Whitewater Rafting Safety Guide: What You Need to Know in Colorado
If you’re planning a whitewater rafting trip in Colorado, you probably have safety questions. That’s smart. Is white water rafting dangerous? What happens if you fall out? Can non-swimmers go? These are the right questions to ask, and the answers are more reassuring than you might think. Whitewater rafting has inherent risk, like any outdoor […]
Colorado Rafting Season: When to Go & What to Expect
Planning a Colorado whitewater rafting trip starts with one question: when should you go? The answer depends on what kind of whitewater adventure you’re after – and which river you choose. Colorado’s rafting season runs May through September, but the Arkansas River stands apart with the longest, most reliable season in the state. Dam-controlled flows […]
Buena Vista Visitor’s Guide: Dining, Weather, & Lodging for Rafters
You’ve booked your Arkansas River rafting trip – now what? After over 50 years guiding whitewater through Browns Canyon and Royal Gorge, River Runners knows Buena Vista inside and out. This high-desert mountain town in Chaffee County sits at the base of the Collegiate Peaks in central Colorado, offering everything outdoor enthusiasts need: cold beer […]
5 Best White Water Rafting Trips in Colorado for 2026
Colorado isn’t just one of the best places to go whitewater rafting in the United States. By most measures (the variety of rivers, the range of difficulty, the sheer mileage of raftable water) it’s one of the best places in the world for whitewater rafting. The state has more than a dozen commercially rafted rivers, […]
Two Rivers, One Family: Plan Your Next Rafting Trip in Colorado or North Carolina
Most rafters have a home river — the one they grew up on, the one that hooked them, the stretch they think about when winter drags on. For plenty of our guests, that river is the Arkansas. The Royal Gorge, Browns Canyon, the Numbers. Fifty-plus years of River Runners trips have built a lot of […]
Colorado White Water Rafting Guide: All The Must-Knows
Introduction to Colorado White Water Rafting Colorado has more raftable rivers than any other state in the country, and it’s not just about quantity. The variety here is incomparable: you can put a five-year-old in a raft for a calm float in the morning and, at the same time, watch an expert tackle some of […]
Low Flows, High Adventure: What to Expect for Colorado Rafting in 2026
Many people are wondering what this year’s below-average snowpack across Colorado means for summer rafting. One of the most common questions we’re hearing is: What will rafting in Colorado be like in 2026? The short answer: we’re planning for a full rafting season, even with lower water levels. While flows on the Arkansas River—the most […]
Rafting Season is Here in Colorado
Rafting Season is Here in Colorado Rafting season in Colorado is officially kicking off, and River Runners is ready to launch the adventure starting Saturday, May 3! Take advantage of this early opportunity to enjoy scenic and thrilling whitewater trips before the full schedule begins on May 16. Whether you’re a seasoned whitewater paddler or […]
April 2025 Snowpack Update
April 2025 Snowpack Update Snow blankets the Sawatch Range in Colorado. Upper Arkansas River Basin Snowpack: April 2025 The Upper Arkansas River Basin snowpack is 100 percent of the median for this time of year, according to the USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service. Additionally, Open Snow has forecast about 10 inches of snow for the […]
Upper Arkansas River Basin Snowpack Update: March 2025
Upper Arkansas River Basin Snowpack Update: March 2025 The Upper Arkansas River Basin snowpack has maintained near normal levels despite only a few good storms and spring-like weather over the past month. According to the USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service, the snow water equivalent in the upper basin is 106% of the median. However, there […]