Terms and Conditions

Office Hours:
Our regular office hours, effective September–May, are: Monday–Friday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., Pacific Time. For your convenience, we offer extended summertime hours, effective June–August: Monday–Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 7 p.m., Pacific Daylight Time; Saturday, 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Sunday, 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Reserving Your Trip:
Reserving an O.A.R.S. adventure is easy. Just call 1-800-346-6277 to talk to one of our experienced, friendly Adventure Consultants, e-mail your request to info@oars.com or reserve your trip on the web through our real-time online reservation system. If you’re not sure if a particular trip is right for you or you’re looking for more information, let us know and we’ll put you in touch with a past guest who has experienced the trip before.

To reserve space on any trip, we require a deposit ranging from $30 to $800 depending on the trip. Payment can be made by check or money order and for all trips, excluding the Grand Canyon, we accept Visa, MasterCard, Discover and American Express. Generally a portion of your deposit is refundable up until 60-90 days prior to your trip (less an administrative handling fee), but we recommend checking the specific cancellation policy when you reserve your trip.

The balance of your trip cost is generally due 30-90 days prior to departure. For your convenience, with your authorization, we can automatically charge your credit card when the balance is due.

Once you’ve made your choice and sent in your deposit, we’ll send you a detailed Packing List and Trip Planner with information about everything from the weather to fishing options, toilet facilities to meals to caring for your camera equipment. Our Trip Planners generally include your travel options to and from the starting point (both flight and driving information) and advice on pre- and post-trip accommodations. For foreign destinations, the Trip Planner addresses such issues as passports, visas, immunizations and currency exchange.

Trip Preparation:
On an O.A.R.S. trip, we supply all meals and rafting and expedition equipment along with knowledgeable, experienced guides. All sleeping and camping equipment is included, or in some cases, available to rent. All you have to bring is a sense of adventure along with your clothing and personal items as outlined in your Packing List.

If you need gear, a great place to shop is online at www.oars.com/OARStore. We can outfit you from top to bottom for any kind of conditions—we’ve got sun hats and wetsocks, windbreakers and thermal underwear, all from top suppliers. The OARStore also has a great selection of duffels, packs and miscellaneous accessories like binoculars, sunscreen, sunglasses, and water bottles.

Most of our rafting, sea kayaking, hiking and multi-sport trips are suitable for reasonably fit first-timers.  When you combine very cold water, big-water dynamics and intense activity, higher levels of physical fitness are needed. A combination of cardiovascular and resistance training exercises before your trip will help ensure preparedness for any adventure and it will certainly add to your overall enjoyment. If you have any special medical conditions, we encourage you to check with your doctor before you reserve your trip.

Be sure to let us know if you’re planning a birthday or anniversary trip. We’ll pack a surprise or two! If you have food allergies or you’re a vegetarian or vegan, let us know well in advance.  We’ll do our best to accommodate your diet.

Permitting Agencies:
The U.S. Forest Service, the Bureau of Land Management, the National Park Service and the states’ park services are charged with protecting our wilderness.  Members of the O.A.R.S. family of companies are proud to hold permits with these agencies, allowing us to conduct river trips on protected land and water that might otherwise be inaccessible to most members of the public.  We are honored to be authorized concessioners in Grand Canyon National Park, Grand Teton National Park, Dinosaur National Monument, Canyonlands National Park and Arches National Park and to operate by special permit in Yellowstone National Park.

In Idaho, O.A.R.S. Dories, Inc. is a licensed and bonded outfitter and our guides are licensed by the state.  We’ve been granted special use permits to run our Middle Fork Salmon trips from the Middle Fork District, Challis, Idaho in the Challis, Boise Payette and Salmon National Forests.  The North Fork District oversees our permit to run the Salmon River in the Salmon, Bitterroot, Nez Perce and Payette National Forests.  The Wallowa Whitman National Forest oversees our Snake River permit in Hells Canyon. We operate our Gorges of the Lower Salmon trips under authorization from the Bureau of Land Management: Cottonwood District.

In Oregon, O.A.R.S. West, Inc. has a permit to run our trips on the Rogue River from the Bureau of Land Management, Medford District, along with the U.S. Forest Service in Siskiyou National Forest.  In California, the Stanislaus National Forest has granted us a permit to run our Tuolumne River and North Fork Stanislaus River trips, and we operate on the Klamath River under permission from the Klamath National Forest. On the Merced River, we operate under authorization from the Bureau of Land Management.

All our operations and facilities are operated on a non-discriminatory basis. Trips are provided by separate corporations that are members of the family of O.A.R.S. companies and affiliated outfitters as identified in your confirmation packet.  O.A.R.S. is an equal opportunity employer.

Pricing:
All prices are in U.S. Dollars.  Prices for trips in National Park units are subject to change and National Park Service final approval.

