Arkansas River Outfitters Association
Colorado's Best Whitewater | The Arkansas River
Colorado's Best Whitewater | The Arkansas River
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The following news reports are about Colorado whitewater adventure on the Upper Arkansas River in Colorado.
SUMMIT COUNTY — You’d better believe it’s whitewater season. And the best is still yet to come.
Over the weekend, local company Performance Tours Rafting and several other outfitters started running tours on the Arkansas River and perpetually popular Browns Canyon route, found in the Buena Vista area about an hour south of Summit County. Flows there are 311 cfs (cubic feet per second), which is about 200 cfs down from the early-May average of 522 cfs. But, warming temperatures and plenty of runoff are expected to bring new conditions almost daily.
Local waterways aren’t quite ready for rafting or kayaking — the water levels are still too low, and the water still too miserably cold — …
Read More on The Summit DailyCANON CITY — Royal Gorge area tourism is rising out of the ashes thanks to the full reopening of Canon City’s number one tourist attraction and some good water levels for rafting on the Arkansas River.
A June 2013 wildfire destroyed 90 percent of the Royal Gorge Bridge & Park amenities and forced the tourist attraction to lose nearly two full summers of income while demolition and rebuilding took place.
This summer, visitors are flocking back in greater numbers than before the fire.
“We currently are 20 percent over 2012, which was the last year we were able to operate for a full summer,” said Mike Bandera, Royal Gorge Bridge general manager. “The reception to …
Read More on The Pueblo ChieftainColorado’s swift rivers have been seeing record water levels.
The Arkansas River went up to nearly 6,000 cubic feet per second, closing parts of the river near the Royal Gorge.
“They’re running Class 5 right now which is why they’re closed and we move people to a Class 4 and Class 3 stretches of the river,” said Ryan Giorgis, operations manager at Royal Gorge Rafting.
But business continues to boom for companies like Royal Gorge Rafting.
“I have confidence that these people will take good care of us and I don’t expect any problems,” said Sharon Treacy, who went river rafting with her family.
“When we’re talking about most closures …
View More on Fox21CANON CITY -
The amount of water in the Arkansas River is moving into the record books. The high water Thursday broke a 20 year record for this date.
West of Canon City the flow pushed past 6,300 cubic feet per second. The previous record June 18th was in 1995 at 6,180 cubic feet.
The record for all days is close to 7,300 cubic feet per second. It is possible that record could be broken in the next few days with forecasted hot weather rapidly melting snowpack.
View More on KOAA TVArkansas River, Colo. (June 30, 2014) - Dirk and Joyce have been rafting in Colorado with the same Arkansas River outfitter for more than 30 years. Dirk and his wife started the summer rafting tradition with their kids and now enjoy trips with their grandkids.
"It's a privilege to live in Colorado and have access to these types of adventures," said Dirk. "I want my entire family to experience the fun. Every trip has been a success, but this latest was the best trip ever."
Dirk and his family recently took a full-day trip with Wilderness Aware Colorado Rafting, a member of the Arkansas River Outfitters Association. They started their trip in Buena Vista and enjoyed a full day rafting, hiking and …
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Colorado whitewater media requests can be made to individual members of AROA or send an inquiry to all qualified members by filling out the Media Request Form.
