Rio Grande Gorge Full Day in New Mexico booking from $145.00

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

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Starting at $145.00

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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)

Dagenic

Aug 2014

We spent a full day with NMRA and had to admit it was awesome! It was a surprise BDAY present from my wife and the staff at NRMA made the day spectacular by wishing me a great day. We started the morning on the “Racecourse” rafting trip, which was a great stretch of the Rio Grande where we got wet a few times by hitting some nice holes, thanks LUKE! Luke was our guide and he knows his river – he was a great guide!!! Mid-way through the rafting trip we stopped at the side of the river and had a good snack (fresh fruit, chips and salsa, and beverages). After our rafting trip was done we went back to NMRA Headquarters where they provided a perfect lunch for us (not sure if it was for BDay or provided if you spent the whole day with them). After lunch we headed out to our very first SUP trip (Stand Up Paddle Boarding) on a different part of the Rio Grande. This was great and our guide/instructor Garrett, is a very good instructor and had great patience with the group. By the end, I was able to stand up through the rapids – we will definitely try SUPs again – lots of fun!. Both Luke and Garrett were great and very knowledgeable about the river and surroundings. We will be going back to take friends and family and even try longer or different river trips with them. Highly recommended!! If you have or never have rafted or paddle boarded before!! Buy a shirt and buy the pics, they are worth it! Their Headquarters is also very convenient with clean bathrooms, changing rooms, picnic tables, secure parking, and the Blue Heron Microbrewery right across the street, for a nice refreshing beer after a day full of adventure. In addition, if you forget anything that you might need for the river, rest assured that they have it in their store and you will be able to purchase it for a reasonable price. Thanks Walker and Raquel!!

S_Lashley_TX

Aug 2014

My husband and I had a great time on our river rafting adventure. Our day began at the beautiful facilities of New Mexico River Adventures where we were personally greeted by the owner Matt. The staff was extremely professional in helping us get fitted in our gear and preparing us for our adventure with a safety presentation. We signed up for the full day Rio Grande package and enjoyed every minute of our day. The first half of the day was laid back and our guide, Sean, was very knowledgeable about the history of the territory, river, wildlife and geological surroundings. Lunch was fantastic! We started with appetizers and then enjoyed sandwiches with freshly sliced vegetables. The meal was topped off with performance enhancing oreos to prepare us for the Race Course. The Race Course exceeded our expectations! We felt safe at all times and were extremely impressed with the knowledge and professionalism of the guides on our adventure! We will definitely return for a trip down the Taos Box Canyon!

Exorcismblues

Aug 2014

Wanted to take my family and some other friends white water rafting and stumbled across these guys on the internet. Couldn't have asked for a better experience. Very nice facilities, extremely friendly staff, and all of the guides and etc were absolutely wonderful with our kids (5 and 10). We took the half day trip down the race course. Was worried it was going to be kind of lame going late in the summer, but the river moved great and there were plenty of exciting rapids that weren't just terrifying. I've been going to New Mexico for most of my life but I was never really aware of the gorge and the rio grande in Embudo. Our guide Brad was full of information about the geology and history of the area. Also have to commend Brad on dealing with my kids, he did a great job keeping us all in line and getting us through the rapids. There are several other packages they offer including an overnight river trip and some more challenging rapids up river, and I plan on returning to NMRA very soon. Was pleasantly surprised with white water rafting in New Mexico, and it was all thanks to the fine people at NMRA. Well done.

Response from Host

Aug 2014

Thank you for rafting with us, we are glad to know you enjoyed your trip so much! Brad is a great guide and is extremely passionate about the geology on the river and sharing his knowledge with his guests. The Rio Grande Gorge area is full of many surprises and endless beauty, we are happy you discovered it on this trip. Have a great rest of the summer and we can't wait to see you on the next adventure!

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Rio Grande Gorge Full Day

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