Ocoee River Rafting, Biking and Kayaking

The Ocoee Adventure Center is more than a rafting outpost in Ducktown, Tennessee. OAC's staff of outdoor professionals has the focused purpose of "providing the absolute highest quality adventure experience for our guests." This philosphy is applied to everything we do from single day raft trips out of our outpost on the Ocoee River to multi-day adventure travel trips out of the country. The quality of our guest's experience and their satisfaction are the first and foremost concerns on all our trips.

We offer a wide range of outdoor activities from our outpost at the eastern gateway to the Cherokee National Forest. We hope you'll visit our cozy log cabin - sit a spell on the porch, enjoy a picnic alongside our cool mountain stream and browse in our store for a great t-shirt or souvenir to take home with you.

It’s All About Our Staff

Our staff is the most important aspect of what makes our company exceptional. It all starts when you call or email us and meet one of our friendly and skilled Reservations Staff. They will find the best trip schedule to meet your needs and be able to answer questions about places to stay in the area and what you need to bring for your adventure with us.  Deanna Hester heads up the team and keeps our main office in Benton running smoothly. (photo – Deanna, staff in raft)

Peter Horne- General Manager

Once you arrive at our outpost, the quality of your experience is enhanced due to the hard work and dedication of our Outpost Manager, Peter Horne. This will mark Peter’s fifth year managing the Ocoee Adventure Center outpost and his sixth year living in the Ocoee area. Peter’s love of the Ocoee area began at the age of 5 when his mom took him down the Hiwassee River, riding in the middle of her 17 foot canoe. The rest is history… an instant whitewater addict, Peter took to paddling his own canoe shortly after that trip. His family built a cabin about 30 minutes from the OAC outpost when he was in high school, and just about every week throughout his youth, you could find him paddling the Ocoee or other area rivers.

A graduate of the University of Georgia, Peter left paddling for a short time, but found that was NOT a workable option!  Peter has found his calling while living in the area that has always felt like home to him. He loves the outdoors with paddling, hiking, camping and biking … playing with his dog Mikey.

A Familiar Face to Many

Another important aspect of your experience at OAC is due to a key player many of you know – Rick Houlk.  In the role of OAC’s Operations Manager, Rick is responsible for the overall smooth operation of our outpost. Keeping our rafts and equipment in top notch condition, making certain that our buses are running well, ensuring the proper functioning of our computers and office equipment, troubleshooting the many glitches and problems that arise on a daily basis, AND keeping us on budget so we will be around year after year.

Rick has been managing and running Ocoee outposts for more than ten years. As one of the partners in The Ocoee Adventure Company, our parent organization, Rick finds himself wearing many hats. His skills in operations are crucial for our 3 rafting outposts, as well as for our Eco-tour Adventures on Blue Moon Cruises, which operates on the Tennessee River out of Chattanooga and the Hiwassee Island area.

Rick has become completely immersed in birding as a new interest and hobby in recent years. First in southeast Tennessee, and then in many other locations, he is always in search of new and different birds to add to his "life list". His travels have taken him to north, central and south Florida, the Dry Tortugas, coastal and western North Carolina, many areas in Georgia, both north and the panhandle area of Alabama and the Acadia National Park in eastern Maine. Most recently, due to his superior leadership of our Costa Rica birding adventures (www.ocoeeadventuretravel.com) , Rick was invited to participate in a birding trip to New Zealand with the American Birding Association.

Rick’s dedication to studying wildlife locally for the Forest Service, his conservation practices and education have awarded him recognition from the Cherokee National Forest. He is an avid enthusiast and we are very fortunate to have his experience and professional management.