High Mountain Expeditions
High Mountain Expeditions
High Mountain Expeditions
4.5
8:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Monday
8:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Tuesday
8:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Wednesday
8:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Thursday
8:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Friday
8:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Saturday
8:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Sunday
8:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Full view
About
Welcome to High Mountain Expeditions. We are located in the heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains, with two locations to serve you in Boone and Banner Elk, North Carolina. High Mountain Expeditions offers outdoor activities, such as whitewater rafting, caving, and hiking for every member of your group or family.The team at High Mountain Expeditions invites you to join us in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains on one of our many outdoor adventures.
Boone, North Carolina
Awards
Travelers' Choice
2024
Suggest edits to improve what we show.
Improve this listingSimilar Experiences
High Mountain Expeditions
Booking unavailable on Tripadvisor
Want other options you can book now?
Show optionsTravelers talk about
Contribute
Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
Popular mentions
4.5
1,388 reviews
Excellent
1,170
Very good
132
Average
35
Poor
25
Terrible
26
Michelle W
1 contribution
Jun 2020
Really fun time for entire family! The bus driver and tour guides were hilarious and kept us entertained the entire time. Perfect for a family with younger children as these were very mild rapids. Almost too mild for the adventure seeker. Lunch was delicious! Everything was fresh and tasty. Next trip we will step it up a notch and raft the Nolichucky River for some real white water rapids. If you don’t want to risk getting your phone or camera wet, you can buy a waterproof phone bag for $11.99 at the sales center, or bring one with you. There is a professional photographer who will take about 4-5 photos at different points along the rafting trip. These came out really nice. You can go online after your trip to view and order the link to your digital gallery. One photo is $25, but 2 or all is $50. Ideal for first time rafters. Highly recommend this company as they shuttle you on a bus to the river and back. It’s about a 45 minute ride each way. Masks are now required while on the bus. If you did not bring one, they will provide one to you. Tip: use the restroom at the sales center as there is no other public restroom until the end of the rafting trip, before the bus ride back to the sales center. Bring a little cash so you can buy drinks and snacks at the end of the raft trip. Also, be sure to wear sunscreen as you are on the river for almost 4 hours. And remember to tip your raft guide and the bus driver and host! Most of the guides are college students and would appreciate any gratuity you can offer. Have fun!
Written June 28, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Gwyneth R
1 contribution
Jul 2020
We had a terrific time tubing with High Mountain Expeditions!
Making the online reservations and completing the waivers for our party of five was easy - and switching the day because I made the wrong reservation was easy as well! The staff was really nice, it was easy to check in and get on the river quickly. I highly recommend renting the cooler tube and bringing snacks, a picnic and drinks. There are drinks, ice and limited snacks, along with hats and souvenirs for purchase at the High Mountain Expeditions building. There are bathrooms there as well.
We didn't stop often, there were places tubers could pause for a bit and hang out, but we floated straight through. It took two hours for the straight float. At one point there was a low slung bridge that everyone has to carefully navigate under, one at a time, and there is a staff member at the bridge helping out. There are also staff members at the landing helping tubers with their landing.
Although there were lots of tubers floating the day we were there, it didn't feel packed, and at certain times we felt like were were the only ones on the river.
The bus ride back was quick and friendly as well. I highly recommend High Mountain Expeditions and will definitely be back!
Making the online reservations and completing the waivers for our party of five was easy - and switching the day because I made the wrong reservation was easy as well! The staff was really nice, it was easy to check in and get on the river quickly. I highly recommend renting the cooler tube and bringing snacks, a picnic and drinks. There are drinks, ice and limited snacks, along with hats and souvenirs for purchase at the High Mountain Expeditions building. There are bathrooms there as well.
We didn't stop often, there were places tubers could pause for a bit and hang out, but we floated straight through. It took two hours for the straight float. At one point there was a low slung bridge that everyone has to carefully navigate under, one at a time, and there is a staff member at the bridge helping out. There are also staff members at the landing helping tubers with their landing.
Although there were lots of tubers floating the day we were there, it didn't feel packed, and at certain times we felt like were were the only ones on the river.
The bus ride back was quick and friendly as well. I highly recommend High Mountain Expeditions and will definitely be back!
Written July 27, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Carrie M
Chapel Hill, NC10 contributions
Jun 2020
Our guide, Trey, was awesome! He was so knowledgeable and the river part of the trip was really fun. I would have given 5 stars except that the social distancing left something to be desired.
I was told when I called before booking that we would have smaller groups on the bus ride with masks and distancing, that our boats would just be family groups and that there would still have a gourmet lunch prepared ahead of time.
Even though High Mountain Expeditions had more buses they did not space us out. In fact, the bus had people in all the seats and singing was encouraged! Many people chose not to wear their face masks and there was no lunch at all. The boats were some merged groups which was also not what we expected. I am counting 14 days after this trip and a little nervous...
I was told when I called before booking that we would have smaller groups on the bus ride with masks and distancing, that our boats would just be family groups and that there would still have a gourmet lunch prepared ahead of time.
