Big Bear Rafting

Big Bear Rafting offers a thrilling experience in the stunning Great Smoky Mountains of East Tennessee. With convenient access from Pigeon Forge just 45 minutes away, we provide professional white water rafting trips on the Big Pigeon River in Hartford, TN, easily accessible from exit 447 of I-40 East.

Locally owned by the Sutton Family (Sutton Expedition, LLC). Daniel Sutton, a proud graduate of Gatlinburg-Pittman H.S. and the University of Tennessee, as well as the president of the P.R.P.A. (Pigeon River Permit Association), operates Big Bear Rafting. As an experienced raft guide, Daniel’s ambition is to provide visitors with the best possible whitewater rafting experience. With Big Bear Rafting, you are part of a family rather than just another number. This is demonstrated by our guests’ kind acknowledgment of us as a 5 Star-Rated Rafting Trip on TripAdvisor amongst 14 attractions in Hartford, Tennessee.

Our goal is to provide our guests with a professional, high-quality, and most of all, fun and exciting white water rafting experience. Not only that, we can accommodate groups of all sizes. Therefore, let the Big Bear Rafting Team help you make Smoky Mountain Memories that will last a LIFETIME!

Big Bear Rafting offers several different trips to choose from.

By far our most popular trip is Whitewater Rafting on the Upper Pigeon. Beautiful, exciting, and breathtaking, these are just a few of the words you will use to describe the Pigeon River Gorge. As our professional guides navigate you through 5 miles of class III and class IV rapids surrounded by the Great Smoky Mountains and the Cherokee National Forest.  Experience Rapids named Powerhouse, Vegematic, Lost Guide, Double Reaction, and Accelerator. All these choices provide a fun, fast-paced whitewater experience that is sure to leave you with memories that will last a lifetime! The 2-hour trip is fully guided, minimum 8 yrs. old, No Experience Necessary.

Just want a relaxing float trip, or do you have little ones between the ages of 3 and 7? Then the Lower Pigeon Scenic Raft Trip is just what you have been looking for. The beautiful Lower Pigeon River is an ideal trip for novices, families, and youth groups. Just as with the upper river, there is a professional guide on each raft. Therefore, this is one of the best attractions in the Smoky Mountains for little kids and the faint of heart. In other words, this 6-mile scenic raft trip promises Class I and II rapids through the Martha Sundquist State Forest providing a fun whitewater experience for the whole family.