From Appalachian valleys to Rocky Mountain gorges, from subtropical Florida sloughs to the braided streams of the Alaskan bush, you’ll find a plethora of world-class rivers to float in the United States. Here at Dunn Rite, you can stock up for your next rafting or paddling voyage. To wet your appetite for putting those Dunn Rite floating coolers to good use, here are five of the very best float trips in the country! The Grand Canyon, Arizona Floating the Grand Canyon of the Colorado River easily ranks among the most all-around iconic whitewater adventures in the world. The scenery is unsurpassed, given you’re rolling through perhaps the planet’s most spectacular (if not the largest) canyon, gouged out of multicolored rock that in the inner depths reaches better than a billion years old and fed by dizzying tributary gulches and ephemeral waterfalls. The mood of the run has all the variety you could ask for: from laid-back rides on languid flat water to heart-in-your-mouth plunges through monster rapids, including the infamous Lava Falls. The outfitters licensed to operate within Grand Canyon National Park lead day trips and short floats of a few days, but the premier experience (whether self-guided or on a tour) is the full run through the defile from Lees Ferry to Diamond Creek: 225 miles and up to two weeks in the canyon deeps. Middle Fork Salmon River, Idaho Another of the truly legendary whitewater rivers in North America, the Middle Fork of the Salmon flows nearly its entire length through the 2.36-million-acre Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness of central Idaho: part of the largest road-less area in the Lower 48. This canyon-clad stream was among the first eight rivers declared Wild & Scenic in the original 1968 legislation, and all but the one-mile, “Scenic”-designated reach outside the wilderness area is classified “Wild.” From the confluence of Bear Valley and Marsh creeks to its mouth in the mainstem Salmon—the near-mythic “River of No Return”—the Middle Fork drops several thousand feet in a course ridden with Class III and IV rapids, among them Velvet Falls, Rubber Rapid, and Cramer Creek Rapid. A float trip may turn up sightings of bighorn sheep, black bears, elk, even pumas and gray wolves, not to mention grand “yellow-belly” Ponderosa pines and the soaring crags of the Salmon River Mountains. Remote riverside campsites, hot springs, canyon trails, and trout-packed depths await you, deep in the heart of the conterminous U.S.’s greatest wilderness. Tuolumne River, California One of the great streams of the west side of the Sierra Nevada, the Tuolumne heads on Mounts Dana and Lyell and runs some 150 miles to the San Joaquin River in California’s Central Valley. While paddling is possible at points upstream, including within Yosemite National Park, the most acclaimed run is the 18-mile reach between Meral's Pool and Wards Ferry just above Lake Don Pedro: a boiling chasm that includes such formidable rapids as the Class V Clavey Falls as well as Rock Garden, Nemesis, Ram’s Head, Evangelist, Thread the Needle, and other big wildwater. Buffalo River, Arkansas The undammed Buffalo River offers some of the finest river-running in the country as it winds through gorgeous Ozark highlands. Most of the flow, a 135-mile stretch, is managed by the National Park Service as the Buffalo National River. The upper portion of this offers thrilling, hemmed-in whitewater during the late spring, while the Buffalo National River’s Lower District typically provides year-round floating past high riverside bluffs, some of the most impressive of which lie in the Lower Buffalo Wilderness reach. Noatak River, Alaska On a scale of wildness beyond almost any other major U.S. rivers, the Noatak drains the most pristine watershed in North America. The scale of untrammeled country—alongside the spectacular peaks and ridges of the Brooks Range as scenery and the opportunity to see Arctic critters such as caribou, wolverine, and barren-ground grizzly bears—makes this a bucket-list expedition for any wilderness-lover. Many float the Noatak in its upper course within the roadless, trail-less Gates of the Arctic National Park & Preserve, particularly the reach between Twelve Mile Creek and Lake Matcharak. But much longer trips are possible if you continue from Gates of the Arctic into the adjoining 6.5-million-acre Noatak National Preserve. Not far beyond the National Preserve lies Noatak, the only permanent settlement along the river and a great place to end your Brooks Range odyssey. Dunn-Rite Pool Products & Pool Accessories 3rd Generation Family Owned Company with a long history of developing innovative products of the highest quality. Pool Fountains - Combo Units - Pool Volleyball - Pool Basketball

