Arkansas River- Arkansas Headwaters Recreation Area A Colorado State Park

Arkansas River - More people raft the Arkansas River each year than any other river in North America. The Arkansas River is centrally located in Colorado so it is just a short drive from any Colorado Destination.

The Arkansas River has put Colorado on the map as a world-class rafting destination. The state of Colorado created the Arkansas River Headwaters Recreation Area, a Colorado State Park, to regulate and preserve this recreational opportunity.

The Arkansas Headwaters Recreation Area (AHRA) is unique in many ways: It is home to the Arkansas River, one of the world's most popular whitewater rivers for kayaking and rafting, while at the same time being recognized as Colorado's premier brown trout river. In addition, abundant opportunities for camping, picnicking, hiking, wildlife watching, mountain biking and OHV travel can be found throughout the recreation area.

The Arkansas River is awild-to-mild river for 150 miles from the historic town of Leadville, through the Sawatch mountain range and Colorado’s tallest mountains all the way down to Pueblo on the edge of Colorado’s plains.

Visitors enjoy fishing, hiking, camping, picnicking, rock climbing, and even gold panning along the river’s shores, but whitewater boating is king on the Arkansas River. The upper Arkansas River is the most popular whitewater boating river in the United States. On any spring or summer day, hundreds of private and commercial rafters and kayakers will challenge the churning rapids or glide through the calmer sections of the Arkansas.