Colorado rafting company announces re-opening of the Royal Gorge as flows decrease on the Arkansas River

News provided by

River Runners & Adrift Adventures

Jul 01, 2015, 06:00 ET


Cañon City, Colo. (PRWEB) July 01, 2015 -- River Runners, a Colorado whitewater rafting company with locations at the Royal Gorge and at Browns Canyon, announced it is now booking advanced whitewater rafting trips in the Royal Gorge section of the Arkansas River through September 7, 2015.

The Royal Gorge has not been open to commercial rafting since early June, when historic flows put it into high water advisement by the Arkansas Headwaters Recreation Area (AHRA), according to Travis Hochard, general manager, River Runners.

“We have experienced extremely high water on the Arkansas River this summer, but we are ready to get back to business as usual,” Hochard said. “Rafting the Royal Gorge is a huge attraction in Colorado.”

The Arkansas River peaked in the Royal Gorge at 6,066 cubic feet per second (cfs) on June 18, 2015 – an all-time high for that date based on 60 years of record, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS).

“The cut-off for commercial rafting trips in the Royal Gorge is 3,200 cfs, so we were well over that for several weeks,” Hochard said. “It’s a lot of fun for the guides, but historic water levels are not always great for business.”

Flows on the Arkansas River have dropped significantly over the past 10 days, which means the Colorado whitewater rafting industry is getting back to business as usual, according to Justin Peevler, operations manager, River Runners.

“The extreme high water offered an awesome experience, but it really limited where we could operate,” Peevler said. “Now that flows are back to normal we have a lot more trip options for people wanting to go whitewater rafting.”

River Runners operates out of two locations on the Arkansas River in Colorado. Choose from beginner, intermediate and advanced whitewater on half-day, full-day and overnight rafting trips. Call 800-723-8987 or book online at whitewater.net.

Travis Hochard, River Runners & Adrift Adventures, +1 (719) 221-5693, [email protected]