Arizona Raft Adventures - About Us | Rafting, Grand Canyon, Arizona, Family Owned, Environment, Philanthropy,

About Us

Arizona Raft Adventures, Flagstaff, Grand Canyon, Arizona, river rafting trips
Lou Elliott

Rafting the Colorado River through Grand Canyon is something my husband and I are both incredibly passionate about—both of our families dipped our feet in the water of the Colorado before we were a year old. I am a third generation Grand Canyon boater and outfitter. My dad, Rob Elliott, and his dad, Lou Elliott, first ran the Grand Canyon in 1965. My parents bought the operation from my grandparents in 1974 and changed the name to Arizona Raft Adventures (AzRA). My husband is a second generation Grand Canyon boater and manager. His father, Paul Thevenin, ran his first Grand Canyon trip in 1962. Running river trips in Grand Canyon is something that comes naturally to us, and it’s something we both love; we took over AzRA management in 2007, and bought the company from my dad in 2008.

Arizona Raft Adventures has core values which provide the foundation for an incredible Grand Canyon rafting trip experience for our Guests. As you explore your options in choosing a Grand Canyon outfitter, we hope you can identify with and appreciate our values, too. AzRA prides itself on: putting safety first, creating a personal experience for every Guest, sharing a passion for Grand Canyon, exceeding Guest expectations and constantly striving for improvement, making stewardship and philanthropy a part of our essence, and being an innovative industry leader.

Arizona Raft Adventures, Flagstaff, Grand Canyon, Arizona, river rafting trips
Rob and Lou Elliott

It is also very important to us to provide a rewarding place to work for our guides and support staff. We hire, train, and retain exceptional guides. Our guides are wonderful and caring individuals knowledgeable about the Grand Canyon and the world beyond. They are smart, funny, talented, and most importantly, they are genuinely fun to be around. In addition, we think you will find our support staff extremely professional, courteous, and knowledgeable. Support staff and guides alike, we value our employees very much.

Arizona Raft Adventures, Flagstaff, Grand Canyon, Arizona, river rafting trips
Rob with his three children:
Anthea, Alex, and Adam

So many of our Guests come to feel deeply passionate about the Grand Canyon—some experience a sense of peace, some are captivated by the adventure and beauty, and for others, something else entirely resonates with them. This, after all, is why we do what we do—we love to experience Grand Canyon with our Guests, because it becomes fresh again through your eyes. And you almost invariably point out little details that are totally new to us: a new fossil, a pretty wave, or a lovely sunset. We hope you will come to love AzRA’s Grand Canyon trips as much as we do.

Arizona Raft Adventures, Flagstaff, Grand Canyon, Arizona, river rafting trips
Fred and Alexandra

Sincerely,

Alexandra & Fred Thevenin

P.S. If you would like to see what some of our guests have said about their experience with Arizona Raft Adventures, see our testimonials page, or read about us on popular vacation review sites like TripAdvisor or Yelp.

Our view on philanthropy and the environment

You take care of what you care about and environment and our local community is very important to us. In our personal lives and as a business, we continually strive to make improvements in areas such as recycling, "green" and local purchasing, and otherwise minimizing our environmental footprint. We contribute to One Percent For The Planet, a growing movement of 1,263 companies which donate 1% of sales to a network of 2,042 environmental organizations worldwide. We also support local environmental efforts such as the Grand Canyon Conservation Fund, Grand Canyon Trust, and the Willow Bend Environmental Education Center.

In addition to the environment, we believe it is important to support the community in which we live; therefore we also contribute to other non-profit organizations such as the Grand Canyon River Outfitters Association (GCROA), Grand Canyon River Runners Association (GCRRA), Whale Foundation, Grand Canyon Youth, KNAU Arizona Public Radio Earth Notes, and Native Voices on the Colorado River.

We have made company advancements in other environmentally friendly ways like our 'bike to work' incentive program initiated in 2007. The main goal of the program is to reduce consumption of non-renewable fossil fuels and production of greenhouse gases by encouraging employees to ride bicycles between home and work. Flagstaff is a bicycle friendly community and the intertwined urban trail system makes commuting convenient for many people. Although it is difficult for guides to commute, some of the office and warehouse staff participates in the program.

Finally, we have a matching gift program for our employees.We will match their personal donations dollar for dollar (up to $100) to a list of over 35 non-profit organizations. We encourage our employees to give back, and this allows them to donate freely to other charities beyond those Arizona Raft Adventures supports. This program has been in effect for many years and just another mechanism for maintaining our company goal to give back to the natural and social environments which support us.