Upper Gauley Animal Race
A 9 mile class IV+ whitewater endurance race on the world-famous Upper Gauley near Summersville, West Virginia.
The 2026 Animal Race is scheduled for Monday, September 21st.
Held on the Monday after Gauley Festival weekend to maximize participation and minimize commercial raft traffic, this race is run as a mass start by class, so everyone of similar boat type will start together and battle it out.
There are 3 boat classes - composite, long plastic, and short plastic. Competitors will start near the raft put in in heats, paddling all the big rapids of the Upper Gauley and finishing at Postage due rock below Sweets Falls.
