The Grand Canyon is a quintessential American National Park with layers of red rock sandstone, dramatic vistas from both rims, and of course, world-class whitewater paddling. This dramatic section of the Colorado River is a bucket-list paddle for many adventure lovers, but what does the trip actually look like from inside the canyon?
From the first unsupported sea kayakers to tackle the Grand Canyon to epic carnage, check out the best Grand Canyon whitewater videos on the internet:
Grand Canyon by Sea Kayak
More than ten years after four Canadian sea kayakers and an open canoeist paddled the Grand Canyon in what many claim was the first unsupported group of sea kayakers to tackle the canyon, the video has finally been released in 2025 on YouTube!
In addition to the historic sea kayak descent, James Manke is likely the first to paddle the river with a traditional Greenland paddle. The initial descent took place late December 2012 to early January 2013.
Also a key part of the trip was expedition paddler Jamie Sharp, who kayaked the Grand Canyon in a tandem sea kayak in a later journey.
Hance Rapids carnage
“Hance Rapid is a Class 8. The biggest we’d seen yet on the expedition,” wrote Randolph Hencken on YouTube.
Differing from the standard International Scale of River Difficulty (ISRD) most commonly used as a rapid classification system, the Grand Canyon has its own rating system ranging from 1 to 10. In the Grand Canyon’s rating system, a Class 10 roughly corresponds to a class IV+ on the ISRD.
“This video shows Sherwood “Woody” pointing at the pour-over moments before I ejected myself into the waters,” continued Hencken. “It shows Maria in the background running the rapid properly while coaching Woody what to do in the absence of his pilot.”
How not to row the Grand Canyon, with carnage
The only thing better than a video showing the beauty of the Grand Canyon and clean lines is a video showing some fun, casualty-free carnage.
“Not an instructional video, enjoy the carnage,” wrote Nate Taylor on YouTube about his curfuffle at Horn Creek, a Class 8, found around the 5:56 mark in the video.
The scene begins in a very relatable moment when a friend asks Taylor if he’s ready.
“Not really,” Taylor replies.
Who among us hasn’t been there at some point? Commenters note that Taylor is hard on himself, the rapids were run well, and offer words of encouragement.
Kayaking all the major rapids on the Grand Canyon
Rafting videos tend to be shot from a higher vantage point than a kayak, flatting out the rapids on the screen so YouTuber Life of Spud set out to make a video showing every rapid in the Grand Canyon from the perspective of a kayaker.
This is easily one of the best videos to watch to gauge the size of the rapids on the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon.
