View while sleeping on a grand canyon rafting trip credit: Kelsey Pfendler

Sleeping On A Grand Canyon Rafting Trip: Tips And Tricks

Sleeping in a new place can be hard, even more so when it’s outside. If you’re worried about sleeping on your grand canyon rafting trip we’ve got some tips and tricks that just might help you sleep. Here are some common sleep issues people may have on river trips and how to deal with them.

It’s too hot to sleep-

The grand canyon is notorious for being hot and during the summer, the nights are hot too. But don’t worry here are some quick and easy things you can do to stay cool:

Don’t sleep in a tent! Most of the time we recommend you don’t sleep in a tent. They hold heat and block any sort of cooling breeze. If you do want a tent they will be available on your trip, but this is one of the easiest things you can do to combat the heat at night. Plus if you sleep in a tent you’ll miss out on the amazing view of the stars!
Get your sheet wet! I know what you’re thinking, “I don’t want my bed to be wet”. But the canyon air is very dry so your sheet will dry fast and in the meantime you can enjoy the evaporative cooling that a damp sheet provides. By the time you are asleep chances are that your sheet will be dry again.
Get in the water! Just like the last tip, being wet may not seem appealing to you, but don’t worry you can dry off before getting in bed. Getting in the water and staying in for a couple of minutes can help lower your core temperature, cooling you off and making it easier to fall asleep. Just make sure you’ve scouted out a safe place to get in the river during the day so when you come back at night you know you can safely get in and out of the river.
Sleep close to the river. The air temperature is a lot cooler by the river than up against the rock walls of the canyon. Privacy is a premium down in the canyon, so people tend to spread out to the far reaches of the camp, but when you do that you end up close to the rock walls which absorb heat during the day and further from the cool air right around the river. If you do decide to camp by the river camp sure you camp above where the water may rise up to during the night.

Noise keeping you up-

For me personally the sounds of nature especially the river lull me right to sleep, but maybe it keeps you up or maybe there’s a loud snorer next to you. The only solution for that is to bring some earplugs with you or camp further away from the snorer.

It’s too bright out–

Most of the time this isn’t an issue, it gets pretty dark at night in the Grand Canyon. However, if you happen to be on a trip with a full moon it can be really bright at night. If you are someone who needs it really dark when you sleep you might want to bring a sleep mask.