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Durango Rafting - Half Day Family Friendly Trip

Recommended by 98% of travelers
Durango, USA
Great choice
5+ bookings last month.
  • 3 hours (approx.)
  • Mobile ticket
  • Offered in: English

Why travelers loved this

4.9
·
· Marie_B ·
Aug 2025
It was great for beginners. The guides kept us safe while learning the basics of rafting along with optional fun slides in the water. We used our muscles.
· Ken_P ·
Jul 2025
Courtney and Ed were excellent river guides. Trevor was great at getting us to the river and back. Courtney told us lots about the area. Wonderful experience.

Overview

Experience the adrenaline-pumping excitement of a rafting adventure on this professionally guided, 3-hour excursion. Ride along the clear, crisp waters of the Animas River in Durango. Crash through the Class I, II and III rapids, which are less technical but no less exciting for an introductory river experience. It’s a perfect balance for kids and adults wanting to share a fun day on the river. All boating equipment, plus transportation.
  • Perfect for all ages and skill level
  • Family friendly
  • Informative, friendly and professional guide
  • Choice of several departures throughout the day

What's Included

  • Rafting Tour
  • Raft equipment: life jackets, helmets
  • Professionally certified white water guide
  • Transportation to and from the river
  • Free Parking
  • Gratuities
  • Thermal gear available for rent at time of trip
  • Souvenir photos (available to purchase)

Meeting and Pickup

Meeting point

  • Mountain Waters Rafting
    303 W College Dr, Durango, CO 81301, USA

    Meet at the Mountain Waters Rafting office 303 W. College Dr Durango, CO 81301 Free secure parking!

Itinerary

1

Mountain Waters Rafting & Adventure Company

30 minutesAdmission Ticket Free

2

Animas River

3 hours Admission Ticket Free

Animas River Trail (Pass By)

3

Santa Rita Park

30 minutesAdmission Ticket Free

Additional Info

  • Confirmation will be received at time of booking
  • Minimum age is 4 years
  • Children under 11 must weigh at least 30 pounds
  • Wheelchair accessible
  • Stroller accessible
  • Service animals allowed
  • Near public transportation
  • No heart problems or other serious medical conditions
  • Most travelers can participate
  • This is a friendly entry level raft trips suitable for most everyone.
  • This tour/activity will have a maximum of 9 travelers

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

Traveler Photos

Gallery picture 1 (from a traveler's review)
Gallery picture 2 (from a traveler's review)
Gallery picture 3 (from a traveler's review)
Gallery picture 4 (from a traveler's review)
Gallery picture 5 (from a traveler's review)

Featured review

Amy_S
Was a great experience! Solomon was our guide and did awesome. Would definitely do it again with friends!

Reviews

4.9
based on 260 reviews
Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor

Disappointing float trip

Mike_L, Aug 2025
River was real low….the 1/2 day float trip lasted one hour. From 12:00 to 1:00pm. The crew should have told us our 1/2 day trip would only last an hour or more… but they didn’t. I’m not sure how far we went but it couldn’t have been more than a mile or two! Very disappointing and very OVER PRICED.?

Response from Host, Aug 2025

Hi Mike, I see that our office staff rebooked your trip 4 days before your raft trip due to the low water levels we are experiencing. This was to ensure a quality trip and to save you money which we had notified TripAdvisor/Viator to refund. I also see there are notes that we called you to let you know about the change and that you asked for an email because you were at work when we called. Our reservation system shows that email has yet to be opened. Since the raft trip and this erroneous review, our office staff was finally able to reach you by phone. Your wife said the review would be removed now that you understand the situation. Well Mike, it is disappointing to see your review still here.

It was great for...

Marie_B, Aug 2025
It was great for beginners. The guides kept us safe while learning the basics of rafting along with optional fun slides in the water. We used our muscles.

Loved Mountain Water Rafting.

