When does the rafting season at Colorado river start?

Answer 1

Depending on how cold you are willing to be, the Colorado rafting season never ends. A group of kayakers run the Shoshone section of the Colorado River outside of Glenwood Springs every New Years. However, if you are sensible like most of us, you'll wait until the snow melts and the rivers start flowing.

The annual snowmelt occurs at different times each year depending on the weather and the amount of snow in the basin.

Generally, the Arkansas river might be runnable sometime in mid-April, with the peak occurring in May. The Colorado River generally peaks between May and June, and is runnable from about March or April depending on the weather.

The Animas and Piedra rivers in southern Colorado run much later because of the cold, although a good spring rain storm can bring them up quickly earlier than expected.

The Poudre river has a shorter season and starts running later than the other rivers. Look for it to start in Late April or May and end before summer runs out.

Finally, the Green River and Yampa Rivers may start running sometime in April and last until later summer. The Yampa is not dam controlled, so its peak can be irregular and sometimes get very big. The Green River is dam controlled and you can look at the river operations to determine the best flows for you.

Some good sites to become familiar with:

www.mountainbuzz.com is a forum for western boats, many of whom are from Colorado. They link to a gauge site to give you real time data about the flows for hundreds of river sections.

The Natural Resources Conservation Service can provide information on snowpack and projected runoff at American Whitewater is a great source for beta on different runs and recommended flows.

Have fun!

Answer 2

The rafting season at the Colorado river starts around May. You can learn more about the rafting seasons of Colorado from the official Colorado website.