Even though High Mountain Expeditions had more buses they did not space us out. In fact, the bus had people in all the seats and singing was encouraged! Many people chose not to wear their face masks and there was no lunch at all. The boats were some merged groups which was also not what we expected. I am counting 14 days after this trip and a little nervous...
Written June 23, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
sportymom
jacksonville, United States10 contributions
Jul 2020
We had a great time with our guide Van.He was very skilled in creating the experience we wanted— including unofficially negotiating the last rapid so that all of us but one flew out of the boat on the last rapid s--ince we said we wanted it WILD and not mild. It was PERFECT!! The river was low, so the trip was beautiful but tame and not very strenuous. I think when the river is higher, its more exhilarating.
The entire staff was very professional — we ran on time and they were very safety sensitive and wore masks all the time due to COVID, and managed lunch well.
I would recommend to a family or a group who wants to enjoy a beautiful day outside.
The entire staff was very professional — we ran on time and they were very safety sensitive and wore masks all the time due to COVID, and managed lunch well.
I would recommend to a family or a group who wants to enjoy a beautiful day outside.
Written July 16, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
TravlinfoolNC
Greensboro, NC15 contributions
Aug 2020
Just enjoyed a great afternoon tubing the New River. It was beautiful weather and with the recent rains the river was running fairly high, so it was a little shorter than usual, but a really fun way to enjoy the river. Check in was a breeze, as was the bus transport from the takeout. The staff are super friendly, directions were on point, and the equipment was in good condition. We weren't expecting having to get out and go around the low bridge (maybe put that in your email description?), but it was otherwise a very smooth and enjoyable float. Perfect for families with small kids b/c you can rope together and bring snacks/drinks in your own cooler to put on a cooler tube. We went on a Saturday and it was very crowded, so I recommend trying to go during the week if possible.
Written August 10, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
KVL
4 contributions
Jul 2020
I was quite upset at the Covid-19 protocols. On the way to the river everyone wore a mask and social distancing was fairly good (even though we were packed on a bus for 1 hour ride the windows were down). But once we got to the river, customers were allowed to jump off a rock cliff and people were shifted into different boats (touching multiple surfaces without hand cleaning), everyone climbing all over others and NO ONE Wore masks.
The staff was fun and funny, they tried to make the trip memorable. Honestly, the staff was the best part of this trip, because the river was quite tame. Perfect for smaller children, but my 12 year old boy was not impressed.
The staff was fun and funny, they tried to make the trip memorable. Honestly, the staff was the best part of this trip, because the river was quite tame. Perfect for smaller children, but my 12 year old boy was not impressed.
Written July 24, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Jkhppd
Lexington, NC112 contributions
Jun 2020 • Couples
The River was high so our kayaking experience was shorter than expected but still fun and enjoyable! However the place where you get out of the river at a local park is very tricky. The water is rushing in that area and we lost a paddle which a guide (who was waiting for us) had to retrieve. It is very slick as well so i recommend good water shoes (I’ll be buying a better pair that have treads at the bottom).
Written June 14, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Captswife
Rocky Mount, NC3 contributions
Aug 2020 • Family
Our family has rafted several times on different rivers with several different outfitters. High Mountain Expeditions was one of the very best. With some of the other outfitters you have to get your gear and ride with it to the launch location. HME has your gear and the rafts waiting at the river for you when you arrive. When you finish, you take your gear off and leave it in a pile, go change and you're done. No waiting for rafts to be loaded and no gear to haul back. Our guide, Graham, made it a memorable trip and we would gladly choose him again as our guide. If we were ONLY rating the actual rafting and guide it would have been rated as EXCELLENT!!
Now, the reason for the average review....
The bus ride to and from the river was a different story!! The bus driver, Curt, drove recklessly, following so close to cars in front of him and drove well above the speed limit the entire way. Riding on a bus shouldn't scare you to death and it scared all 8 people in our group and made 4 carsick, none of which have ever had that problem before. We did hear one of the guides say that another guide had actually gotten his own CDL's just so he wouldn't have to ride in the bus with Curt driving! That's pretty awful in my opinion. High Mountain Expeditions needs to do something to prevent this from happening. It's going to end up being really bad if they don't get control of that situation. We have video footage of his driving with the speedometer showing over 20 miles per hour more than the posted speed limit, especially around curves. Both driving to and back from the river our bags, that were in the spare seats, all wound up being thrown in the floor of the bus. We would be happy to share this footage with HME if contacted. If we ever raft with HME again we would absolutely be driving to the launch location instead of riding the bus where someone is quite literally risking the lives of every rider.
Now, the reason for the average review....
The bus ride to and from the river was a different story!! The bus driver, Curt, drove recklessly, following so close to cars in front of him and drove well above the speed limit the entire way. Riding on a bus shouldn't scare you to death and it scared all 8 people in our group and made 4 carsick, none of which have ever had that problem before. We did hear one of the guides say that another guide had actually gotten his own CDL's just so he wouldn't have to ride in the bus with Curt driving! That's pretty awful in my opinion. High Mountain Expeditions needs to do something to prevent this from happening. It's going to end up being really bad if they don't get control of that situation. We have video footage of his driving with the speedometer showing over 20 miles per hour more than the posted speed limit, especially around curves. Both driving to and back from the river our bags, that were in the spare seats, all wound up being thrown in the floor of the bus. We would be happy to share this footage with HME if contacted. If we ever raft with HME again we would absolutely be driving to the launch location instead of riding the bus where someone is quite literally risking the lives of every rider.
