About Us- Experts in Paddling and Adventure Vacations, with success measured in service, not sales
The Endless River Adventures Pledge (written in 1993)
Our Vision
Endless River Adventures owes its inspiration to the world’s greatest natural resource: rivers. Through this inspiration we dedicate ourselves to providing services and experiences which encourage others in the participation, understanding and appreciation or rivers.
Our Purpose
The purpose of Endless River Adventures is to provide you with services, insights and experiences which will help you kindle your own sense of wonder and appreciation for the rivers that surround you.
Our Goal
Our goal is to set a standard of excellence in servicing the public; to continually improve the quality of our services; and to perform in a manner warranting the highest degree of public confidence in our services.
History of Endless River Adventures
When we wrote our company pledge in 1993, we never knew how true our words would be: “through this inspiration [of rivers] we dedicate ourselves to providing services and experiences which encourage others in the participation, understanding and appreciation of rivers.”
Endless River Adventures is a true “built from the ground up” company. Ken and Juliet began the company in 1992, running the operation out of their own house. Everything revolved around teaching kayaking, planning the international paddling trips to Costa Rica, and cooking breakfast for guests.
From Costa Rica to the Nantahala Gorge
In 1993 we began construction of our outpost—the plans drawn up by Ken on a pad of graph paper the winter before, in between Costa Rica trips! We began construction of the outpost in April of 1993, and with the help of a handful of friends we were all-but-finished by July of the same year.
Rafting Compliments our Kayak Instruction Program
With the completion of our outpost in the Nantahala Gorge, we branched out from kayak instruction, adding whitewater rafting on the Nantahala River; followed by rafting on the Ocoee; expanding our international trips to include Ecuador as well as Costa Rica; bringing a dory into the fly fishing program; expanding our outfitters store to bring in more partners; becoming one of only four outfitters to hold a permit for rafting and kayaking on the Cheoah River. The one constant throughout our growth has been our commitment to measuring our success in the quality of our service, not sales. This commitment shines through in everything we do. We are held to a higher standard than most companies, and we meet this expectation by keeping our operation small and personal, and with the help of our our team of hand-picked staff.
When we began Endless River Adventures, we wrote the corporate pledge. We wanted it to be sincere and realistic, something that we could live up to. We looked to our friends and the community to have confidence in us as we started our business. That support helped influence who we are today: a company dedicated to the outdoors, to sharing our passion for the river with others, and to bringing together a like-minded group of staff to help us accomplish our goals.
Our Community Involvement
When we have been asked to give something back to the community, it has been our pleasure! We believe in community involvement at both the local and international level.
• Supporting Outdoor Programs. Each spring we pack up a van full of Wave Sport boats, instructors and videos of our trips and head across the East Coast. Our destinations include Outdoor Programs of Colleges and Universities, Paddling Clubs and local community organizations. At each stop we share our boats, our teaching experience and our passion. More than once we have had a demo that has turned out to be exactly the motivational spark that a program needed.
• We recognize our responsibility to be shepherds of the rivers we love to paddle, and our support of/participation in organizations who share the same commitment is important. The organizations we support/participate in include:
- American Whitewater (AW)
- The Nantahala River Conservation Fund (NRCF)
- The Nantahala Gorge Association (NGA)
- American Outdoors (AO)
- The Ocoee River Outfitters Association (OROA)
- The Land Trust for the Little Tennessee (LTLT)
- International Rivers Org
• Relicensing Efforts for the Nantahala, Tuckasegge and Cheoah Rivers. The amount of time and energy that Ken put into the relicensing efforts on the Nantahala, Tuckaseegee and Cheoah Rivers pales in comparison to what we have gained from our time on the river and from our communion with fellow paddlers.
• Building awareness of river conservation in Costa Rica and Ecuador. Through a custom t-shirt design each year, we collect money and use it to help local communities in Costa Rica and Ecuador. We have donated to local river conservation funds, supported local conservation drives, sent high school students on raft trips down their backyard rivers, and donated school supplies to rural schools.
We can never say it enough: Our true strength lies in our staff.
A hand-picked group, our staff of river professionals shares in our commitment to you. Each staff member that has worked here has left his/her own imprint on Endless River Adventures. And together we all take pride in the fact that we do not rest on our reputation, but work as hard now to keep your respect and trust as we did to originally earn it.
Spending time with us can be a catharsis to the reality of hectic schedules and lack of quality time together in a busy world. Whether it is driving into the Nantahala Gorge or floating down a river in Costa Rica or Ecuador, you will find spending time with us helps change your life pace for the better!
You will always be welcome when you walk through our doors!
