new mexico river adventures - day tours

We recently took an afternoon river rafting tour with this firm. It was a great experience. The guides were great, the river was fun, and a good time was had by all. We lucked out because the weather was picture perfect, which added to our enjoyment, but this place is highly recommended.

Everything about this was great - easy to make reservations, great facilities and most of all a really great day on the water. Our guide Garrett was 100% professional and great answering all of our questions - we felt completely safe and had a wonderful time! The scenery is incredible and I highly recommend this for everyone - our group had kids aged 7 & 8 and I'm no spring chicken!! We had so much fun that we are going again next week-end!

My two sons (age 12) and I had a great time with NMRA last week. We did a morning of beginner stand-up paddle boarding and half-day white water rafting trip (racecourse). Both experiences were better than I had hoped. I felt totally comfortable with the guides who were very responsible, nice and easy to be with. We had fun, and just the right amount of excitement, but I never worried the kids would get hurt. I totally recommend these guys!

One of the things I always wanted to do was to go river rafting. The name of the company that I went with is New Mexico River Adventures. A funny thing happened on my way to them. My keys got locked in my car (automatic lock) and I was not able to make my time. Matt helped me out greatly by letting me go the next day. He was under no obligation to do this. They did it out of generosity.You know when you are on an airline and the flight attendants start giving the safety talk and no one listens. Well, the safety talk was given by Brad in a most entertaining and educational manner. This brings me to our rafts guide, Wendy. She is just great. It was not just that she got us through the rapids, giving us instructions on what to do to get through them, but she was amazing in the information she gave us about the area on both banks of the Rio Grande. From geological, to flora and fauna, to historic, and more. She is just amazing.If you find yourself in Taos, this is the company to pick. Two big thumbs up!

had a great time and can't wait to do it again... guides were a lot of fun, professional, knowledgeable... Our guide was Bean and was a hoot.

These guys are the best. Our guide was a riot and made sure that we were safe and that we had fun the entire time. The equipment didn't stink like a dead animal like most rafting companies stuff is wont to do. This was worth every penny. Would do it again in a heartbeat.

Very impressed with NMRA. We did two groups on Racecourse (8 people) with Devon and Travis. Funny and informative, they were perfect guides. Really appreciated the changing rooms, plus they had reasonably priced water shoes etc for people who didn't have everything they needed. I wouldn't have thought chips and salsa, oreos (or Oreyjos as Devon called them) with cantaloupe could taste so good on our snack break but they were delicious. When we were done they recommended 5 Star burgers in Taos for lunch and it was perfect.

Our family of four (two kids, 9 and 6) took the 3-day Chama river trip in August 2014. This was an Epic adventure and one we will never forget. Our kids absolutely loved the float and so did we. The scenery of the Chama was fantastic, the river was a blast, and the time spent on side-adventures and in camp was terrific.Our guides Sean and Jamie were super friendly, professional, and informative. We truly enjoyed spending three days with them. They worked incredibly hard to make us comfortable (and well-fed!) and it was truly appreciated. I will be purchasing a dutch oven immediately and will probably be spending the next several years in an attempt to recreate Sean's lasagna. Jamie's mint brownies should be illegal they're so good. NMRA is a first class operation and they helped make our trip one of the most memorable we've ever taken. THANK YOU!

