regular over the years and even opened up a challenging Class IV section of the river to whitewater pursuits known as the “Dryway.”
"I worked in southern Vermont one summer,” Lessels explains, “and it was really dry. We were looking for somewhere to paddle and just kind of wondered down and found Zoar Gap. Nobody was paddling it at the time. We would almost never see anybody else there. Then we started training there. Then we started the business there. It’s not very helpful to have a river that only runs in April or May and irregularly. The Deerfield was different. This is the closest reliable whitewater to New York, Boston, Hartford, Worcester, and Springfield. The only others in the region are in northern Maine and northernmost New York. This is most rural part of Massachusetts. It’s the reason we can be here and something we really value. The water is really pristine and we are surrounded by public lands in every direction with all the state forests. So that makes this a well-protected and great place to come to for the outdoors."
What happens when a World Cup winner starts a whitewater company? Zoar has one of the top whitewater schools in the country.
“For kayakers, canoeists and those aspiring to the sports, we have one to five day instructional programs that we offer throughout the season from April to October. We usually start out on flatwater, becoming familiar with the boats, learning the basic strokes, then into moving water and eventually whitewater, continually advancing people’s knowledge and skills on harder and harder levels of water. A lot of people who are going on longer trips come here for our canoe program to brush up on their skills.”
White Water River Rafting Berkshires Zoar
While Zoar is the only whitewater school in the region and does more than just whitewater leading rock climbing trips and being host to the first zipline canopy tour in the state, it most notably is the largest among three whitewater raft companies on the Deerfield including Berkshire East and Crab Apple. It also runs trips on five other rivers in the area. “They can be either a half-day or a full day float trip, starting from a very easy moving water trip to a Class IV high adventure trip on the Dryway or on the Millers River just east of here.” Visitors should know that they should plan ahead if they want to raft one of these more challenging runs as space is limited and they often book far in advance.
“We bring people together. These trips are very personal experiences. You have six or seven people and a guide, usually. You are with the same guide all day long. You raft the whole day long with many rapids and we cater a lunch for you along the way. A lot of people do it for the connection. It is a great way to be with family or friends or whoever you might go with. It’s as much about the connections as it is about the rafting. We connect people. We get a lot of families, groups of friends, companies, bachelor and bachelorette parties, a lot of international travellers… just all kind of groups. On these trips, they all come together in remarkable ways. We at Zoar really focus on connection. We do a really good job at helping people create this connection on their trip. Most of the evaluation talk about how good the guides are at this."
