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.
This summer, instead of the typical family vacation, add a little adventure to your itinerary with a guided tour from Wilderness Aware Rafting. It’s a great way to get you and the kids unplugged from city life and tuned back into nature!
That’s exactly what happened to us just two summers ago. My family and I shared one of our most our cherished vacation memories floating down the Gunnison River on an epic and exciting Colorado river rafting trip that none of us will soon forget.
This year, you and your family can follow our lead and get up, get out and get drenched thanks to Wilderness Aware Rafting which offers amazing white water rafting adventures in Buena Vista, Colorado.
Providing leadership in “watershed education” continues to be the focal point of the Headwaters Institute.
An all-day workshop hosted by Arkansas River Outfitters Association, Arkansas Headwaters Recreation Area and Greater Arkansas River Nature Association helped first-year river guides learn a slew of information which will benefit them in the future.
During a May float through the wooded crags of scenic Browns Canyon, rafting guide Jake Schalamon of Dvorak Expeditions pointed out snags of boulders that soon will be overrun by rushing water - pushing boaters into high adventure.
When the Arkansas River really gets going, Schalamon said, stakes can get high, and boaters should remain focused on their guide's instructions.
"As long as we stay hairy side up, no problem," went Schalamon's rapid-fire narrative through a portion of river during which the bearded guide led the boat over a swift drop, then directed passengers to rock their raft vigorously in order to free it from a jutting rock.
"Peak season" looms over the Arkansas …
Read More on The GazetteSUMMIT COUNTY — You’d better believe it’s whitewater season in Colorado. And the best is still yet to come.
Over the weekend, Performance Tours Rafting and several other outfitters started running tours on the Arkansas River and Browns Canyon route in the Buena Vista area about an hour south of Summit County. Flows there are 311cfs (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 cold — but that will all change by Memorial Day …
View MoreEARTHQUAKES, BLIZZARDS and volcanoes; hurricanes, monsoons and tornadoes — man and Mother Nature have a history of not getting along. Yet the Upper Arkansas River has been an exception. The Upper Ark and man have worked together for 25 years to create currents along the 102-mile stretch of waterway calm enough to support gold medal fisheries and rapid enough to become the nation’s most-used river for whitewater rafting.
This feat is accomplished through a voluntary flow management agreement between Colorado Parks and Wildlife, the Southeastern Colorado Water Conservancy District and other water users. Recognizing the value of such a long-standing accord, the Southeastern district board unanimously …
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.
