Rafting
3–4 hours
Free cancellation
Not sure? You can cancel this reservation up to 24 hours in advance for a full refund.
Recommended by 98% of travelers
98% of reviewers gave this product a bubble rating of 4 or higher.
from
$171
per adult
Arkansas River Tours
Arkansas River Tours
4.9
River Rafting & TubingBoat ToursFishing Charters & ToursKayaking & Canoeing
8:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Monday
8:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Tuesday
8:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Wednesday
8:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Thursday
8:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Friday
8:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Saturday
8:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Sunday
8:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Full view
About
Arkansas River Tours has connected more than 325,000 guests to the river since 1973! We have been committed to providing the safest, highest-quality river trips available. We offer 2 convenient locations near Salida, Colorado in Cotopaxi, and in Canon City, Colorado. We have a strong background in experiential education which transfers into the personable trips we offer. Arkansas River Tours is a leader in many aspects of the rafting industry in Colorado. Our Whitewater rafting and guided float fishing on the Arkansas River near the Royal Gorge, Canon City, Cotopaxi, Salida and Colorado Springs are sure to give you a memorable adventure.
Canon City, Colorado
Meets animal welfare guidelines
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Improve this listingTours and Tickets by Arkansas River Tours
Rafting
3–4 hours
Free cancellation
Not sure? You can cancel this reservation up to 24 hours in advance for a full refund.
Recommended by 96% of travelers
96% of reviewers gave this product a bubble rating of 4 or higher.
from
$183
per adult
Float Trips
90–150 minutes
Free cancellation
Not sure? You can cancel this reservation up to 24 hours in advance for a full refund.
Recommended by 93% of travelers
93% of reviewers gave this product a bubble rating of 4 or higher.
from
$147
per adult
Travelers talk about
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
Popular mentions
4.9
926 reviews
Excellent
880
Very good
26
Average
8
Poor
7
Terrible
5
Andrea T
1 contribution
Aug 2021
My family with young children (under the age of 8) took the Family Float rafting trip through ART. We had a blast! Our guide, Ethan, was knowledgeable and very personable. He led us through some great rapids and told us stories/history of the gorge that we were rafting through. We were able to see some great wildlife on our trip, and my son's favorite memory was jumping in the river where it was safe. Thanks to ART for a great afternoon, and for all the memories you gave us. We will be back and will use your services again.
Written August 5, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thank you for your review. We are glad that your trip was fun and memorable. We look forward to seeing you again soon.
Written May 21, 2022
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Kaci F
1 contribution
May 2022 • Family
My family and I did the half day Royal Gorge and I highly recommend it- especially having Kyle W. as a guide!!! I’ll start with our guide, Kyle. He was amazing at explaining key commands that allowed us to safely navigate down the river. My mom was extremely nervous and Kyle was able to put her nerves at ease so she could enjoy the trip. I highly highly recommend him! The view from the bottom of the gorge is completely different from bridge, train, to raft- give this company a shot!
Written June 6, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We are so happy to hear you had a fun time with our guide Kyle and hope to see you again in the future!
Written July 31, 2022
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Shannon T
California2 contributions
Jul 2020 • Family
The entire experience was positive. Everyone that worked for ART was really friendly from booking the trip, the gift shop cashier, guides, bus driver and owner! My Husband, two teen daughters and I went on a trip down the river with E-Man as guide. He made us feel comfortable and gave us quite a bit of laughs. The river was beautiful. We’d never been rafting before and now all four of us want to go again ASAP! The half day morning slot was great...not too busy and not too hot. After two hours of fun on the water, E-man hooked us up with some amazing BBQ steaks and chicken. Lunch included the meat, salad, beans, chips and salsa, fruit and cookies for dessert. FYI we saw other larger companies getting ready to launch as we’d go down the river but their groups had so many people I think it would seem more like a Disney ride With that many boats together. Four boats spread out kept it more like “nature”.
Written July 18, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thank you for your review. We are happy to hear that you had a great rafting experience and not a Disney ride. We are looking forward to rafting with you again in the future.
Written June 2, 2022
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Jennifer M
1 contribution
Jun 2021 • Family
We did a full day raft trip through Browns Canyon. We had a fantastic guide in Calvin. He was funny, engaging and made sure we were safe while still hitting tons of white water. We had a couple negatives and they were: 1- we had 4 adults and 2 small children (9 & 10) in our raft as well as our guide Calvin. They used our raft to transport the large cooler for lunch. The cooler was so large that it only allowed my small
Kids to sit in the center and have minimal leg room to get secured in. They couldn’t sit anywhere else in the raft because an adults legs would not fit in the space. Frustrating because they were uncomfortable the whole trip. 2- the van that takes you to/from the drop off and pick up locations does not have working AC and the pop
Out windows didn’t fully open. It was 100* on the day of our trip, so some air would have been great! 3- the other guide on our trip was Barry and he was a jerk. Rude, catty and condescending. We had a member of our group fall out of the raft and Barry’s boat did stop to help. He was yelling orders but didn’t lean down to help get her back in the boat. At the end of the tour, she thanked him again for his help and he replied with “how do you show your thanks.” When she replied “with my gratitude” he answered with “gratitude doesn’t feed my girlfriend.” We know they want tips and had initially planned to tip him as well, but not after this. We tipped Calvin who deserved it and hopefully he didn’t have to share it! Overall a good trip, but a few disappointing things along the way.
