New Mexico River Adventures

Taos, NM is just 20 miles up the road from our headquarters (so it’s a short drive after your river trip), with great food, fun activities, and unique things to see. FOOD   If you’re in the mood for delicious local cuisine, you’re in luck if you find yourself in Taos! La Cueva is a small, Pueblo-style eatery with patio, located on Paseo Del Pueblo Sur close to the Taos Plaza, offering traditional Mexican dishes.  The Guadalajara Grill is a local favorite with 2 locations in Taos, specializing in Mexican dishes and offering an extensive menu- including American, Latin, and Mexican cuisine, with steak, chicken, and vegetarian dishes. Lambert’s of Taos is a sophisticated, upscale setting for contemporary American food with a lounge and shaded patio, serving locally sourced dishes for lunch and dinner, as well as handcrafted cocktails and a wine list with over 100 options. Another local favorite is Old Martina’s Hall, a historic, adobe music hall, that serves a New Mexican menu and has an events calendar loaded with dance nights and music acts. No matter whether you’re looking for a posh dining experience, or an intimate, casual meal with friends, these 4/4.5 star-rated eateries will fill your belly […]

During rafting seasons with lower water flows, river outfitters tend to get a lot of questions about boating on low water. Many folks are under the assumption that rafting isn’t as fun when the water drops, or even possible at all! We’re here to tell you that not only is it possible to raft the Rio Grande during its minimal water levels, it’s a blast!   WARM WATER! -The water is so much warmer when it’s lower and moving slower. Higher cf/s (cubic feet per second) means that the water has only recently melted off the mountains, where it started as snow! Much of the water in the Rio Grande at lower levels comes from tributaries, monsoon run-off, and underground springs due to the geothermal activity in the Taos Plateau. There’s many fantastic swimming spots throughout the Orilla Verde and Racecourse sections of the Lower Rio Grande Gorge, and our guides know them all!     INTERESTING GEOLOGY -The rocks in the river are more exposed in lower water, showing off the beautiful erosion and “fluting” caused by the hundreds, thousands, or millions of years of moving water that the basalt, schist and quartzite have been subjected to in the […]

The Fall in Northern New Mexico has been long and beautiful and the anticipation for snow and winter had been growing throughout the community.  With our most recent storm and temperatures falling to well below freezing most days, the wait is over.  Welcome to winter!  This is the time of year that brings much excitement to our communities as everyone is tuning their skis and getting ready for yet another  ski season at the many amazing resorts throughout Northern New Mexico.  Here at NMRA, we have many to chose from.  With some of our staff spread out between Sipapu, Taos Ski Valley, Angel Fire, Red River and Ski Santa Fe.  All perfect destinations for the greatest of powder hounds. Look forward to seeing you all out there on the slopes, soaking up all of the great snow that we plan on recycling throughout the summer, whitewater rafting  on the Rio Grande and Rio Chama!

If you love food, wine and wilderness, there are few trips available in the country that compare to this amazing adventure.  This trip combines them all with a level of comfort above and beyond the normal multi-day river trip.  You’ll be amazed at the gear we bring along on this adventure to transform each night’s camp into a dining room reserved for the finest of restaurants.  Not to mention the food and wine that fills the table each night.  Our good friends Chef Rocky Durham and Vivac Winery combine efforts to provide four amazing courses for each night’s dining experience.   Sit back and relive the days adventure while learning about the wine making process and the subtle notes each wine will leave on your palate while perfectly paired with Chef Rocky’s amazing creations.  The wines at Vivac are widely acclaimed as the best in New Mexico and in the west with a bold approach to some of your favorite varietals as well as some new selections you may be introduced to for the first time.  Chef Rocky Durham is certainly one of the largest names in a rock star community of chefs that comprise of multiple James Beard award […]

It’s that time of year when we offer the biggest discounts on our whitewater rafting trips.  Our Holiday Special happening starts on Wednesday, Nov. 25th and runs until the New Year.  This is a great opportunity to reserve your 2018 river trip on the Racecourse Half Day, Rio Grande Gorge Full Day or the Taos Box Full Day for a whopping 20% discount off of our 2017 rates.  If you know when you’d like to go, just go online and enter the promo code 2018Gift and get your discount at checkout.  You won’t see a deal like this all year so please don’t hesitate. Also, don’t forget about that special gift or Stocking Stuffer in the form of a Gift Certificate.  Its a great last minute idea for someone in your life that loves Adventure as much as you.  Gift Certificates can be purchased in dollar form or for a specific trip.  Don’t worry about waiting until the last minute.  Our gift Cards will be sent to you by e-mail immediately after making your purchase.  Just print out the Gift Card and slip it into your loved ones stocking or send it directly to them by e-mail.  Either way its […]

Just north of the boat house, the Rio Grande River meanders through the stunning Rio Grande Gorge, an 800-foot-deep chasm in the Taos Plateau. The gorge is part of the Rio Grande del Norte National Monument and still feels remote and wild to any who get to travel down through its towering walls. This season we have used a beautiful spot on the west rim of the gorge to introduce guests to climbing and rappelling. Dead Cholla Wall is an established climbing area that sits with the river below and in the shadow of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. Often we are the only people at the wall and get to enjoy one of the most stunning vistas in the Southwest in solitude. On our last climbing trip of the season, we had a bit of a run-in with the locals. The morning was cool and breezy and Nikos, Chelsea, and I were all in high spirits as we headed out. To get to Dead Cholla Wall we drive along the peaceful Orilla Verde section of river, across the Taos Junction Bridge, and then up a winding dirt road until we reach the rim. We made it up to the […]

The Rio Grande in the United States, also known as the Río Bravo, travels 1,885 miles (3,034 km), and the fourth longest river system in the United States.  The Rio Grande rises in high mountains and flows for much of its length at high elevation. In New Mexico, the river flows through the Rio Grande Rift from one sediment-filled basin to another, cutting canyons between the basins and supporting a fragile Bosque ecosystem in its floodplain. But before that runoff settles down to a placid river, it rumbles through far northern New Mexico. The Rio Grande flows out of the snowcapped Rocky Mountains in Colorado from its headwaters in the San Juan Mountains, and journeys through New Mexico, Texas and Mexico to the Gulf of Mexico. It passes through 800-foot chasms of the Rio Grande Gorge, a wild and remote area of northern New Mexico. In 1968, the Rio Grande and Red River were among the first eight rivers Congress designated into the National Wild and Scenic River System to protect outstanding resources values. Whitewater rafting on the Rio Grande is the most fun and important outdoor activity to be enjoyed in Northern New Mexico during the spring and summer months.  There are few […]

JM: Today I have the pleasure of interviewing Mr. Jake Walker, NMRA’s head boatman and SUP Extaordinaire. Jake, what was it that brought you into rafting? JW: Well, I guess it was always just meant to be… I’ve always been on the water. I took two weeks, and went up to Arizona with a buddy. We stayed at a rafting company out there, and all of a sudden, I was getting paychecks! It started as a visit, and turned into a job. I didn’t want to make rafting a job, or make anything on the river a job, because I didn’t want to take the fun out of it. But, it’s still fun, 25 years later.                        JM: That was my next question. Is that how long you’ve been guiding? 25 years? JW: Yeah… since ’92, however long it’s been since then! JM: Tell me, what’s the best part about being a guide? JW: The best part about being a guide is the freedom. To pull up [stakes], and go to the next place, no questions asked- without it being weird like it would be for other people. Also, the interaction with the people, with the guests.             JM: So […]