Rafting the Dolores River - Ponderosa Gorge 3-Day

3-Day Dolores River Ponderosa Gorge Whitewater Rafting & Camping in Colorado

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Wilderness Aware
1-800-462-7238
Space is Limited & Fills Fast - Call Now

The beginning of the more navigable portion of the river lies below the town of Dolores where the Dolores River enters Ponderosa Gorge. Sloping canyon walls covered with oak brush and other shrubs characterize the first few miles of river below Bradfield Bridge. Then the canyon deepens and begins its transition from a mountain to a desert river. Sandstone walls appear and groves of ponderosa pine and Douglas fir cover the benches along the river, offering some of the West's most beautiful campsites.

On the second day, you will stop to visit an ancient Anasazi Indian ruin high on a cliff face where you can imagine the life-style of a native culture long since vanished.

With a gradient of 19 feet per mile, you'll be moving swiftly downstream to an encounter with "Old Snaggletooth", the most formidable rapid on the entire river, and the miles-long House Rock Rapid. Before the invention of the self-bailing raft, some river runners maintained that Snaggletooth had been portaged more times than it had been successfully run!

Below Snaggletooth, the canyon becomes drier and the vegetation begins to change to that of the Upper Sonoran life zone. Piñon-juniper, yucca, cactus, and shrubs are predominant. A few miles above the take-out at Slickrock, the canyon widens to rolling, arid hills.

Reserve your Dolores River Whitewater Rafting Adventure NOW! Space is Limited. Click Here... or CALL: 1.800.462.7238

>>> Dolores River Pre-Trip Information
>>> General River Description
>>> Sample Itinerary
>>> Gallery Photos
>>> Maps

Wilderness Aware Rafting • PO Box 1550 Buena Vista, CO 81211 • Toll Free: 1-800-462-7238 • Phone: 719-395-2112 • Email: rapids@inaraft.com