EXPERIENCED GUIDES
Share our passion for adventure & love of rivers
Rafting guide jobs in Oregon and Washington are a great way to live and work in the outdoors while building lifelong friendships.
Our company’s growth over 45+ years has come about because of our team’s hard work and relentless striving to live our core values. We are a work in progress and find the hard work it takes to build an effective and trusted team extremely rewarding. We believe we are better as a team than we are as individuals. Here at River Drifters we haven’t stopped honing our skills and making each summer just a little better than the last as a working environment, a place to play after hours, and to develop bonds with other amazing staff who recognize that guiding is not just a summer job, but a way of life. As fellow outdoor professionals, we get it. And we’re always looking for like-minded individuals who want to be part of the team.
Please read through all of the information carefully before applying.
Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have questions regarding guiding on any of our rivers. Below you will find information for experienced guides looking to continue their guiding career.
LOCATION FAQS
Our Deschutes location operates out of Maupin, OR. We offer both half and full day trips as well as multi-day trips on this section. This location does offer housing for the guide staff. Deschutes trips start at the end of March and continue though mid October.
The White Salmon river trips operate out of our shop in White Salmon, WA. We offer half and full day trips on this section. The season starts at the end of March and goes through most of October. There is no guide housing at this location. To be considered for employment, you need to have guided on Class IV rivers.
The Clackamas river trips operate out of Estacada, OR. River Drifters does not have a shop at this location. Our guests meet us at the take-out and get shuttled to the put-in. The half day trips start in late April and run through the Labor Day. The full day trips start in late April and run through the mid June. If you live in or around the Portland, OR area, this is a great stretch to work on since we do not have housing available for staff. Guides who live and work in Maupin, OR on the Deschutes also get to work Clackamas trips as well.
We have regular multi-day trips on the Deschutes and on the Rogue rivers throughout the season. In the early spring we also have the Owyhee. Our Deschutes trips are typically 3 days and our Rogue and Owyhee trips are 4 days. There are shorter and longer trips on occasion on the Deschutes and Rogue depending on the time of year.
Guides in our Maupin, OR location usually work these trips, but we do also get guides who live near Southern Oregon & Central Oregon who work these trips as well.
PERKS
While your level of trip pay is obviously important, we all know there are so many other factors that go into a positive working environment. Here at River Drifters we strive to make it a place you’ll not just love, but a place you’ll love to come back to for many years.
At River Drifters we spend the time vetting our guides to ensure we’re bringing in hard-working pros who are passionate about guiding guests on the river. We also train new, inexperienced guides. Those guides go through a long and extensive training program. They won’t be on the river with guests until at least 2 weeks after beginning their training. So you can rely on your co-workers to know what they’re doing and to have your back just as you have theirs.
Our Guides are paid by the trip, and pay rates are based on experience. But you’ll never start at the bottom of the pay scale if you come in with experience under your belt. When you chat with us by phone tell us more about your guiding background and we’ll use that info to pay you at a pay scale commensurate with your experience.
There’s also opportunity for guides to make extra money driving shuttles, working on equipment, and doing other work outside of guiding. Higher levels of pay are possible for those with more specialized experience who put those skills to use for the company.
Depending on which location you are interested in working, the commute can be pretty short.
If you work out of our Maupin, OR location, then there is staff housing available. The longest commute from one of these locations is about a 4 minute drive. Living with the friends you work with makes for a summer of fun and creates some super tight bonds. Our guides living in staff housing have access to bathrooms with flush toilets and showers, a communal kitchen, and potable water. And we make it super cheap; just $200 a month once you start working full time.
If you live in Maupin and get scheduled to work in another location, River Drifters offers use of a company vehicle to commute there as well as pay for the drive.
We make it super easy for you to start saving for your future.
One of the beauties of working at River Drifters is the proximity to so many outdoor activities, and the number of your co-workers/friends who you can enjoy the activities with after work. There are multiple local rivers, hiking trails, biking paths, and even a nearby ski resort!
Once hired all of our guides are eligible to get in on pro deals or discounts on river gear and other outdoor gear. You’ll be able to order gear year-around once hired.
