Durango Rafting Trip Highlights
If you’re looking for the best things to do during your adventure to Durango, Colorado, a trip down the Lower Animas River should definitely be on your list! Our white water rafting trips in Durango take you right through the heart of town, and offers a perfect mix of exciting rapids for all experience levels. Locals and visitors alike love running this stretch for the exciting whitewater as much as its charming scenery and wildlife.
- The perfect mix of excitement and relaxation with a few fun class II & III rapids and calm scenic sections
- Learn about local history, culture, and ecology
- Professional, interpretive, and entertaining guides
- Help your guide paddle or sit back and relax
- See local wildlife such as mule deer, beaver, fox, blue heron, loons, ducks, and river otters
- Varying trip lengths and departure times
- Awesome for families and groups
Durango Rafting – Whitewater Rafting In Durango, CO
More About This Trip
Rafting in Durango is one of the most popular things to do for locals and visitors alike. Once you’re bounding downstream, it’s easy to see why everyone loves running the Lower Animas so much. The town run comes with a perfect mix of excitement with “Smelter,” “Santa Rita,” “Sawmill,” and “Pinball” rapids interspersed between relaxing sections to unwind and socialize.
Naturally, the guides are a big part of the experience! Durango raft guides have the down low on the area’s rich history, stories of local traditions, and topnotch dinner recommendations. They take care of the paddle commands and navigation, so no experience is necessary! We provide all you need including safety orientation and paddle instruction.
Since the Lower Animas is a free flowing river, water levels widely vary throughout the season. Spring is the best time to catch high flows and big rapids, while the flows gradually lower throughout summer and rapid ratings drop a ½ to a full notch. Don’t be discouraged when the flows get low— The river can become a very technical float trip with lots of rocks to maneuver around! We love it at all levels!
Our trips:
- The 3/4 Day option gives you the full Durango rafting experience with about 4 hours on the water and a riverside lunch. (6 hours total)
- The Half Day option offers the best bang for your buck, giving you around 2 hours and 15 minutes on the water. (4 hours total)
- If you just want a quick taste of what rafting is like, opt for the 1/4 Day option for 1 hour on the water. (2.5 hours total)
Trip Options
Durango Rafting Trips
Animas River
4hrs 15min on water, 5hrs 45min from meet to return.
- Standard Raft: Adult $149 | Youth $129
- Premium Raft: $189
Animas River
2hrs 15min on water, 3hrs and 45min from meet to return
Standard Raft: Adult $89 | Youth $79
Premium Raft: $119
Animas River
1hr on water, 2hrs and 20min from meet to return
- Standard Raft: $69 Adult l $59 Youth
- Premium Raft: $99/person
Durango Kayaking Trips
Animas River
4hrs 15min on the water, 5hrs 45min from meet to return. Lunch included.
- Per person: $189
Animas River
2hrs 15min on the water, 3hrs and 45min from meet to return.
- Per person: $119
Animas River
1hr on water, 2hrs and 20min from meet to return.
- Per Person: $99
Related Packages
Durango, CO
Explore La Plata Canyon in a jeep and raft the Animas River in Durango in one day!
- Adult: $239.20
- Youth: $204.70
Why Raft the Lower Animas with Mild to Wild?