Ken_P, Jul 2025
Courtney and Ed were excellent river guides. Trevor was great at getting us to the river and back. Courtney told us lots about the area. Wonderful experience.

LEMUS River rafting

Carlos_L, Jul 2025
An incredible river rafting experience from start to finish. Everything was well organized and professional, and our guide, Courtney, was outstanding. Her knowledge, calm leadership, and enthusiasm made us feel safe while keeping the adventure exciting. She truly elevated the whole trip. Highly recommend!

Was a great experience!...

Amy_S, Jun 2025
Was a great experience! Solomon was our guide and did awesome. Would definitely do it again with friends!

Satisfied but Improvements Couid Be Made

David_H, Jun 2025
I thought the guides were nice, but there was little to no instruction about what was needed before we got there including about when to arrive. As I booked the tickets through Viator, it was hard to find the address we were supposed to go to.

Durango trip

dixiemamabear, Jun 2025
Awesome experience !!!! Never rated before and our leaders were fantastic, Logan and Shiloh. Works Absolutely recommend this to anyone

Response from Host, Jun 2025

I know, it's gotta be really special to take the time to write a review so thank you for the recommendation and taking the time!

Fun morning on the river!

Paul_S, Aug 2024
Great weather and fun day on the river. Margret and Katie were fantastic. Beautiful scenery and very safe experience.

Response from Host, Jun 2025

Thank you!

Rafting with family

joseph_z, Aug 2024
We were in town with a group of 9. Steve and Keena were our guides. They were great. If you have two rafts worth of family , Steve is an expert at splashing the other raft! Perfect when you are divided with teens in one raft and adults in the other. For some of us it was our first rafting trip. We had a great time. There were a few nice rapids for the beginners and the river was not crowded. Our guides were fun a pointed out things along the way. It was nice 2 hour excursion.

Awesome!

tyyvgygjny, Aug 2024
The kids really enjoyed it! Safety was important to our guide. Good teamwork between staff, getting rafts in and out of the water.

Good time

Michele_C, Jul 2024
Frankly the best part was interacting with the staff. Will was exceptionally good. We had our 9 year old with us and Will was patient and thoughtful. We Will definitely come back.

Response from Host, Jul 2024

We are so happy to hear you enjoyed your time with our staff! :)

Gret experience for everyone.

Kristie_U, Jul 2024
Jake was our guide, and he was pretty good. We did all the things that were possible on the water. We surfed the rapids on our raft. That was cool. He instructed us well. We has a mostly women team on oir raft and we killed it. It was fun for everyone. The kids loved it.

Response from Host, Jul 2024

So glad to hear you enjoyed your raft trip! :)

Rafting the Animas River

Janice_N, Aug 2023
The Stu, the guide was great. The river was low and slow. Many rocks to maneuver around and few rapids. We also had to keep together with the group of rubber duckies so also was a negative in my opinion.

Happy Cajuns

Ronnie_D, Jul 2023
Really enjoyed our trip & Sam was very funny & knowledgable of the river. We will definitely use these services next time we visit the area.

Response from Host, Aug 2023

Thank you for the review! We would love to hear what would get us 5 stars. :)

Fun for a first time

Susan_B, Jul 2023
Really enjoyed the water park area. Bobby our guide was great. It was a lot tamer than we expected. Would have been nice for a few more rapids & splashes but, I guess that’s up to the river

Response from Host, Jul 2023

Ahh yes, we are at the mercy of mother nature! Come back in June for some bigger water! :)

Durango White Water Rafting for Families

Carol_M, Jul 2023
Bobby was a great guide. Our family loved this experience and would highly recommend. For families of all ages.

Response from Host, Jul 2023

Thank you for the review! We love that rafting can be for all ages! :)

Best Rafting Experience Ever

Kristina_H, Jul 2023
Great place, friendly staff and guides. Second time going this year. Very streamlined and organized. Would recommend

Response from Host, Jul 2023

We are rafting through the end of August if you want to make it a 3rd time! ;) Thank you for choosing Mountain Waters Rafting!

