Rafting: Locals know earlier is better

The locals always know the tricks the tourists don’t. That’s why you’ll see locals dashing down the Poudre River until July 1, when many of those people from Kansas and California take over. 

“Get it while the getting is good,” said Bob Klein, owner of A Wanderlust Rafting. “It’ll be fantastic until the water levels drop by the end of June.”

Wanderlust even offers an early-season discount, which disappears in July, and the water also runs faster than it does in late summer because the snowpack is still, in theory, nice and fat. 

“It’s fun, fast water right now,” Klein said. 

But as you know, “fun” means different things to different people. Maybe you’re one of the locals who has never been rafting, or you don’t want a rollercoaster ride or an off-roading trip in a raft. Klein offers two different kinds of trips. 

One is an advanced trip with Class 4 rapids, the highest most rafts can traverse. But there’s also a beginning trip. That trip does feature Class 3 rapids, which are rough but rideable for most: Unless the water is super high, that trip is gentle enough that Klein says the trip is for kids aged 7 and up. Some second-graders, in other words, are riding these rapids. 

“It’s a trip for everyone,” Klein said. 

If you aren’t sure, there are places to try for free, such as the Fort Collins Whitewater Park in Old Town, which may be riding high as well right now but nowhere near as high as the Poudre’s rapids. 

Some outfitters will offer so-called float trips, a mellow ride down smooth water. Some are offered on the Arkansas River outside of Salida or below Glenwood Springs. Some stretches on the Colorado River tend to be float trips. Even the Filter Plat stretch of river on the Poudre would be considered a float trip by some, although you should watch what people call float trips: Klein said the Filter Plant still has a few rapids, including one called “Kamikaze Corner” that doesn’t sound mellow at all. 

“To some people, Class 2 can be a float,” Colorado Outfitters Association David Costlow said.

Those who are hesitant about Class 3 can ask the outfitter for details, he said, Some trips labeled that way really might be Class 2 with one or two Class 3 spots. 

“The demand really seems to be whitewater but for families,” Costlow said.

If people do want a float trip, perhaps the Poudre isn’t for them, Klein said. 

Water levels should remain fun until Labor Day, though the water will slow as the summer goes on, Klein said, and hot weather could burn the snowpack sooner than outfitters would like. The snowpack that feeds the Poudre is probably the best in the state, Klein said. 

People are still booking trips up despite inflation and gas prices eating into discretionary money, Costlow said. 

“We were worried, but we can’t tell that those things are affecting us,” he said. “Will it affect us at some point? Probably. Gas prices too. Right now we are doing OK, but next season may be a different story.” 

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