Written August 31, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Dano
North Carolina1 contribution
Sep 2021
All in all the experience was good. The staff was very pleasant and energetic, but some points to consider if selecting this group.
I'll start with the worst part of the trip for me. The bus ride not only was long in my opinion, but it was also dangerous. The young lady that drove our bus was unsafe and reckless. As a retired law enforcement officer of 25+ years, I can tell you charges of speeding as well as careless and reckless driving are in the future for her. I just hope nothing worse. Trust me, I've seen what can happen with this kind of driving.
The second point, once in the boats they offer water guns to have battles between boats, which for our group was about 8 boats. A few boats were families who were not interested in that but still ended up in the crossfire from the boats with college students. They were just having fun but the guides should controlled things and said from the onset, the water guns stay "holstered" until we launch and are on the river. The other thing is they stopped at a 15-foot rock and tied the boats together, so people who wanted could climb this rock and jump in the river. Fine but again, several boats were not interested in this, so we sat there for quite some time waiting on the jumpers while some of the staff, albeit in jest, made some remarks about us not jumping. Where we tied up we could not even watch the others jump. I had my fill of jumping out of airplanes and rappelling out of helicopters in the Army. Sorry if jumping off a rock into 55-degree water doesn't appeal to me.
Finally, the rapids left a little to be desired, I should have done more research on rapids classifications. These were very mild, so mild in fact that we did very little paddling, the guide did it all.
In conclusion, if this company addresses its bus drivers and controls the participants at launch, this would be a fun and easy-going activity.
I'll start with the worst part of the trip for me. The bus ride not only was long in my opinion, but it was also dangerous. The young lady that drove our bus was unsafe and reckless. As a retired law enforcement officer of 25+ years, I can tell you charges of speeding as well as careless and reckless driving are in the future for her. I just hope nothing worse. Trust me, I've seen what can happen with this kind of driving.
The second point, once in the boats they offer water guns to have battles between boats, which for our group was about 8 boats. A few boats were families who were not interested in that but still ended up in the crossfire from the boats with college students. They were just having fun but the guides should controlled things and said from the onset, the water guns stay "holstered" until we launch and are on the river. The other thing is they stopped at a 15-foot rock and tied the boats together, so people who wanted could climb this rock and jump in the river. Fine but again, several boats were not interested in this, so we sat there for quite some time waiting on the jumpers while some of the staff, albeit in jest, made some remarks about us not jumping. Where we tied up we could not even watch the others jump. I had my fill of jumping out of airplanes and rappelling out of helicopters in the Army. Sorry if jumping off a rock into 55-degree water doesn't appeal to me.
Finally, the rapids left a little to be desired, I should have done more research on rapids classifications. These were very mild, so mild in fact that we did very little paddling, the guide did it all.
In conclusion, if this company addresses its bus drivers and controls the participants at launch, this would be a fun and easy-going activity.
Written September 17, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Kilby S
1 contribution
Jul 2020
Overall, not our favorite tubing experience. We arrived 30 minutes early (fully anticipating the rush of the 1pm July 4th crowd), having paid and signed our waivers online. We waited for our tubes after check in and did not receive a cooler tube (which we paid for). The system used to retrieve tubes was unorganized and had no accountability system. Once on the river the trip took about an hour and fifteen minutes (a little disappointing for the advertised 2-3 hour float). However, the guides were pleasant and helpful.
Written July 5, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
I wouldn’t take a dog. It would have to lay on your lap and might get spooked.
Written September 22, 2019
Shawn W
Fort Mill, South Carolina
Is there tubing available in banner elk or just Boone?
Written July 16, 2018
We tubed using High Mountain Expeditions on Castle Ford Road in Boone. It is 24 miles from their outpost to Banner Elk. Hope that helps!
Written July 17, 2018
Lorie515
Louisville, Kentucky
We are going on this trip in 2 weeks. I am very excited, but nervous as I have seen several people mention how cold they are. I get very cold very easily and would like to know if I need to plan accordingly. I had thought in July it wouldn't be too bad, but am a little worried. I have a sweat shirt with me always even in the summer. Will not enjoy the trip if I am shivering all the time. Should I plan on renting an actual wetsuit? haha. Sounds silly in July, but I seriously HATE freezing. Thank you!
Written July 15, 2018
Are you going rafting or tubing? Rafting on the Watauga River is very cold so if you can afford a wetsuit, go for it! But tubing on the New River you would not want a wetsuit.
Written July 16, 2018
Are there shower facilities in Erwin?
Written June 17, 2016
Showing results 1-4 of 4
*Likely to sell out: Based on Viator’s booking data and information from the provider from the past 30 days, it seems likely this experience will sell out through Viator, a Tripadvisor company.