Maine Rafting
Maine is a beautiful and pleasant state, but within the mountains and hills lays some very rapid rafting courses. Most of the guided tours hold about 8 people to a raft boat and a captain as a guide. Mostly all of the captains carry GPS location but Maine's routes are tame compared to many. Even though many who enjoy white water rafting after somewhat educated in the actual events and row themselves for group balance, you can opt to sit in the middle of the raft and let others do the work for you.
The best time of the year to go is generally at the end of May through the end of September. For obvious reasons with coming in contact with a lot of water and being either rainy or freezing cold temperatures, barely any of the rafting tour companies operate out of these warm spring/summer months. If you are planning on taking your journey before the end of May or after the 1st of September, be sure to wear heavy clothing as the temperature still dips down into the 40-50s and then in the warm days of the spring and summer months, a bathing suit and a t-shirt along with sunscreen and a nice packed lunch will make your experience absolutely perfect.
From the various different ports of departure, the costs are typically in line with others in that a day trip which includes all equipment, safety and rowing lessons, and usually a meal can cost anywhere from $90-180 per trip per person. If your into the actual equipment and enjoy the whole experience, many of the departure points have the equipment for sale and most have snacks and sometimes a cafeteria.
In the main places of departure at Kennebec, Dead River, and Penobscot, the minimum ages is 10-12 but the rafting guides will never put someone of young age down a rapid that is out of their league. Some of these places such as Kennebec have multiple routes and you have the option of choosing your trip based on the toughness, time, and length of the rapid's routes. It is suggested that if this is going to be your first trip down the white water rapids, guide or not, suggest a calm route that is generally only 3-5 miles long. Others who are more experienced can opt for the longer and more rough routes along those at Kennebec.
Sometimes, these routes can start in the base of Maine and carry down into Vermont and other outlying states. These state split routes can carry on for sometimes an hour or two, but don't worry, you don't need to be a workout expert to tame the wild rapids of Maine.