Garrett Bennett

Garrett Bennett

Hometown

Camp Verde, Arizona

Favorite Hala board

Rado

How many years have you been SUPing?

9 years

Tell us a little bit about yourself

I moved to the Verde Valley in 2008, where I worked mostly as a canyoning and rock climbing guide before being introduced to hard-shell kayaking in 2011, where I fell in love with river running. In 2015, I started running downriver SUP. By 2018, I knew my biggest interest in the sport was to begin to develop the skills to specialize in expeditionary multi-day self-supported SUP trips. I have self-supported on rivers throughout the Western USA, such as the Salmon River in Idaho, the Desolation Grey on the Green River of Utah, the San Juan in Utah, sections of the Rio Grande in New Mexico as well as the Rio Chama.

In 2023, I made the first full descent on SUP of the Verde River in Arizona, traveling over 200 miles from Paulden to Phoenix through flood conditions, self-supported and solo. I also love single-day runs and have spent a lot of time on the small creeks surrounding the Sedona area, making first descents and enjoying my local habitat as well. 

In the past 18 months, I have been creating canyoning SUP missions where I am using technical canyoneering and rappelling skills to allow access to remote sections of rivers and creeks for downriver Stand-up Paddleboarding exits. I have worked as a hiking, canyoning, climbing, and river guide for almost 20 years. I am a wilderness first responder through NOLS, the owner of CenterFocus Experiences guide company, and a certified canyon guide with the ACA.