Mountain Waters Rafting

I’ve been rafting with Mountain Waters twice now on the two hour raft trip. The first time with a friend and the second with my family. Myself and everyone included had a fantastic time! Prepare to get wet! The raft guides (Mark and Anna) were very knowledgeable when it came to the river and how to be safe in it. I felt confident that we were in capable hands. They were also very friendly! On the trip with my family we went through the water park Rapids at Sanarita Park (where we got out) It was exhilarating and way too much fun! Anna said they let young kids off right before the rapids if they’re too scared to go. I think this is such a great idea! Go rafting with these guys. They care about you having a great adventure and try their very best to make sure you do.

We booked a 4 hour ride combo with the 2 hour zip line tour. We chose to do them on 2 different days, which they accommodated. My husband and I went with 2 teenage daughters and a great time was had by all. We were given clear instructions for safety, including nose up/​toes up and feet down stream if we fell in by chance. We came close on the one part, but got through exhilarated and unharmed. Our guide was new this summer so another very interesting guide joined us who was also the Chaplain at DMR. He had a million stories and menutia about the river and Durango. We really enjoyed this as we love to find out more about our favorite vacation spot and the people who live here! Be sure to bring a water bottle as it gets hot. Very easy to tuck in the raft. My 14 year old jumped in and swam to the rock midway in the very chilly water. Then she got to jump from the rock like a rock star and swim back. They thankfully provided a snack and potty break, which we had not expected. All the guides were fun and conscientious about whether everyone was having a good time. Bad jokes were made great by their energy. We would highly recommend this and can’t wait to take a bigger, more challenging ride next time!

We took the four hour family rafting trip with MWR in June 2016. This is a pretty tame white water rafting trip with the rapids ranging from Class I-​III and kids as young as three can go on the trip. The water levels are high on the Lower Animas this year (2016), which elevates the danger a bit. The MWR guides gave us the standard safety briefing before the trip, but then reminded us repeatedly during the trip. During our trip, we hit a series of Class III rapids and all of the MWR rafts pulled over to let anyone under 13 years old out. MWR had a photographer there who helped the kids out of the rafts, took pictures of the rest of us rafting the portion of the river, and showed the kids where to walk to meet up with the rafts after the rapids were over. Our guide explained that’s why they feel comfortable letting younger children raft because they have a process worked out to let them walk around any dangerous parts.
Our guide, Dillon, was very safety conscious and reminded us repeatedly of the safety measures we must follow to have a safe, but fun trip.
For a more challenging ride, MWR has higher age requirements plus all rafters must attend a special safety briefing the day before their trip.

WE did the 4 hour trip today. Our guide Marcus was great at keeping us safe and entertained. I would highly recommend this company. They focus on 2 things, Safety and Fun!

Friendly, caring and fun staff all around. Stupid jokes challenge during transport, focus on safety during trip, loads of history shared during time on water, family friendly and plenty of fun! Great experience and great value!

We did the half day, lower Animas. Had 2 first timers (12 years old). The trip was beautiful and mostly peaceful with a few «exciting» rapids. It was a nice starter/​intro to rafting. Would like a little more white water, but will have to wait for the kids to be a little older for that. Felt very safe and well taken care of on the trip. Professionally run operation, guides were all great and you can tell they love their jobs. Carlos was super. Really good value for the money.

Can’t say enough wonderful things about our guide, Doug! He was absolutely amazing! We did the top and bottom of the Piedra River and had a blast. From the bus ride, to the great wraps that were provided for lunch, to the crazy fun rapids, the trip was everything and more than what we expected. After the night before safety briefing they had I was terrified. The next day Doug made me feel comfortable with his fun personality yet professionalism of rafting. Thanks Doug for everything! I survived the «Devils Butthole»!!
P. S. Your singing to Psycho Killer (which song I have never heard before you sang it in the trip) was phenomenal!

Friendly check in staff. The raft guides were so awesome!!! Very knowledgable and fun. We did the two hour trip and then they bussed us up to silverton and we took the train back. I would use this out fit again for another adventure. Super happy with the everything and everyone! Special thanks to Ben Wilson our raft guide. You were the best!!! Good luck in school!

We took the half day trip with MWR during our stay here in Durango. The water was high and fast at this time of year (4100 Cfs) so there was plenty of white water. MWR is set up in the Albertson’s parking lot just down from Old Town Durango, so it’s easy to find.
MWR buses you to the drop-​in point, and you go in. We got the rafting standard safety lecture and off we went. If you’ve gone rafting, there was very little backward paddle on this trip, so not much technical stuff, but we got some drops and plenty of face-​and lap-​fully of cold river water. This isn’t a big bump trip but we enjoyed it and our 11/​year-​old loved it. The river trip is beautiful, too.
Our guide, Dylan, was friendly and funny and did a great job finding good water for us to run. He also explained what to do and kept us involved.
MWR is a good value. I recommend that if you’re here early in the year, get the wetsuit package. People with us didn’t and looked quite chilly. That’s snowmelt at about 40 degrees in the water.
We’d recommend MWR to anyone for their family trying trip in Durango.

