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)

hendo715

Jun 2022

Made this whole vacation specifically for this event and it didn't disappoint! The whole process from booking to arrival was easy. We showed up about 10 mins prior to the scheduled show time and it was getting busy. If you have a long drive here or need to purchase last minute items I would suggest getting there 20-30 mins prior but that is just us as we like to mosey a little. Check-in was super easy. They have a huge changing area for anyone that does not come ready to go (like my son) and other last minute items like water shoes (very decently priced), croakies for glasses, sunglasses etc etc. Once you are ready, you lock what you don't want to take in your car and the staff holds the keys for you. Next was intros with your guide. We had Kennedy and she was awesome! There was a rather large group that was also getting ready to go but she kept us off to the side away from them and got all sized up with our equipment. Next was a safety brief which covered everything you need to know about the day. It was nice for us as it was just our family and Kennedy and then two gentlemen doing the duckies with their guide Lucie in our group. Then it was off to the drop-off point. The drive wasn't too bad. 15 pax van about 15-20 mins or maybe more I don't really remember because we were talking with everyone having fun. Once at the drop-off point the staff does everything. I always feel weird when people are working and I'm not but they took care of it and then it was onto the river. First half of the day is easy-going, learning the commands from your guide, working on paddling as a team etc etc. The views floating down the river are amazing and again Kennedy was awesome. We chatted it up with her about anything and everything. After a few miles of easy rafting we pulled off to the side of the river and it was lunch time. While Kennedy and Lucie setting out some snacks and sandwiches for us you can go play around in the water or walk upsteam and float down a bit. My wife and I decided to do a little hiking and walked around the area. There were nice trails to follow and I ended up hiking up the hills a little prior to lunch being served. Lunch was great, chicken fajitas, rice and some sauces. It was delicious. Then it was back to the river for the Race Course. We practiced a few more techniques and then entered the rapids. We had plenty of questions for Kennedy to which she had all the answers. The rapids were fun the whole way down. I could write a lot about them but just go experience it for yourself. They are great. Once you are through the last rapids and photo shoot you have the last bit of the trip to just float down the river if you wish. The water is cold but extremely refreshing in the summer time. I'm sure it is frigid in the early spring or into the fall but summertime...just hop on in. When you reach the pick-up spot you don't have to do anything, the staff takes care of putting the rafts on the trailer and then it's off to the lodge where you can view your pics and purchase if you didn't already, check out the souvenirs, change and then you are free to leave whenever you want. All in all this was an amazing experience and we plan on doing it again with some friends and maybe even a overnight trip. Kennedy really made our experience even more memorable and we are really glad that she was our guide. Now we need to get her to skydive! Thanks to everyone at NMRA for the fun and memories, you guys rock!

Response from Host

Jun 2022

Wow, this review and it's thoroughness is what really rocks!! It is so nice to read through exactly what our guests experience, and even better when it is so darn positive! Thank you so much for taking the time to write this detailed review and share your experience with other travelers. We sincerely hope we have another opportunity to take you all down the river again!

BLVDFlag

Jun 2022

We did the half day Rio Grande and it was awesome! 10/10 would go again. The guides were a blast and knowledgeable. My kids had so much fun. Can’t wait to do it again and hopefully go for a full day trip.

Response from Host

Jun 2022

Well we think you're an 11/10, thank you for rafting with us!

Aaron W

Jun 2022

My 7 and 9 year old children had an incredibly fun day on the river! Our guide was awesome! She totally knew her stuff to keep us safe while also helping us to learn more about rafting as well as the river and valley we were in. I would absolutely recommend this if visiting Santa Fe!

Response from Host

Jun 2022

Thank you for the high recommendation, we really appreciate it!

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Rio Grande Gorge Full Day

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