What an amazing experience this was! My kids (16 and 12) and my wife (age not included as I don't want her to kill me) had never been river rafting before and I believe they are now hooked after just a couple of hours. Seriously, they along with my father and I all said this was the absolute highlight of our trip (and we thought we had peaked before today).
I have to give so much credit to our guide, Bella, who was absolutely fantastic. A river guide I am not, but I have done a lot of white water canoeing, rafting and kayaking before today. That said, she literally hit the line going into the Smelter perfectly. If we had gone into the drink, my wife probably would have been handing me divorce papers instead of talking about how much fun she had. Most importantly, she's just a wonderful person and made the trip down the river for all of us so much fun.
Bella was obviously the guide we really got to know but I have to say that ALL of them seemed wonderful. Mild to Wild has put together a great team and it really shows. In short, don't think twice - just book them for whatever adventure you're shooting for.
Regarding the excursion itself, we went with the premium raft since there were 5 of us and we wanted a smaller guide-to-newbie experience (really glad we went that route). We also went for the 2 1/2 hour trip in total...which was perfect for us. What I loved about this part of the river (with the conditions we had) was that it was very newbie friendly without being boring. River is always humming right along and you have plenty of time getting used to the raft before hitting the Class 3 area (which is the obvious highlight). So, if you're new to rafting or just want a shorter trip, this is the perfect way to go.
Huge thanks to Mild to Wild and especially Bella for making this day one that my family and myself will always remember. Can't wait to hit you guys up again the next time we're in the area!
Réponse de l'hôte
Aug 2019
Thanks for the detailed and stellar review! We are glad we could share a positive Durango rafting experience with you and your family! Let's do it again! We raft in Arizona, Colorado, and Utah!