We spent a full day with NMRA and had to admit it was awesome! It was a surprise BDAY present from my wife and the staff at NRMA made the day spectacular by wishing me a great day. We started the morning on the “Racecourse” rafting trip, which was a great stretch of the Rio Grande where we got wet a few times by hitting some nice holes, thanks LUKE! Luke was our guide and he knows his river – he was a great guide!!! Mid-way through the rafting trip we stopped at the side of the river and had a good snack (fresh fruit, chips and salsa, and beverages). After our rafting trip was done we went back to NMRA Headquarters where they provided a perfect lunch for us (not sure if it was for BDay or provided if you spent the whole day with them). After lunch we headed out to our very first SUP trip (Stand Up Paddle Boarding) on a different part of the Rio Grande. This was great and our guide/instructor Garrett, is a very good instructor and had great patience with the group. By the end, I was able to stand up through the rapids – we will definitely try SUPs again – lots of fun!. Both Luke and Garrett were great and very knowledgeable about the river and surroundings. We will be going back to take friends and family and even try longer or different river trips with them. Highly recommended!! If you have or never have rafted or paddle boarded before!! Buy a shirt and buy the pics, they are worth it! Their Headquarters is also very convenient with clean bathrooms, changing rooms, picnic tables, secure parking, and the Blue Heron Microbrewery right across the street, for a nice refreshing beer after a day full of adventure. In addition, if you forget anything that you might need for the river, rest assured that they have it in their store and you will be able to purchase it for a reasonable price.Thanks Walker and Raquel!!

We booked this activity as an add on to a Santa Fe visit and we were not disappointed! We are a family of four with 13 & 16 year old teen girls . The gear provided is topnotch. Safety is a priority. Our guide Garrett maneuvered us safely through class2-3 Rapids while still having great fun. He pointed out all the natural rock formations and river history. And guess what nobody was on a tablet or smart phone... The best!! After the trip head across the road for a tasty craft beer. Great family vacation spot, and lifelong memories for our teens.

My husband and I had a great time on our river rafting adventure. Our day began at the beautiful facilities of New Mexico River Adventures where we were personally greeted by the owner Matt. The staff was extremely professional in helping us get fitted in our gear and preparing us for our adventure with a safety presentation. We signed up for the full day Rio Grande package and enjoyed every minute of our day. The first half of the day was laid back and our guide, Sean, was very knowledgeable about the history of the territory, river, wildlife and geological surroundings. Lunch was fantastic! We started with appetizers and then enjoyed sandwiches with freshly sliced vegetables. The meal was topped off with performance enhancing oreos to prepare us for the Race Course. The Race Course exceeded our expectations! We felt safe at all times and were extremely impressed with the knowledge and professionalism of the guides on our adventure! We will definitely return for a trip down the Taos Box Canyon!

I was pretty much dragged by my husband to go on this rafting adventure. We went for the first time and I must say we loved it!! It was so much fun. We plan to go back next year. We did the Racecourse with our guide being Devon. He was very friendly, knowledgeable and overall a great guide. The rest of the guides and staff were professional and friendly too! I strongly recommend to follow their directions, the GPS will get you close to the destination but not there.

We went on an afternoon trip with these folks and it was our best rafting experience ever. Our safety checkout was the best instruction we've gotten in multiple trips but not heavy-handed. Devon, our guide, told us things on the trip we didn't know, and we live here! The facilities were clean, the employees were friendly, and all in all it was a good trip. The river was cooperative,too, and the rapids were pretty good! We would recommend them over other companies in the area for sure. And it isn't really in Espanola--the company is in Rinconada, and across the street from the Blue Heron Brew Pub, a nice place for a relaxing beer or glass of wine after a "hard" time on the river :)

Had a great experience! The guides are very informative and helpful and made the experience fun! Luke was a great guide, very helpful with his instructions and walking us through each rapid. He also gave us background on the area and added some local color. Really great guy! We hit every rapid just perfectly. Everyone in the company is professional and easy to work with.Had several days of rain before our trip so the river was a bit higher and the flow was good. The Racecourse trip was perfect for us as we'd only rafted once before. Still fun and challenging without being too much.We'll definitely use NMRA next time we're in Santa Fe or Taos.

Thank you for your review of New Mexico River Adventures! You'll have to come a bit earlier in the season next time in order to experience the higher water and bigger waves that the Rio Grande has to offer. Rivers that are not dammed usually have higher flows in late spring or early summer as the snow is melting off. The Taos Box is one of the best one day class 4 trips in the country and might be just what you are looking for, so give us a call next spring! Thank you again for rafting with us!