Worth every dollar!

Dana_R, Jul 2023
Andy was an excellent guide. We had a great experience and would book again! The river was moving fast, but we felt safe and prepared.

Response from Host, Jul 2023

You came during a great river season! Thank you for choosing Mountain Waters Rafting!

It was fun. Our guide is...

Joseph_F, Jul 2022
It was fun. Our guide is funny and knowledgeable! We will recommend this adventure to everyone. Super happy.

Response from Host, Jul 2022

Funny knowledgeable guides make super happy guests! Thank you for the review!

Great trip

Michele_V, Jul 2022
Shiloh did a great job providing a fun, but safe experience. Loved swimming down the rapid and enjoyed the trip very much.

Response from Host, Jul 2022

Great to hear Michele, thank you for the review!

Family raft trip

barb, Jul 2022
We had so much fun! Our raft guide Brianna was the best. She literally pulled my daughter out of the water! So strong and did a great job! Please give her rookie of the year!

Response from Host, Jul 2022

Well, did she put your daughter in the water or was that a voluntary swim? I mean, for rookie of the year and all. Thank you for the review!

Great family fun!

Jeannette_F, Jul 2022
We went rafting with our 4 kids (age 4-11) and had a great experience. Dory was amazing with our kids and helped them feel safe. It made our experience so much more enjoyable. All the staff were wonderful and wed highly recommend rafting with them.

Response from Host, Jul 2022

Mom's taking mom's rafting since 1981! Thank you for the review and recommendation!

Amazing!!!!

Catherine_S, Jul 2021
Our guide Eddie made our first rafting experience enjoyable and fun. Would definitely recommend! Even though none of us have gone before we felt like we were pros by the end with his positive attitude!

Response from Host, Jul 2021

Imagine what an amazing world we would have if we all brought that positive attitude to everything we do! Thank you for the review and positive words!

Excellent trip!

Lee_D, Jul 2021
Super friendly staff. Everything went perfect. We lucked into fantastic weather for the four hour trip.

Response from Host, Jul 2021

Luck over skill any day, thank you for the review!

June 29

Annunziata_W, Jun 2021
Our guide was amazing….thanks David for the laughs and adventure! It was a chilly day, but that was quickly forgotten!

Response from Host, Jul 2021

Good times trump chilly weather, thank you for the review!

River rafting

Jamal_J, Jun 2021
It was a good ride that was well organized. The TL was very knowledgeable and kept things lite and people involved. I would definitely do it again, just a little faster.

Response from Host, Jul 2021

We raft 4 rivers and 12 sections, we got faster! Thank you for the review.

Nice rafting day

Lindsay_W, Jun 2021
Loved it! And our tour guide was si nice! Thanks Axel!!! Btw hate the number pf minimum characters in this review!

Response from Host, Jun 2021

Um...the minimum number of characters is zero. Nonetheless, we sure appreciate the effort to write us a review, thank you!

great family fun

lloyd_a, Dec 2020
Took grandkids on raft tour. They loved it. Would highly recommend this for family trip and memories.

Response from Host, May 2021

Kid tested and grand parent approved since 1981! Thank you for taking time to review us.

Sid was awesome

Jean_K, Aug 2020
Because it was late in the season, the river was low, but the trip was still fun. Sid, our guide, was awesome! She made the trip not just good, but great!

Having a blast in Durango

Gregory_D, Jun 2018
We went rafting with the Mountain Rafting Co and had a wonderful time. We went on the 4 hour trip. We took our 11 year old grandson and 7 year old granddaughter with us. They had a fabulous time. The guides are more than fantastic. There was a group that had children a lot younger than ours. This is totally family friendly.. We even went on the Mesa Verde tour and had a wonderful time.

From $99.00

per person

up to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time)

Book ahead!
On average, this is booked 25 days in advance.

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