Rio Grande

The Lower Taos Box is a wild, scenic, and committing whitewater run carved deep into the Rio Grande Gorge just south of Taos, New Mexico. From the put-in at John Dunn Bridge down roughly 15 river miles to the Taos Junction Bridge near the Taos Pueblo confluence, the river threads through a remote basalt canyon, its walls rising hundreds of feet above cold, snowmelt-fed water. The prime season is typically late April through early June, extending longer in years with a strong winter snowpack.

From the moment you launch, there’s a sense of entering a different realm. The busy towns of Taos and Pilar slip away, and the river takes on a pulse of its own. The gorge walls close in as you descend, offering dramatic views of sheer basalt flanks that echo with the sound of whitewater and the calls of birds overhead. Wildlife sightings are common, and in quiet eddies it is not unusual to spot bighorn sheep or eagles perched high above the corridor. While the run feels remote, it can see heavy traffic from raft trips during peak season. With a gradient of about 31 feet per mile, the Lower Box delivers a steady rhythm of pool-and-drop whitewater, predominantly Class III+ to IV at typical flows, making it a classic advanced whitewater trip.

A few miles below the put-in, the gorge narrows and the action picks up. Ski Jump, about 3.5 miles in, is often the first major test, a boulder garden that can launch a boat. Another mile downstream, the river passes beneath the dramatic 650-foot-high Gorge Bridge. This middle section of the run is known more for the scenery than the whitewater.

In the final third of the run the action picks up. When the power lines come into view, you are approaching Dead Car, a technical rapid at lower flows, followed shortly by Powerline, which is worthy of a scout.

Next up is Pinball Rapid that is commonly run right-to-left, threading between holes and deflecting currents. The Screaming Left-Hand Turn followed by the Screaming

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