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

Sun 22 Sep

Other dates

You can choose the date already on the booking website

Starting at $145.00

Make a reservation

Sun 22 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)

Kris H

Mar 2019

We just finished our Rio Grande Gorge Full Day. My two daughters (ages 9 and 11) and I all had a wonderful experience. It is March 17th today so this is a very early season trip. My biggest concern going into the trip was the cold. We did plan ahead for this as best as we could and put on as many layers of synthetic moisture wicking clothes as we could. We went with two layers of tights and a couple layers of under armor type light hoodies. We also did stocking caps and gloves for the first half of the trip. The one part of our bodies that did get cold was our feet. We all wore two layers of synthetic socks and old tennis shoes. Feet got cold but not unbearable. I might try some thicker wool socks if I did this again. We had a beautiful day that started out around 35 degrees in the morning and got to 58 by the afternoon. Weather is probably a little more risky this time of year but I think having the river completely to ourselves made dealing with the colder temperatures completely worth it. Our guide was utterly professional. She could answer any question you might have and had a lot of pride in her river. The girls learned a lot about the local environment, geology, and cultures. Safety was her number one priority and I really have no idea how she managed the raft as well as she did. I have done just enough kayaking/canoeing to know that the way we magically got lined up for every rapid doesn’t happen by accident. Lastly, the pictures aren’t setups. I am always skeptical that the pictures on the websites and even on trip advisor are staged or setup. The rapids in the pictures are real and they aren’t necessarily unique. The Racecourse section has 10-12 sets of rapids that are just as exciting as the pictures that you see. It is really 2 hours of excitement broken up with just enough time to catch your breath, get over laughing, and start over. We are on our way to the Grand Canyon and I couldn’t be happier with our decision to come through Santa Fe on our way there. This is a great Spring Break activity.

Response from Host

Mar 2019

Hi Kris, Thank you so much for the spectacular and detailed review for all in trip advisorlandia!! We so enjoyed the opportunity to take you and your two daughters on a fun spring break adventure. Wendy is an amazing guide and her love of the Rio shines through for all to see! We hope that the Grand Canyon portion of the trip was dazzling and we would love to take you all down the river again in the future!

NewMexicoJill

Sep 2018

We took the full day trip with Garrett, who was super nice and capable. We had some folks in a raft and some in kayaks, so after lunch (good enough), we were joined by a second guide (Brad), who led us kayakers. I was happy to pick up some tips and info about the gorge. It's different, depending on the water level and that may affect what trips are open-- so check in-- The pay-off to a trip later in the summer is that the water was comfortable for a dip-- This trip gives me ONE MORE great reason to love New Mexico.

Response from Host

Sep 2018

Garrett is a super star guide and we are so glad you found another reason to love New Mexico!!! Thank you for the taking the time to write a glowing review, we appreciate it!

redsunshinejill

Aug 2018

I tried the 1-man kayak. It was both fun and quite challenging for me. I got hung up on "BIG ROCK" and tried to paddle free. The guides were such great encouragers cheering me on as I tried and tried to break free. Finally, near the point of exhaustion, they threw me a rope which I caught on the first toss and pulled me free. The guides know their stuff. Professional and fun. Shout outs to Wendy and Savanah! Woot!!

Response from Host

Sep 2018

Thank for the great review and for the play by play at Big Rocks rapid, sounds exciting!! Wendy and Savannah are amazing guides and exactly who I would want around to pull me free! We hope to see you for another adventure in the future.