Rio Grande

In the Big Bend, boaters pretty much say that the lower canyons is always doable as a canoe and kayak trip regardless of what the flows are at Rio Grande Village because of springs in that area. The Dryden gauge tends to read in 'the hundreds' of cfs. It is common to put in at the Maravillas Creek access point when flows are lower, which cuts out Temple Canyon but makes the trip doable as a 7 or 8 day trip. My two cents on the rapid classifications here are that there is no class IV on the lower Rio Grande and just because you are in remote wilderness or because you can tip a canoe doesn't mean something presents class IV level threats to life and limb. With that said, obviously all these rapids should be taken seriously because of the remoteness and to my knowledge essentially all trips line their canoes through the Madison rapids to avoid the catastrophe that losing gear or wrapping a canoe would be at that point in the trip.