Kids to sit in the center and have minimal leg room to get secured in. They couldn’t sit anywhere else in the raft because an adults legs would not fit in the space. Frustrating because they were uncomfortable the whole trip. 2- the van that takes you to/from the drop off and pick up locations does not have working AC and the pop
Out windows didn’t fully open. It was 100* on the day of our trip, so some air would have been great! 3- the other guide on our trip was Barry and he was a jerk. Rude, catty and condescending. We had a member of our group fall out of the raft and Barry’s boat did stop to help. He was yelling orders but didn’t lean down to help get her back in the boat. At the end of the tour, she thanked him again for his help and he replied with “how do you show your thanks.” When she replied “with my gratitude” he answered with “gratitude doesn’t feed my girlfriend.” We know they want tips and had initially planned to tip him as well, but not after this. We tipped Calvin who deserved it and hopefully he didn’t have to share it! Overall a good trip, but a few disappointing things along the way.
Written June 17, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Jill N
6 contributions
Jul 2021 • Couples
We did a full day white water rafting trip with Cal. He’s an experienced guide that shared his knowledge of the ecology and geology of the area during the mild parts of the trip. He kept it fun and we all enjoy ourselves. It was also great
To start early in the morning before the river was packed.
To start early in the morning before the river was packed.
Written July 3, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We are glad you had a great time with our guide Cal!
Written July 20, 2021
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Dezere W
Canon City, CO1 contribution
May 2022
This was my most fun river trip I’ve taken, and the last one had beer! Lol. I’m really bummed that I don’t get to be apart of this family this season. Julie and Kyle were very cool people and great instructors, if anyone has ever wanted to make this their career, I highly recommend Arkansas River Tours as the company they choose. As well as anyone that just wants to take a trip. It’s a very genuine and interpersonal experience. Getting on the river was just as fun and beautiful as the people I got to meet and spend time with. Wether you’re a pro or a beginner, this is the company you want to choose.
Written May 17, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thank you for the great review. We are so happy that you had an amazing trip. We hope to see you again as a guide or a guest in the future.
Written May 21, 2022
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
MylindaFmlcf1962
Conroe, TX4 contributions
Aug 2021
As first time rafters, our fears were out to rest by our tour guide Amanda. She taught us well before launching the raft and gave clear instructions while rafting, as well as being very cheerful. We had a blast and came back soaking wet in August! Fabulous ride we will do again!!!
Written August 12, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thank you for your review. We are glad that you had a blast on your trip. We look forward to seeing you in the future.
Written May 21, 2022
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Kmartin
6 contributions
Aug 2020 • Family
I would highly recommend ART. Our family accidentally showed up at the canon city office and didn’t realize we needed to be at the other location. When we showed up, we were there about 20 min before our initial tour time but within the 15 min early check in. We ended up being about 10 min late by the time we made it to the other location. They waited for us to make sure we still got our ride in, and were super patient with our kids and let us get ready in a relaxed environment and timeframe. We did the family gentle float trip and had such a great time! Our guide, Nate was very informative and had a great sense of humor which made the trip really enjoyable! We were very nervous about our 4 year old going but she ended up absolutely loving the trip! This particular float was pretty easy with just enough excitement for the younger kids! Now my husband and I want to come back for an intermediate trip soon! Can’t wait, and we’d request Nate again in a heartbeat! Don’t miss out on booking with ART!
Written August 3, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thank you for your review. We are happy to hear that you and your family had a great rafting experience with us. We are looking forward to seeing you again in the future.
Written May 26, 2022
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Mike C.
Midland, TX4 contributions
Jul 2021 • Family
Marshall is the best!! Great attitude and fun-loving personality makes for an excellent trip and his knowledge of the river and rafting makes it safe. All the Arkansas River Tours staff was great and personable. The guests of the other outfitters wished they were on the ART boats!!
Written July 14, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We are thrilled to hear that you had a great time with ART! We hope to see you back again soon/
Written July 16, 2021
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
gobruno2016
Madison, WI1 contribution
Aug 2020 • Family
Our group of 10 did a full day trip with Nate and Ryan. They were great! We had a blast and the teenagers in our group were especially entertained by our guides. They made the day fun. Both guides were clearly knowledgeable and expertly guided us down the river. We enjoyed it so much that next time we are hoping to do a multi-day trip. Definitely one of the highlights of our vacation!
Written August 9, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thank you for your review. We are happy to hear that your trip with us was a blast. We are looking forward to seeing you again in the future.
Written May 26, 2022
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Hi Gail, The temperatures in late May fluctuate a lot during the day and night. Daytime temperatures can reach mid 80's and nighttime lows can get into the 40's but usually around the low 50's.
You can fly into Denver International Airport or Colorado Springs Airport. People usually like to bring their own camping equipment but if you are flying that is a lot of extra gear to bring and we have equipment available if needed. Thanks!
Written July 2, 2019
We are planning on the 7 day river rafting tour, what are temperatures like in late May and what are the daytime/night time ranges? Where do we fly into and do we bring our own sleeping bags/tents etc?
Written April 5, 2016
We do not offer a 7 day trip. Call us and we can give you the information you are requesting for the 2 to 3 day trips we run on the Arkansas River and the Gunnison Gorge. 800 321 4352
Bob Hamel, Arkansas River Tours.
Written April 6, 2016
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*Likely to sell out: Based on Viator’s booking data and information from the provider from the past 30 days, it seems likely this experience will sell out through Viator, a Tripadvisor company.