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

Sat 21 Sep

Other dates

You can choose the date already on the booking website

Starting at $145.00

Make a reservation

Sat 21 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)

Nathan S

Jul 2016

Having an emotional teen son who wants nothing to do with his father is heartbreaking. When we had a long weekend to ourselves coming up I asked him if he'd be interested in going rafting. Hes enthusiastic "YES" was all I needed to book our full day Rio Grande Gorge trip. He had never been rafting and it was at least 20 years since I was last out. Long story short, I have never in his 14 years heard him yelling at the top of his lungs "THIS IS AWESOME!!!" so many times in a day. Through the pouring rain and driving wind he was having a great time. WE were having fun, TOGETHER! Our guide Kim was nothing short of amazing. His knowledge of the flora and fauna, as well as the geology of the canyon was astounding. His training of us, and skill in maneuvering the boat even when we weren't doing the best of jobs following his instructions was inspiring. Pretty amazing island lunch too!! Where did all that grub come from? Give that guy a raise.

Response from Host

Jul 2016

Hi Nathan, Thank you so much for your review on your experience with us at New Mexico River Adventures. We are thrilled to hear that this adventure was memorable for you and your son!! Kim is no doubt one of the best guides out here! He is super knowledgeable, loves to have some fun on the water, and packs a great lunch!! Thank you so much again for choosing NMRA, we hope the two of you guys come back and see us.

Tu N

Jun 2016

I've never been white water rafting before and I really didn't know what to expect. Upon further research and hearing this place was highly recommended, I decided to book the full day Rio Grande Gorge tour because it was a mixture of the leisure casual floating and white water rafting since I was a beginner. I came in from Taos (they do not have food there so feed yourself before heading there--there are not very many options to stop and get breakfast once you're out of town). Follow the instructions they provide vs using GPS navigation because the directions are on point! Check-in was a breeze. The people there were very friendly and informative. They had a lot going on but handled the crowds professionally. For my tour, we got personal flotation devices and hats. We left everything else in the car (except sunblock and water) and the company kept our keys. After the safety demo, we hopped in a van and went down to the drop site. Our guide, Kim, was phenomenal. He was so knowledgeable about everything and safety was very important to him. He kept me alive when I decided to swim through the last of the white water. He also went along with the ridiculous team name I suggested. Lol We stopped in the middle of the day and they prepared a deli buffet for us. It was delicious and very filling. We got done at about 3ish. They do have photographers taking pictures of us and it was cool to see ourselves in action. I would only use this company for white water rafting and look forward to coming back and doing more advanced stuff!

Response from Host

Jul 2016

New Mexico River Adventures is thrilled to hear you had a fun and safe time on the Rio Grande Gorge. Kim is so informative, I can't even imagine anything less than super with him. Try looking into a full day Box trip or even an over-nighter if you want more of a challenge next time! We would love to see you guys back here for more.

andrew_sanchez77

Jun 2016

The day was fantastic for my wife and I, as we pretty much had our own raft to ourselves, along with our guide "ANDY" of course. He was fantastic as he pretty much gave us a History/Geological lesson along the way in regards to the Rio Grande itself. If you have a chance to set up a half or full day excursion with this company, you'll be extremely satisfied with the professionalism and knowledge which NMRA provides. -Andrew

Response from Host

Jun 2016

Hi Andrew, Thank you for taking the time to share your experience with New Mexico River Adventures. Andy is a huge asset to NMRA and his love for the river is apparent to everyone! We hope to see you for another adventure in the future!