There's something about the smell of fresh PVC, right out of the box. It's the smell of adventure. When you pull your new  paddleboard out of the package, you can't wait to inflate it and take it out for a spin. The problem is... not all locations, or conditions, are ideal for an SUP expedition. If the wind and the current and the temperature aren't just right, you're likely to have a bum ride. Optimal SUP Weather If you want to have a good time on your  SUP, low wind and agreeable temperatures are ideal. Even a 10mph wind can send you careening clear to the other side of the lake and have you walking all the way around to get back to your car. Wind is a bigger concern if you're going to be out in an exposed location, a big, wide-open lake or on the ocean. If you know of a nice little pond or swimming hole tucked away in a cozy valley, you can generally expect that moderate wind conditions will blow right by without knocking you off course. In any event you're going to want to take a look at the water before hopping on the board. If it looks too choppy, pack it in and free up an afternoon the next time the forecast calls for lighter wind. As long as we're not talking wintertime conditions, temperature is largely a matter of comfort. Some of us won't take our paddle boards out unless it's at least in the seventies, but as long as you're not risking hypothermia in freezing weather, it really come down to whether you're able to have a good time in the mid-fifties. And while we're on the subject of weather, it's a good idea not to venture so far out that you can't easily swim back. The weather can turn on a dime and one heavy gust can send you out a little farther than you'd planned to go. No matter how experienced you are at paddleboarding, you can't fight the weather, so don't hesitate to head back to shore and wait it out if the things start getting choppy. Finding the Perfect SUP Location If you're an adventurer, you may hear the call of faraway places, secluded ponds and rivers without another soul for miles. If you're going to head out to the middle of nowhere to do some paddleboarding, bring some friends, and take turns on the water. It's just like hiking: It's best not to go alone, and you need to make sure that someone knows where you'll be, just in case. Ideally you're looking for a place with some people there. Beaches, lakes, ponds and creeks with some fellow outdoors enthusiasts hanging around. What you want to avoid is anywhere with high boat traffic. You can't always control where your board is going to go, and some boaters never learned how to manage their wake in a considerate way. If you're at the beach, for example, walking a half mile or so down from the wharf, but still in sight of your fellow adventurers, isn't a bad idea. Creeks, Oceans, Rivers, Ponds, Lakes For beginners, small bodies of water are best for practice on your  stand up paddle board. Ponds, swimming holes and even pools. You're just trying to get the hang of the board for now. If you're heading out to the ocean, look for small waves, nothing higher than your waist. Anything bigger than that and you might as well just get yourself a longboard to surf on. Lakes are great, especially those surrounded by hills, woods or rocks that can block the wind. Just remember that SUP boards aren't really a long-haul means of transportation. It's not a boat, so don't try to paddle clear across even small lakes unless you've got a lot of experience under your belt. Now if you can find a creek or river with low current, sheltered from wind by heavy forestation or rock walls, that's about as good as paddleboarding gets. Cruising along, spotting the flora and fauna along the way, it's like zen meditation without having to close your eyes. So if you want a handy bullet pointed guide, here's what you're after:  Comfortably warm temperature Big cliffs, trees and hills to block the wind If you're at the beach, waist-level waves  When you're starting out, the best advice we have is to make sure you can see your reflection in the water. Once you get some experience under your belt you'll be able to hand a bit of current and choppiness, but for now, play it safe, and have a good time. Dunn-Rite Pool Products & Pool Accessories 3rd Generation Family Owned Company with a long history of developing innovative products of the highest quality. Pool Fountains - Combo Units - Pool Volleyball - Pool Basketball