Today we’d like to introduce you to Dustin Douglas.
Hi Dustin, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I have always had passion for the outdoors, canoeing, kayaking, fishing, camping and much more. I grew up on the New River. I initially got started working in the outdoor recreation and tourism business during summers between my semesters at Appalachian State University. I worked for an outfitter on the New River for 4 or 5 summers. I eventually began realizing that I would like to possibly make a career out of this line of work and debated purchasing the company I worked for as the owners were ready to retire. That plan did not work out, but instead I decided to take a jump, get a small loan and start small and build my own business from the ground up. What started in 2016 as a small set up shop outfitter working out of a tent canopy with 7 kayaks, 4 canoes and a handful of tubes running trips with one cheap bus I purchased has grown into a business now operating 5 vans with an inventory of nearly 60 kayaks, 10 canoes and 80 river tubes. We also now have 10 riverside campsites and do some guided fishing trips on the side. Sure we have seen some years with highs and lows due to challenges like covid, flooding, Hurricane Helene and most recently a record drought this spring and early summer, but we keep pushing through the challenges we have thrown at us. We are grateful for our loyal returning customers and our highly rated reviews and everyone who has helped us get this far.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Being in a business that is affected by weather, river conditions, economy and many factors is certainly not easy. Starting a business from the ground up with no reputation or clientele is difficult enough, especially when there is lots of competition, but eventually that comes after years of earning peoples trust and providing them with a great service and then the best advertising is word of mouth. The first few years were difficult, earning peoples trust to use our services, but not only that, we had a lot of rainy summers with more than normal flood events which really hurt many of our weekends, especially big holiday weekends like Memorial Day weekend. It seemed like we were constantly battling large amounts of rain and small to moderate floods. Then came the covid pandemic with decisions to be made. I made the decision to only transport one group at a time during that year. I would not mix different groups in the vehicles together, even if it was multiple small groups of like 2 people. This made being efficient and profitable very difficult. After the the covid pandemic things were going pretty good until fall of 2024 when Hurricane Helene impacted the Western NC Mountains. This massive storm and historic flood brought our business and lots of peoples lives to a screeching halt for that season and would impact significantly the first half of our season in 2025 due to recovery and limited river access points due to closures and the general impact and concerns ingrained in people and customers minds. Fear, questions, uncertainty, and many concerns were keeping people from enjoying the river they have always loved and cherished. Our tourism for river recreation saw a huge decrease in the year 2025 and I am still not certain the impact of Hurricane Helene isn’t still slowing and preventing some people to this day from returning to this beautiful river. We still have a New River State Park camping location not opened up due to the effects of Helene. Now here in 2026, we had a record drought thrown at us with record low water levels, fire bans and questions of, are we going to be able to continue trips if we don’t start getting some rain? People were avoiding camping because of fire bans. River goers were not coming to enjoy the river because the water levels were so low. I was literally telling people on the phone, if you do not like bumping, scraping and occasionally getting stuck on rocks and shallow spots in the river, then you should not come and wait until conditions improve. Drought and low water is not only a huge hit to trip sales but it is also very hard and abrasive on our equipment we rent for the river trips. Just after the 4th of July, as I was seeing the river at the lowest I had ever seen it, I was beginning to wonder if I was going to have to close business until we started to get more rain. I had seen other similar business across the state of NC closing due to the drought. We pushed through and August rolled around and we started getting more rain and our river and drought conditions began improving drastically. Then there is a fine line, or happy medium because people will cancel trips due to rain in the forecast, but that’s just part of this business, battling and persevering the weather, forecasts and river conditions and everything thrown at you.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
Dusty Trails Outfitters is a canoe, kayak, and tube rental business located on the scenic New River in the Northwest corner of the NC mountains. We also have riverside camping locations. We provide rental equipment and shuttle services for various trips on the New River. We provide some guided fishing expeditions as well. We offer some of the best river equipment and customer service in our area as well as personalized experiences accompanied by smaller friendly/family business vibe. I am proud of the ratings we have built and held onto as well as being able to provide customers with quality equipment while keeping prices affordable. Unlike some other businesses, we offer it all; river trips, premier campsites, fishing trips and a wealth of knowledge about the river. We genuinely care about your experience and want everyone to have a fantastic time.
How can people work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
We provide recreation river trips for large group outings or just individuals. Support us by choosing us to provide you with your outdoor recreational fun on the New River in the beautiful mountains of NC. We also appreciate support by followers through our social media pages.
Pricing:
- River Tubing Trips Starting at $20
- Kayaking Trips Starting at $35
- Canoeing Trips Starting at $45
- Camping Trips Starting at $25 per night
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.dustytrailsoutfitters.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dustytrailsoutfitters/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dustytrailsoutfitters/