Trip Provisions
- Free on site parking
- Onsite bathrooms and changing rooms
- Gift shop for your last minute needs
- Action photos of your trip available for purchase
- Neoprene wetsuits & boots available for rent
- Custom, quality, & Coast Guard approved river equipment
- Round trip transportation from meet location
Professional, Interpretive & Entertaining Guides
- Trip leaders average 2,000 river miles
- Certified in CPR & First Aid
- Pay incentives for higher certification levels including WFR, EMT, & Swift Water Rescue
- Dedicated company division to risk management, guided training, and continuing guide education
Our Commitment
to You
Our Client Reviews from Google
Robert Sharp2025-07-24Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. Rafting was great for first timers. Dillon was awesome working and helping Tim that was visually impaired. Great job and I highly recommend there service. Ron Howard2025-07-24Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. During our family of four 40-day adventure we spent four nights in Durango, Colorado. My 12 and 13 year old daughters had never been rafting so the Lower Animas Rafting 3/4 day adventure was the perfect choice. Steven was our guide and was the best! He ensured we were prepared before stepping into the raft. Safety, technique, and fun were the agenda for the day. While the river was lower than normal it was fun navigating different ways to get past the many rocks. It was also nice that Steven suggested we grab some trash that washed was stuck in river debris. Tyler was another guide helping kayakers we traveled with and was really nice. It was fun interacting and enjoying the perfect day together. I recommend the 3/4 day which includes lunch and more time on the river. There was plenty of time to jump for a swim and we even surfed one of the rapids. Eric Steinberg2025-07-24Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. All the folks at Mild to Wild are great and clearly love what they do. It’s like rafting with friends. My son, his friend and I had a great time! A special shout out to our guide Ryan who was outstanding and a ton of fun. Michael Barber2025-07-23Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. Had a fantastic raft ride with Mild to Wild’s guide Toby. He was funny, informative and clearly very skilled at his job. We did a “Mild” ride but he still managed to take us on a class 2/3 rapid for a little wild and talked us through perfectly . 10/10 would definitely recommend Adam Kane2025-07-23Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. We did a 3/4 day rafting trip, and had a FANTASTIC time! Our guide was Stephen, and he was AWESOME! Really professional on the water, and worked with us early on to work as a team on the water. The rapids were a blast, and the lunchtime stop was refreshing with some local sandwiches. Would HIGHLY RECOMMEND!! Ronny Robinson2025-07-23Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. Sam is a great guide! We did the 1/2 day raft, and it was great! Toby was a guide in another raft, and they had good comradery going down the river together! Great time! Jacob Finseth2025-07-23Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. Ryan our guide was the best captain 🫡. - The Fantastic 4️⃣ Beth Barber2025-07-23Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. Fantastic time on the River with Toby as our guide. Friendly, knowledgeable, concerned about safety and clear instructions. Great time! Thank you Toby! Mel Garofalo2025-07-23Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. My wife and I booked a half day tour of Arches NP with Mild to Wild while staying in Moab. Due to the high temperatures and our age, we were not looking for strenuous hiking so we booked a guided tour on an air conditioned 15 passenger van. It turned out we were the only two who had booked this tour so we essentially had a private tour with Darren, our driver and guide. He was extremely knowledgeable, interesting to talk to and overall provided a great 4.5 hour experience. We stopped frequently, sometimes for short hikes, others for pictures. He left it up to us as to how much hiking we did. Besides doing Arches tours Darren does river raft trips and jeep tours as well. Highly recommend him and his company.
What are you waiting for? Call today (800) 567-6745 OR (970) 247-4789
Boat Options
We offer these boat options so that you can customize your Durango rafting trip to the experience you desire.
Lower Animas Boat Options Explained
Premium Raft
Premium Raft
• 5 Paid Seats is a Private Raft
• Option to Paddle or Relax
• Ages 4+
Standard Raft
Standard Raft
• Ages 4+
Single Person Kayak
Inflatable Kayak
• Instructional guide provided
• Increased adventure level
• Physical fitness required
• Ages 11+ or 5'2"
Payments & Cancellations
Payment Options
- 1/2 down, 1/2 charged 30 days prior to trip.
- 1/3 down with remaining balance charged in thirds.
- Call for other arrangements!
Free Courtesy Hold
We don’t want you to miss out on this trip so we’ll hold your spots, payment-free, for 24hrs while you make your final arrangements & prepare for payment.
Fees
In addition to the listed trip cost, we collect an additional 9% for River and Land Access Fees (ie. Forest Service, BLM, City, Private Land Use).
Cancellation Policy
- 60+ days: Receive a refund less $200 per person unrecoverable fees.
- 45+ days: Reschedule for another trip/date, or receive Mild to Wild gift certificate less $200 per person.
- Less than 45 days, unfortunately there will be no refund. Substitutions/name changes are allowed.
- RoamRight Travel Insurance is recommended to help cover unforeseen circumstances, such as cancelled flights, sickness or medical evacuations.
- Guests needing to be evacuated from the canyon will be charged a minimum of $1,000 per person.