Back in the late 70's Terry Shearn went on a raft trip down the
Colorado River while on a summer vacation and immediately was hooked.
As
an avid outdoorsman and paddling enthusiast, he decided to bring
the
sport to Western NY and in 1981 started his own outfitting business,
Adventure Calls. He had canoed the gorge in the park many times
and saw the potential of offering commercial raft trips to the
general
public. After two years of meetings with park officials and dealing
with the seemingly never-ending layers of government bureaucracy,
raft trips in the park began in April, 1983.
The first year,
equipment was stored off-site at a nearby farm, in an old pig shed
(and no,
there weren't any pigs still in it,
just in
case you wondered). We could only take 40 rafters at a time
down the river and people literally lined up down the sidewalk
in front of the
Lower Falls Restaurant waiting for the chance to see the
bottom of the gorge up close. Over the years, the company grew little
by little
as word of rafting at Letchworth State Park spread.
Now,
25
years
later, ACO can handle 250 guests at a time, although
most trips are much smaller. For many, this trip has become an annual
tradition and we are now seeing 2nd and 3rd generation rafters from
the same
families.
Students
and
scouts that came years ago are now coming back as teachers,
Scout Leaders, and Youth Pastors, bringing their charges to discover
the wonder that
is Letchworth for themselves. Whether it will be your first
time
or your tenth visit with us, we'd love to share the gorge with YOU
in 2008!
Please be sure to read the section “Is This For Me,”
on the Helpful Hints page. It is better to find out ahead of time
perhaps you shouldn’t
participate and be slightly disappointed than to go on a trip and
be miserable.
The three summertime release weekends on the Salmon
River (Pulaski, NY) have become increasingly popular. It is recommended
that you
make your reservations as early as possible to ensure the date
you prefer. Lastly, we are hopeful the low reservoir levels that
forced
the cancellation of the August 2007 release will not be repeated
this year.
The cost of rafting on the Cattaraugus Creek (Site #2)
has risen to $40.00 per person. There will be no price increases
at our other
two locations (Letchworth State Park / Salmon River.) Also, we
don't have any hidden costs, such as insurance fees. We remain committed
to keeping your adventure with us as affordable as possible.
