Rio Grande Gorge Full Day

Overview

The Lower Gorge of the Rio Grande is a broad canyon with lush riparian habitat along the banks of the Rio. A fantastic full day adventure for families, first time rafters and groups. The first half of the day is beautiful float through the Orilla Verde section of the Rio Grande with incredible scenery, gorgeous riverside lunch stops and ample opportunity to work on your paddling in preparation for the exciting whitewater of the Racecourse to come in the afternoon. The Rio Grande Gorge full day trip meets at our headquarters at 8:30 a.m. daily and the minimum age during most of the year is 5 years old

City: New Mexico

Mon 23 Sep

Other dates

You can choose the date already on the booking website

Starting at $145.00

Make a reservation

Mon 23 Sep

Starting at $145.00

Make a reservation

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What's Included

World Class Guides

Safe, Secure Parking,

Full Service Headquarters

All rafting Equipment

Lunch

Signature, Hot Chicken Fajita Lunch

Additional Info

Wheelchair accessible
Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
Transportation options are wheelchair accessible
Suitable for all physical fitness levels
Children must be accompanied by an adult
Face masks required for travellers in public areas
Face masks required for guides in public areas
Hand sanitiser available to travellers and staff
Social distancing enforced throughout experience
Regularly sanitised high-traffic areas
Gear/equipment sanitised between use
Transportation vehicles regularly sanitised
Guides required to regularly wash hands
Contactless payments for gratuities and add-ons

What To Expect

Rio Grande Gorge

Starting Out We start at our headquarters where you’ll meet your guides for the day who will outfit you with all the gear necessary for the day on the river. At the headquarters, you will find safe secure parking, clean restrooms, changing rooms, shaded picnic tables on our patio rooms, and any last minute items you might have forgotten including sunscreen, water shoes, hats and much more. This is the perfect place to start your adventure. Craft choices are dependent on water levels. The large majority of our guests like to participate and paddle along with the guide in the back of the boat giving paddling commands, however, you may also choose to sit back and let the guide do the work on an oar boat. And for the adrenaline junkies, ask about an inflatable kayak at no extra charge. Floating the Rio Grande Gorge After the short drive to the starting point in our vans, your river trip begins with a placid morning float through one of the most scenic parts of the canyon with great opportunities to see a variety of wildlife including mule deer, river otter, beaver and many different birds of prey. This section also affords us time to practice paddling techniques, swimming and simply enjoying the Rio Grande. Somewhere in this stretch, we’ll stop on the side of the river for a nice lunch put together by your guides. After lunch, we run the Class III rapids of the “Racecourse.” The Lower Gorge of the Rio Grande is a broad canyon with lush riparian habitat along the banks of the Rio. As we enter the “Racecourse” section the geology radically changes as we pass onto the Rio Grande fault line, one of the largest intercontinental fault lines in North America. But let’s not forget the whitewater! The Racecourse is 6 miles of action-packed class 2-3 rapids. Perfect for everyone from beginners to intermediate/experts. There is something for everyone to enjoy on this section. With rapids like the Maze, Albert’s Falls, The Narrows, and The Thunderdome make sure you are braced in and ready to get wet! Listen to your guides as they negotiate these rapids and don’t forget to ask them to surf when the water levels are lower. Guides for the Rio Grande Gorge Full Day Our guides are the best in the business, focusing on safety and guest service as a top priority. All are extremely knowledgeable about the area’s geology, ecology and history and just love being on the river. Our Guides have experience on rivers all over the country and across the globe, I know you’ll enjoy each one as much as we do. They will certainly help to make your day on the river the best possible. Full Day Rio Grande rafting trips available EVERY DAY starting in March through September. Our minimum age at most water levels is 5, however, at the higher flows, that minimum age rises to 13. Book online or call us anytime, 1-800-983-7756, to reserve your space.

Cancellation Policy

All sales are final. No refund is available for cancellations.

Traveler Photos

Reviews (175)

stevenikkel

May 2021

We did the full day trip and had the very best experience! Very well organized and great care towards comfort and safety plus everything ran right to schedule. We had the most excellent guide Ryan Hill that provided perfect introduction and a wealth of knowledge about the area and the river. He provided a great history of the area and when out of his way to show us petroglyphs that we wouldn't have noticed without his experience. The guides did all the heavy work and served a delicious noontime meal. The whole time the emphasis was in having an experience that would be remembered for a long time. If you happen to get Ryan as guide, tip him well as it is worth every penny. We had such a good timer wanted to do it again the next day! At some point we plan to bring our entire family back to experience this great adventure for themselves!

Response from Host

May 2021

Hi Steven, Ryan is an absolutely fantastic guide and we are so happy you enjoyed the Rio Grande Gorge full day trip. We look forward to when you bring the entire family back, we'll take great care of you all!

lizfM3341ZE

Aug 2020

I was looking forward to this trip, we even paid extra to have the raft to ourselves and it was such a disappointment. $500 down the drain for sure. The staff was great but the water level was so low I can’t believe they were even doing these trips. Half the time we were getting stuck on rocks and our guide would have to get out to get us off the rocks. The was no communication prior to arriving about the low water level. If they had informed us of the water level we would have cancelled the trip. Trip was terrible, our guide was great.

Response from Host

Oct 2020

We are so sorry to hear you didn't enjoy your time! As evidenced by the numerous reviews from a season where the water levels were the same low level all summer, everyone else was having a ball! As for our communication, we are always 100% up front about conditions and never try to mislead anyone, I'm sorry you feel differently. We hope you had a great rest of your summer!

Judith and Davi... M

Aug 2020

Combination of relatively smooth rafting for morning and then rapids in the afternoon was perfect for our grandchildren, two of whom were nervous about river rafting. Our guides, Luke and Tanner, were great not only at maneuvering our rafts through the rapids, but also at putting us at ease. They provided fun commentary along the way, as well.

Response from Host

Oct 2020

Luke and Tanner are amazing guides and we are so happy to hear that you enjoyed your time on the river with them!