Yay rafting!!! My friend and I did their half day Lower Animas the other day when the river was really high. While I would have liked something a little more intense this was definitely very nice! It was pretty mellow FYI depending on what you’re looking for. Another group in a different boat had two 5 year old girls if that’s any marker. HOWEVER! As an adult I still had a lot of fun! We were sure to hit all of the «big water» and get some good glacial facials in ;] we also saw a lot of animals and nature including several swallows, Hawks and a giant barn owl!
The best part I think though was the people! Our rafting guide, Andy, was super friendly and also very knowledgeable. We felt very safe in his raft. The other guides also seemed equally as great from our interactions with them. They were telling jokes creating a comfortable atmosphere. Even the bus driver Jake was friendly and hilarious!!!
I will definitely be using mountain waters again when we raft! AND they also rent other outdoor funtivities, so they’re a company to check out.

We had a great time. The staff was really friendly and outgoing. Our guide, Jaime, showed us a lot of river and local knowledge. I would highly recommend these guys.

What a wonderful experience! There are many choices in Durango when it comes to rafting. This is the place to go. It was very organized, safe and fun! (Now if they could only heat up that water.) Andy G. did his mother proud! Thank you for a wonderful time. He was a wealth of knowledge, and an engaging, kind spirit. All 10 of us were able to raft together in celebration of my parent’s 50^th anniversary. He was WONDERFUL with kids– we had four with us ages 5 – 12. My 12 year old quipped, «If he was MY teacher, he would be my favorite one.» We did a half day trip– it was perfect!

We had an excellent time with the river rafting trip, we did the half day rafting/​half day zip line adventure through Full Blast Adventure Center (which I highly recommend, by the way). Jamie, out guide, was very informative and answered all of our questions efficiently. Travis, our driver, was very friendly and helpful as well. The sight seeing was wonderful and we learned a lot about Durango and the beautiful city. We would definitely do this trip again!

Our trip was great! Our guide Bama was very knowledgable and fun. I recommend this company.

Had such an amazing time and super cost friendly. Our guide was very knowledgeable about the area, told jokes, and spent several hours on the trip. Must do the half day to get the full experience. They have 2 hour rafting and from what I hear even longer than half day. Super cool and fun for everyone. First time doing rafting and definitely won’t be my last. Thanks to our Guide (Ginger Ninja) for our families experience. We all had a blast and loved you!

Great ride and better people. Absolutely loved our experience. We felt comfortable and safe, while having a kick butt time.
Ask for Preston … He is patient and fun!

My son and I had a great trip with Mountain Waters Rafting (MWR) on the Upper Animas. We did the Silverton to Needleton stretch. The Upper Animas is an amazingly beautiful, rugged area with great rapids, especially with the water so high this year. The high water also makes the trip more hazardous. MWR requires a night-​before safety orientation and swim test to ensure you’re up to the trip. From the moment we met Andy (one of many great guides and staff involved in the trip), I was impressed by the professionalism and focus on safety. This company really knows their stuff.
There were a total of 8 paying customers on our trip (divided into groups of 4 per raft). There were about 10 MWR staff on the trip — a guide per customer raft, a raft with other guides in training, a raft with a guide who scouted ahead. The entire focus of this team was to ensure we had a fun, safe trip. And we did. We rafted a string of class III/​IV/​V rapids without incident.
Andy was our raft guide. He was having as much fun as we were while making sure we had our act together through the rapids. I wish I could name all the personnel involved in the trip because they were all great. They all had the same combination of professionalism with a real love and appreciation of the outdoors. Sometimes you get guides that can be kind of condescending like «I’m an outdoor stud and you’re a city dweller.» None of that with MWR.
We had a great lunch at Needleton and had the chance to visit MWR’s base camp while we waited for the train to take us down. MWR offers a 2 night trip where you overnight at Needleton before continuing down on day 2. My son says he definitely wants to come back next year and do the 2 night trip. I totally agree.
My thanks to MWR for giving my son and I a day that we’ll always remember. We’ll definitely be back!

We took the family up here today for a half day trip. Every aspect of it was great. The people on the phone when i called were great and helpful. The guides, Mel and Bama, were awesome. They answered all our questions about the area and gave us some great tips. The rafting trip was awesome. There was so much water running it was crazy! I would go back in a heartbeat. Don’t fool around looking anywhere else. Their prices are fair, they have good equipment, they are fun and safe for the whole family. Go check them out!

We took our youth choir of 36 people on the half day rafting trip today and we had a great time!!! Each one of the guides were awesome! Very personable and really gave us a great trip. Lots of knowledge of the water and rapids. Helped us splash others took us through great rapids to get us wet.!!
I highly recommend taking your group of family to this company.

Took three kids on half day trip. First time rafting for all of us. Very professional and skilled but still fun.