Nantahala Outdoor Center

ACE Adventure Resort is one of the premier outdoor adventure destinations in the eastern United States, situated at the gateway to New River Gorge National Park near Oak Hill, West Virginia. The resort runs guided whitewater raft trips on the New River — featuring exhilarating Class III–IV rapids through a 1,000-foot-deep gorge carved over 65 million years — and on the legendary Gauley River, whose dam-release season each fall unleashes some of the most technically demanding Class IV–V whitewater in North America. Beyond the rivers, ACE offers a multi-line zipline canopy tour soaring above the gorge, lift-served mountain biking on purpose-built singletrack, and outdoor climbing routes suited to all skill levels. The property sits on over 1,500 acres with full resort lodging, making it a natural basecamp for multi-day adventures in the gorge region.

Akers Ferry Canoe Rental has outfitted float trips on the Current River and Jacks Fork for more than a century, operating from the historic Akers Ferry crossing inside the Ozark National Scenic Riverways. The Current River is among the clearest spring-fed rivers in the central United States, fed by Welch, Cave, Pulltite, Round, and Big Springs that pour tens of millions of gallons of 58-degree water into the channel each day. Guided canoe, kayak, and raft floats range from short half-day runs at Pulltite and Round Spring to multi-day wilderness trips through the Jacks Fork canyon. The riverways were the first national park unit dedicated to protecting a wild river system, and the gravel bars, bluff lines, and dolomite caves between Akers and Two Rivers make it a defining Ozark float experience.

Alaska Drift Away Fishing operates guided salmon and trout trips on the Kenai and Russian rivers out of Soldotna on the Kenai Peninsula, fishing what are widely considered the most productive freshwater sport waters in the world. The Kenai is the only river that has produced documented king (chinook) salmon over ninety pounds, and its summer sockeye runs routinely exceed a million fish through the Russian River confluence. Guides offer drift-boat float trips for sockeye, silver, and pink salmon as well as trophy rainbow trout and Dolly Varden, plus walk-and-wade trips on the Russian River for fly anglers. Trips run from the king season in late May and June through the silver salmon push of August and September, with the trophy rainbow trout fishery peaking in fall as the salmon spawn. The Kenai Peninsula's glacial-blue water, brown bear sightings along the bank, and bald eagles working the runs are part of every day on the river.

Allagash Canoe Trips is one of the longest-established outfitters on the Allagash Wilderness Waterway, running multi-day guided expeditions from Greenville, Maine into the heart of the north woods. The Allagash is a 92-mile chain of boreal lakes, ponds, thoroughfares, and the Allagash River itself, protected in 1966 as the first state-designated wild and scenic river system in the eastern United States. Trips typically launch at Telos or Chamberlain Lake and run downstream through Eagle, Churchill, and Umsaskis lakes to Allagash Falls and the village of Allagash near the Canadian border. Camping is at primitive Bureau of Parks and Lands sites along the corridor, with cooking over open fire. Wildlife along the route includes moose, loons, bald eagles, brook trout, and the occasional Canada lynx.