Cancellations and Refunds:
If you find it necessary to cancel your trip, please notify us as soon as possible. You can telephone, but we also need a written notice. Cancellation penalties can range up to 100%, depending upon the date you cancel and the trip you cancel. We regret we cannot make exceptions for personal emergencies. For this reason, we strongly urge you to purchase trip cancellation insurance (see “Insurance” below). If you have any questions regarding our cancellation policy for a specific trip, please consult your pre-trip materials or contact one of our Adventure Consultants.

Transfer Fee:
For 1 or 2-day trips, if you transfer from one trip to another, the deadline is 30 days prior to your departure and the fee is $15 per person.  For 3 or more day trips, the deadline is 60 days prior to departure and the fee is $50 per person.  Transfers made after deadline will be treated as cancellations.  Transfer fee policies are more stringent on Grand Canyon and Middle Fork Salmon trips and those run by affiliate outfitters.

Medical:
Weight restrictions may apply.  More strenuous trips require higher levels of physical fitness.  People who are obese, pregnant, have heart trouble or have special medical conditions should have a physician’s approval before taking a river trip.  Persons with various disabilities are welcome, pending an advance discussion of all special requirements.

Insurance:
Although our intention is for a safe trip for all, we strongly recommend that you protect yourself, your belongings, and your vacation through the purchase of a short-term traveler’s policy. A trip cancellation policy covers your non-refundable payments in most cases, should you have to cancel your trip at the last minute due to illness or injury. Trip participants should realize that in the event of illness or injury on a river trip, evacuation can be prolonged, difficult and expensive. Baggage and cameras are carried entirely at the owner’s risk, and we accept no responsibility for lost, damaged or delayed property.

Liability Waiver:
Everyone is required to sign a standard liability release or acknowledgement before the trip, acknowledging awareness and acceptance of some risks associated with the trip.

Foreign Travel:
Our Fiji, Baja and other non-U.S. or Canada trips are operated by independent suppliers arranged through Travel Outdoors, Inc. We have no right to control their operations and therefore make the described travel arrangements upon the express condition that O.A.R.S. Companies, Inc., its subsidiaries, agents and employees, shall not be liable for any delay, mishap, inconvenience, expense, irregularity, bodily injury or death to person, or damage to property occasioned through the conduct or fault of any company or individual engaged in providing these services.

Responsibility – An Important Notice:
Payment of your deposit represents your acceptance of the following conditions:  O.A.R.S. Companies, Inc., its subsidiaries and cooperating agencies act only in the capacity of agents for the participants in all matters relating to transportation and/or all other related travel services, and assume no responsibility for injury, loss or damage to person or property, however caused, in connection with any service, including, but not limited to that resulting directly or indirectly from acts of God, detention, annoyance, delays and expenses arising from quarantine, strikes, theft, pilferage, force majeure, failure of any means of conveyance to arrive or depart as scheduled, civil disturbances, government restrictions or regulations, and discrepancies or changes in transit over which we have no control. Reasonable changes in itinerary may be made where deemed advisable for the comfort and well-being of the participants, including cancellation due to water fluctuation, insufficient bookings, and other factors. Prices and dates subject to change without notice.

Tipping:
Our guides work very hard to please you and provide an excellent experience. They appreciate whatever feedback you care to give them, including a gratuity if you so desire.

Guide Requests:
O.A.R.S. is proud of the fact that we can sometimes bring clients together with their favorite guides. However, guide requests are often not possible and cannot be guaranteed for a variety of reasons. We will do everything we can to schedule you with the guide you have requested, but in the end, please understand, your request may not be feasible.

How We Protect Your Personal and Financial Information:
We use many safeguards that include both technical and physical measures to protect your information. These safeguards are continually updated and maintained by our information security professionals.

For online transactions, we use Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) technology which encrypts your information automatically, and digital security certificates that guarantee your information is being transmitted in secure form directly to our web servers, and not to an unauthorized server. Due to the nature of our services, it is necessary to collect and store a certain amount of personal and financial information. By submitting your information to us, you consent to the storage of this information for a period of time deemed appropriate by us.  Our internal computer systems are protected with anti-virus/spyware protection and firewalls that block unauthorized access by individuals or networks. O.A.R.S. Companies, Inc., is a PCI Compliant company.

Privacy Policy:
O.A.R.S. sends out a monthly e-newsletter and occasionally area or activity specific news that we think you’ll want to hear about, but you can count on us NEVER to sell or share your email address with any third party company and you can unsubscribe at any time. Additionally, all address, personal and financial information is strictly protected. For more information on our privacy policy, feel free to call us at 1-800-346-6277 or email us at info@oars.com.

Copyright:
Domestic and International copyright and trademark laws protect the entire contents of this website. The owner of the intellectual property, copyrights and trademarks is O.A.R.S. Companies, Inc.  You may not modify, copy, reproduce, republish, upload, post, transmit or distribute in any manner the material in this website, including text, graphics or photos.

Trademarks:
Any use of the O.A.R.S. family of companies’ trademarks is strictly prohibited without the express written permission of O.A.R.S. Companies, Inc.