It was an eventful summer in the Grand Canyon.
Federal officials ratcheted back the level of water released from Glen Canyon Dam into the Colorado River to the lowest amount in decades.
A number of boaters reported contracting an unknown illness after floating down the river, which the National Park Service promised to investigate.
And in late August, backpackers witnessed a deadly flash flood that swept down Bright Angel Creek, killing three people and wreaking havoc on a critical water pipeline that officials are frantically working to replace.
Now, as aspen leaves around northern Arizona turn from green to pumpkin-orange, river rafting companies looking back at the summer season describe it as decent, even with all the calamity.
“Despite the national headlines of the looming water shortages and, of course, the catastrophic flooding in Bright Angel in August, it was overall an average season for Arizona Raft Adventures,” said Dennis Smoldt, general manager of the commercial rafting company, also known as AzRA.
After news reports about drought and historically low water levels coming from Glen Canyon Dam, one might expect Smoldt and others to be singing the blues. But they’re not.
“Overall, the Grand Canyon commercial rafting is down a little bit, and we ran about 80% of our capacity,” he said.
Other than that, Smoldt said it was business as usual. He noted a few changes to the Colorado River after the August flood: a newly formed rapid at the mouth of Bright Angel Creek and a debris fan that has backed the river up above the rapid.
He said AzRA did not experience any direct impact to its clients or its equipment as a result of the flood.
Over in Flagstaff, an outfitter who rents boats for private river trips said his bottom line fared even better.
“We had the busiest year that we've ever had with our government contracts as well as rental motor boats,” said Scott Davis, one of the owners of Ceiba Adventures.
Davis explained that there were plenty of federal workers renting his boats for science expeditions.
Back in June, KNAU spoke with Davis about the effects of rising gasoline prices due to the war with Iran on his shuttle buses.
He said those higher diesel prices are still being passed along to river runners via a gas surcharge.
Ceiba rents boats to clients who have secured their own sought-after permits to float down the river. Because of that, Davis said higher gas prices don’t appear to have dissuaded clients from renting his equipment.
But that resiliency isn’t making the news.
“It's kind of sad. [Journalists don’t] write articles and talk about the 250 trips that go down there and have a great time,” Davis said. “Most people write the article about the one or two trips that have a tough time.”
The nature of his private outfitting company means headlines about disaster in the canyon don’t trickle down and hurt Davis’ business in the same way that they can for commercial river companies, he explained.
“I was a commercial guide for 25 years, and I know that ebb and flow of how the clientele can be fickle because of what they read,” he said. “Dennis and AzRA and all the other [commercial] outfitters have to deal with that. It's really tough because in the meantime, they're doing perfectly fine trips, and the guests are having the time of their lives.”
Zooming out for a moment, it’s clear that tourism in the Grand Canyon is experiencing a prolonged slump, especially after the destructive 2025 Dragon Bravo Fire raged across the North Rim.
To address that, U.S. Rep. Eli Crane (R-Oro Valley) crafted a bill now making its way through Congress that would speed the restoration process up.
As that bill moves forward, the leader of Grand Canyon River Outfitters Association has said he’s shocked at how long it’s taken for policymakers to step in, according to a report by Cronkite News.
But for now, river outfitters like Davis say they don't sense any dampened enthusiasm for boating down the Colorado River.
Disclosure: Arizona Raft Adventures is a financial sponsor of KNAU, and Ceiba staff have volunteered for KNAU’s pledge drives.