Our guides can never get enough whitewater. Some gear is available to be borrowed by staff to make after-hours play trips and day-off explorations easier. Our guides routinely paddle after-hours locally or explore other rivers throughout the state, and we’re thrilled to encourage more river exploration!
JOB DETAILS
- Runs half-day, full-day, multi-day river trips on all River Drifters WA and OR Rivers.
- Performs occasional safety boat responsibilities.
- Pack all trip food.
- Cleans guide area, refrigerators, bathrooms, and kitchen.
- Packs equipment
- Unpacks, cleans, and puts away all trip gear after the trip.
- Stacks and ties down boats.
- Washes and hangs out trip rental gear and lifejackets.
- Puts away all dry gear each morning (i.e., wetsuits, booties, splash tops, PFD, etc.).
- Expects to be given and completes assigned tasks while waiting for guests to arrive for trips.
- Fits lifejackets, wetsuits, and other rental gear for guests.
- Informs management of food and equipment resupply needs.
- Repairs or replaces equipment damaged or lost due to gross negligence that was specific guide’s responsibility.
- Completes and turns in incident and accident reports when necessary immediately following the incident or accident.
- Sees that post trip meetings address any issues from the day.
- Completes all camp chores on multi-day trips.
- Cooks meals, does dishes, leads hikes, rigs boats, etc.
- Looks for ways to better serve the guests and the company.
- Brings new ideas to management if it involves policy change.
- Maintains a good sense of humor and cooperative attitude in dealing with co-workers and guests.
- Communicates well with head trainer, owners, managers, and co-workers.
- Is expected to behave in a professional manner at all times.
- Learns about the natural environment and human history of the area and shares knowledge with guests.
- Treats guests in a manner that makes them feel respected, valued, liked and cared for.
- Performs other responsibilities as assigned.
- Acts as trainer for new guides – participates in all training activities.
- Conducts river orientations and distributes guests into boats.
- Contacts guests a week in advance of the scheduled overnight trip to check in, get missing information, and answer any questions the guests have about the upcoming trip.
- Determines exact equipment needed for multi-day trips.
- Sets meeting time to rig multi-day trips and communicates that to guides at least 24 hrs in advance.
- Ensures that the trip leader reports are accurate and complete.
- Coordinates the duties of guides on the trip and initiates post trip meetings.
- In the event of an accident, take full charge of the scene or delegates that duty if necessary.
- Makes the final call on minor decisions in the event that a consensus cannot be quickly reached.
- Brings issues that cannot be quickly resolved to the attention of the manager on duty.
Evaluated on thoroughness in performing duties, attitude, punctuality, dependability, ability to operate as a team player, initiative, mature judgment, relationships with co-workers, management and guests, flexibility, and willingness to learn.
Reports to the manager on duty.
THE APPLICATION PROCESS
Email your resume, cover letter, all contact information, 3 work-related references, 3 non-work related references, and a photo of yourself enjoying one of your favorite outdoor activities to office@riverdrifters.net
We will reach out to schedule a short phone interview
We will let you know if there is a spot for you in our company
Arrive at River Drifters on your determined start date to meet all your new friends!
APPLICATION FAQS
We employ guides who are passionate not just about the river and the outdoors, but who also want to share the river experience with guests. We’re also looking for guides who want to be part of a team that are looked up to on the river. We work to maintain a professional and skilled on-river presence; we follow the unwritten river etiquette, we assist where needed, we mentor up-and-coming guides to further their skills, and we keep our cool even in stressful situations.
You must have trained whitewater guiding experience – not just experience boating with family and friends. One season of experience on a river that offers commercial whitewater trips is often enough to come in as an experienced guide on most of our river sections. The Rogue and White Salmon rivers do require more than one season’s experience guiding though. The White Salmon in particular requires at least 4 years of continuous commercial whitewater guiding on class IV+ rivers.
We routinely have guides join us who have paddle boat experience but not oar boat experience, and that’s fine. So long as you have the basics down, we’ll have you jump on some training boats to get your skills down on oar boats. We generally find that if you’re an experienced guide, you’ll develop the ability to be competent on oar boats in a short amount of time.
