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Our Top 5 Favorite River Movies

April 26, 2016

To be honest, we don’t spend a lot of time indoors during rafting seasons. The weather is too nice, the river is too much fun, and the Smoky Mountains are too beautiful to be cooped up inside all day. But when we do venture inside for a meal or a movie, we enjoy films that accurately capture the energy and allure of the river. Here are just a few of our favorite white water rafting movies:

5. Mud (2012)

Starring: Matthew McConaughey, Reese Witherspoon

Rotten Tomatoes: 98%

Mud is an adventure about two boys, Ellis and his friend Neckbone, who find a man named Mud hiding out on an island in the Mississippi River. Throughout the movie, Ellis and Neckbone use the river to escape — from school, family troubles, and the pressures of everyday life. We can relate!

4. A Goofy Movie (1995)

Starring: Bill Farmer, Jason Marsden, Jim Cummings

Rotten Tomatoes: 53%

This animated Disney feature centers on Goofy's teenage son Max, who is dragged off on vacation just as he was about to ask his dreamgirl on a date. Somehow they end up floating down a river, having a cathartic father-son moment. Something about the river brings families closer together, and we’re thrilled to give groups the opportunity to grow and bond with one another.

3. The River Wild (1994)

Starring: Meryl Streep, Kevin Bacon

Rotten Tomatoes: 55%

This thriller filmed on location in Oregon and Montana, features Meryl Streep as a daring, strong mother who must navigate a raging river to save the lives of her husband and son. Streep performed 90% of the river stunts in the film. While the movie is based around survival of bad people, Streep's character does a fantastic job of coaching her husband and son about navigating the river rapids and keeping them safe but still having fun! While you may not go overboard like her husband, we can guarantee our guides will coach you just as well and make sure you're having the time of your life!

2. A River Runs Through It (1992)

Starring: Brad Pitt, Tom Skerritt, Craig Sheffer

Rotten Tomatoes: 83%

Robert Redford's lyrical direction sets the tone for this evocative adaptation of author Norman MacLean's memoir of his idyllic Montana youth. It’s story about two sons of a stern minister — one reserved, one rebellious — growing up in rural Montana while devoted to fly fishing. The Smoky Mountains National Park has year-round fishing experiences from remote, headwater trout streams to large, coolwater smallmouth bass streams.

1. Into the Wild (2007)

Starring: Emile Hirsch, Marcia Gay Harden, William Hurt

Rotten Tomatoes: 82%

Freshly graduated from college with a promising future ahead, 22 year-old Christopher McCandless (AKA Alexander Supertramp) walked out of his privileged life and into the wild in search of adventure. Along the way, he encountered a series of colorful characters at the very edges of American society who shaped his understanding of life and whose lives he, in turn, changed.

At one point in the film, Supertramp finds out that there’s a 6-month wait to paddle down the Colorado river. We can guarantee you there is NO WAIT to paddle down the Big Pigeon River.

Those are our favorites — what are yours? If you’re interested in making your own outdoor adventure, BOOK NOW or give us a call at 866-333-RAFT. Be sure to use promo code ‘springsocial’, good till 4/31/16.

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