TOWNS & AREAS | PLACES TO STAY | FUN THINGS TO DO | COLORADO MAPS
A-1 Wildwater Rafting
800-369-4165
 |
The Best rafting adjacent to Estes Park, Denver and Boulder is on the Nationally Designated "Wild & Scenic" Poudre River with A-1 Wildwater, celebrating our 26th year!
A-1 Wildwater is Northern Colorado's oldest and best whitewater Outfitter; celebrating 26 years of quality river adventures. Whether you're a first time adventurer, family, or seasoned veteran, we can offer you some of the best Wildwater and scenery in Colorado.
The Cache La Poudre River (pronounced Poo-der) lies within 90 minutes of Denver and Estes Park. This funny sounding river, named by French fur trappers, has everything from mild to wild! With its deep canyons and clear waters, this river runs wild and free and we offer a variety of ways to experience its adventures.
A-1 Wildwater is proud to offer rafting and kayaking adventure trips on this national jewel from early May through Labor Day. Over the years, we've taken over 110,000 people down the wild Poudre River and they've come from almost every walk of life and experience level. Our trips are often longer and cover more rapids than comparable trips.
Wildwater Trip (#1)
This is our easiest trip and our most popular for beginners or families with young children. The rapids are predominately class II and III with a touch of class IV, which insures the trip will be exciting but not overbearing. The scenery is classic Colorado with lush mountain forests on the North facing slopes and ponderosa pine and brush on the slopes facing south. The canyon is deep but gets lots of warm sunshine. The river has virtually no commercial development along its course and has been designated a National Wild & Scenic River by congress. The canyon is beautiful and there are many fun rapids on this trip.
Minimum age is 7 years for children. Check-in times for trips are at 9:00 am and 1:15 pm daily. Plan for 3.5 to 4 hours from check-in time to return to our shop, where you can view photos of your trip, get snacks, or find T-shirts and gift items in our store. Please call for current pricing.
Wild & Scenic Trip (#2)
This trip is nothing short of incredible! It's a wild ride on world class whitewater as it churns its way down a deep mountain canyon, just as it has done for millions of years. The river runs clear and free and is never crowded, unlike most of the rivers in Colorado, and the rapids are almost continuous for the entire length of the trip. This trip traverses the National Wild & Scenic portion of the river and is the best single stretch of rafting wildwater on the river. This is a challenging trip for those people looking for an exciting ride. We take lots of first time rafters on this trip as well as experienced rafters but people going on this trip should be healthy, fit, have good swimming ability, and be able to paddle heartily. Class II, III, IV, and at times class IV+ rapids punctuate our dialogue with the river.
Minimum age is 15 during high water, 12 years during medium water, and 9 years during low water. Please call for current levels. Check-in times for trips are at 9:00 am and 1:15 pm daily. Generally, plan for 4 to 4.5 hours from check-in time to return to our shop, where you can view photos of your trip, get snacks, or find T-shirts and gift items in our store. Please call for current pricing.
Upper Mishawaka Trip (#5)
This is a specially designed trip for youth groups that is combination of the Wildwater and the Wild & Scenic Trips. This trip includes many more class IV rapids than does our Wildwater trip while keeping in mind that safety is paramount. This trip includes an exciting and challenging blend of rapids that is perfect for teens with their unique abilities and energy levels. Because this is a special trip, the group is usually set apart from our other groups creating a more personalized experience on the river. Our guides are especially adept at creating a fun yet challenging environment so that everyone leaves with a positive experience and great memories. The trip comes with group rates that are built-in and very attractive for diverse groups.
Plan for 3.5 to 4 hours from check-in time to return to our shop, where you can view photos of your trip, get snacks, or find T-shirts and gift items in our store. Call us and we'll put together a special package for your group. Please call for current pricing.
Poudre Full Day Trip (#3)
During the high water season, our all day Poudre trip is 22 miles in length and traverses a 10 mile stretch of incredible rapids and scenery in what is known as the upper Poudre canyon. This area is a wonderland of mountain forests, colorful canyon walls, wildlife, and challenging rapids. The trip includes a big deli style lunch with lots of fresh delicious food prepared on site by our guides. Our lunches include fresh deli meats, drinks, cookies, fruit, side items such as macaroni and potato salad, vegetables, tomatoes, salads, and other special goodies. After a relaxing lunch in a beautiful spot along the river, we embark on the most challenging stretch of wildwater on the Poudre River. This stretch has approximately 12 miles of world class rapids (see Wild & Scenic trip above) which is guaranteed to make you come alive from the sheer excitement of riding the waves and hitting the holes. The canyon is beautiful in this stretch with densely forested north facing slopes along with brush and ponderosa pine on the south facing slopes. Here the canyon has a slight desert feel with its sun drenched canyon walls and wild crashing waters.
The full day trip meets at 9:00 am and generally returns somewhere between 4 to 5:30 pm. Since this trip is not on a hard schedule, we can go a little slower or faster depending on the groups' desire and the natural pace of the river at the time of the trip. Please call for current pricing,
GROUPS RATES: We have special rates for corporate groups, organizations such as scouts, youth groups, wedding parties and church groups, time dependent specials such as free wetsuits and special trip discounts available. We can work with your group if these meeting times do not work with your schedule, just call us and we can discuss other options that are available. We can tailor a trip to your desires; we often serve barbecue dinners or lunches to corporate groups, etc.
Mailing Address: 2801 N Shields Street, Fort Collins Colorado 80524; 970-224-3379; 800-369-4165.
Contact A-1 Wildwater Rafting directlyElevation: 4985 feet above sea level.
Region: North Central
Credit Cards: Visa, Mastercard & Discover
-
Groups Welcome: Club. Corporate. Reunion. Weddings. Elopements. Youth group with adult leaders. Retreat.
Group Meeting Area: Indoor room and outdoor area.
Central Picnic Area with BBQ Grills: Yes
Maximum # of Day-Use Guests in Indoor Meeting Room: 30
Maximum # of Day-Use Guests in Outdoor Open Picnic Area: 130
Your Host will Cater or Arrange Meals with Advance Arrangements: Yes
Your Host will Make Area Activity Reservations: Yes
-
Open Dates For On-Site Activities: 5/20 to 9/15
Boat Rentals: Canoe, Raft, Row, Paddle &/or Motor: On site.
Paddle Shop: On site.
Whitewater Rafting Office/Pickup point: On site.
Kayaking Rentals: On site.
Download our Colorado Map here
Copyright by The Colorado Directory, Inc. This is a directory only; it is not and does not contain a recommendation,warranty, guaranty, inducement or endorsement of any kind. Representations herein were supplied by the individual businesses. The publisher, The Colorado Directory, Inc., does not assume any responsibility for truth, falsity or completeness of any representation made herein or any errors, changes, services rendered, or changes made in the use of this directory. This information was compiled as accurately as possible. Prices and services are frequently subject to change. Errors called to the publisher's attention will be corrected in the future. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored or transmitted in any form or by any means, without permission in writing from the publisher.