We rented inflatable kayaks -- "duckies" -- for a 5-hour rafting trip on the Lower Yough in early August, and it was the best East Coast rafting our family's ever done. We booked through Ohiopyle Trading Post, one of several outfitters situated side-by-side in little Ohiopyle, PA. Their guides were pretty good, tried a little too hard to be entertaining sometimes, but overall they were capable and they worked hard on the water, giving instructions from rocks and prepping us for rapids. By the way, people don't seem to tip their river guides, and they should.

And the rapids were great. They were a steady variety of mostly Class 3s on the lower Yough, the water running about 1.8 feet, a little above average for that time of year. As I told my teen-age kids, that part of the River was the perfect balance between safe and exciting. I am 49, overweight and not as athletic as I used to be, but having an ample posterior in a ducky provides a certain buoyancy and confidence.

Here's an important point: The Yough -- unlike almost every other river you will raft on, even out west -- is clean, or at least feels clean. There was no slight pungent ammonia smell (from treated sewage) that we smelled on the New River in WV, or the Rogue in Oregon. I think the Yough -- and Ohiopyle State Park, the river runs through it -- are great assets for anyone who loves getting on the water, and into nature.

Finally, we toured the Kentuck Campground in Ohiopyle State Park, and even though some tripadvisor posts said it didn't match up with Canadian and other US campgrounds, we were impressed. Clean and well run. We definitely will head back to enjoy it all there, again.