Also, every guide is different. So we’ll have you chat with our Hiring Manager who will learn more about your experience and give you an honest guess as to where you’ll fall into our experienced guide staff.
Please note that River Drifters covers the cost of all certification classes if you do not have your own. Consequently, River Drifters retains ownership of these certifications.
Guide housing is available for full time staff at our Maupin location only. There are two separate buildings within the town of Maupin that we own for this purpose. The living areas, kitchens, and bathrooms are shared and the rooms are private, but some rooms do have more than one bed. Room assignments are first come first served, but returning guides typically use the same rooms.
Rent is $200 a month once you start working full time; payment will be deducted from your monthly paycheck.
There are businesses in town that the guides will hang out at after work when they aren’t running fun trips on the local rivers.
We hire a lot of college students, grad students, and those who are passionate about working outdoors as a career choice. The average age of our current guide staff is 20-30 years. We have a handful of guides around 18 years of age, a lot who have graduated college and are doing this for a number of years, and some guides in their 30s or even 40s who have done this for a while and plan to continue doing so. Our gender breakdown is fairly evenly split between the sexes. We have about 30 full time guides working each summer.
We love animals, too, but you have to leave your pet at home for the summer. Dogs and other pets are not allowed in guide housing. We live in a hot desert environment and keeping a pet in a mostly outdoor environment is not kind to your animal friend.
Trips are available for booking at the end of March. Depending on returning staff, new staff does not usually start until the end of May/beginning of June, which is when the season begins to get busy.
Close-minded individuals, negative attitudes, and a lack of team work abilities. River Drifters is stronger as a team and any guide with experience knows you can’t always do it by yourself. Even a 20-year raft guide can still learn new skills, so we strive to remain open to constructive feedback to further our skills. Our team also does not tolerate sexist, racist individuals or other forms of bigotry or discrimination.
Our focus is on providing the highest level of safety, professionalism, and quality experience. We focus on hiring individuals who are team players, who are highly personable, and have excellent customer service skills rather than a long river log. It’s not enough to love boating rivers. You must love to share that love with your guests. So guest service is high on the list of must-have skills for all of our staff.
Ideally you’re also passionate about multiple topics to aid in the interpretive aspect of guiding. Maybe you enjoy learning about what fish are in the river, what four-legged critters roam the hillsides, or how to tell the difference between an eagle and a turkey vulture. We’re looking for interests that can enrich the rafting experience for you, your guests, and your co-workers. As guides, we learn so much from each other, so hopefully you can bring a skill that you can share with your fellow guides.
We have a combination of half, full, and multi-day trips that we run depending on the location. The White Salmon and Clackamas rivers only do half and full day trips depending on water levels and the time of year. Our Maupin location does half and full day trips, but also multi-day trips. Our most common multi-day trip is on the Deschutes, but we also have Owyhee in the spring and the Rogue which starts in June.
Your choice of work location, level of experience, and personal preferences will determine which trips you do the most.
The state of Oregon requires river guides to be at least 18 years of age and be certified in Basic First Aid and CPR. River Drifters also hosts swiftwater rescue and wilderness first aid courses at the end of May/beginning of June depending on the current season’s training schedule at our Maupin location. If you are interested in joining one or both of these, we can discuss that with you. We are always invested in guides that plan to commit to more than just one season with us.
Please note that River Drifters covers the cost of all certification classes. Consequently, River Drifters retains ownership of these certifications.
Guides must be dressed appropriately for the families and groups who comprise the bulk of our clientele. This means you are clean’ish and odor-free, and you’re approachable for guests.
Due to the physical aspects of guiding, body piercings must be such that they do not pose a risk to you or others on the raft. We can discuss specifics over the phone with you.
Due to the conservative nature of our clientele, as well as the fact that we are a family-oriented business, we require that you observe the following rules: Drugs illegal in the state of Oregon and underage drinking will not be tolerated. Alcohol is not to be consumed on company time or prior to your performing duties for the company.