Rio Grande

Ran March 10-12 (3 days 2 nights) in 2024. Even as a former Rio guide, I would probably disagree with the other report saying that 35-40 cfs is 'plenty' for this trip but a sufficiently determined boater shouldn't have any issue navigating this even down below those levels if you are comfortable with walking a few times. In our trip of 5 tandem canoes, there was only one other person besides myself with whitewater experience and while I think class II would be a generous rating for this stretch, there are definitely potential hazards on this run. Before we even got into the canyon, one of the boats on the trip drifted into a root-ball and capsized. Water wasn't flowing fast enough for this to present any serious danger to the people in the boat, but we spent a long time recovering gear from the river and it put us behind schedule. To be honest, the 'wildlife' (horses, donkeys, mules, cattle) are the biggest danger on this stretch other than dehydration, and we often woke up to the sounds of donkey brays and hooves clopping outside of our tent. The animals are generally docile but definitely made it clear that we were not welcome in their space. This should probably go without saying but pack out what you pack in; I grabbed an entire bag of trash and empty beer cans off of a beach near the end of the canyon. Flows were low and we really had to paddle hard for much of this trip, I'd budget 4 days if you go at these flows. I will say that the water quality leaves something to be desired. Being a national park, there's not a noticeable amount of litter but it's very obvious that large grazing animals inhabit the banks and are not selective with their bathroom spots. We found cow patties floating in the river and a group who ran lower canyons told us they found a whole carcass.

With all that being said, Boquillas Canyon is one of the most incredible places I have ever seen with my own two eyes and while it's a cliche, the pictures really cannot do it justice. Some of the most gorgeous rock formations you'll ever see, refreshing water temps, and lots of interesting plants and animals to see. Cannot recommend this trip enough and would recommend that you go at higher flows but would say that the trip is absolutely still worth it even when low! If you aren't familiar with this landscape make sure you talk to someone who is. Even in early March it was pretty hot, and incredibly dry (wear sunscreen and bring chapstick on the river) - park's recommendation for water is a gallon/person/day but even at this time of year as a larger than average person I found that this was approaching not enough. At this flow, I can't say there's anything I would call a 'rapid' but there are definitely times where you'll need to navigate around rocks and other debris. This might be for the best, as I found myself never wanting to look at the water, as my eyes were always gripped by the canyon walls or the horses running along the banks.

As far as logistics go, the description on this page does a good job. We camped at Heath Canyon Ranch, and the folks running the ranch were quite kind and happy to accomodate us. We rented canoes from Angel Expeditions for a reasonable price, drove to the put-in, and they drove our cars back to the take-out and even put gas in them for us. As is the case with almost the entire park, cell service at Heath Canyon Ranch and while on the river is rather non-existent.

Get out on this river when you can! With climate change and water policy in the west, this stretch of the Rio is likely as endangered as its upstream counterparts in NM. I drove in from Ohio and it was absolutely worth the drive.