Aspen Rafting
Many people feel that Aspen is Colorado’s most beautiful mountain town. One of the most popular ski destinations in the Rockies, Aspen is also known for its dining, nightlife, art galleries, shopping and for its rich and famous residents, giving Aspen the nickname, "Hollywood of the Rockies." Aspen is also home to the spectacular Maroon Bells, one of the most picturesque and most photographed mountain ranges in the world.
In addition to skiing, Aspen offers a wealth of warm weather outdoor activities. And when it comes to outdoor adventures in and around Aspen, rafting is one of the best, most exciting and most fun adventures of all!
Aspen Rafting Options
Highside Adventures Tours offers a number of Aspen rafting options. Our closest Aspen rafting offering is a variety of trips down the Arkansas River. Rafting the Arkansas can be the whitewater adventure of a lifetime or a relaxing scenic river trip. Our Aspen rafting trips can accommodate all ages, all skill levels and all preferences, from a calm and relaxing beginner trip to exhilarating and challenging whitewater rapids.
Our Aspen rafting options include half-day trips, full-day trips and multi-day options that include riverside camping for those interested in an extended river vacation. The Arkansas River is the most popular commercially run river in the United States — and for good reason! Please click here for complete information about our Arkansas River Rafting Trips.
Getting There - Arkansas River/Buena Vista
From Aspen, rafting clients for Arkansas River trips meet at our Buena Vista Basecamp. A gorgeous 1.5 hour drive from Aspen, the ride takes you up over Independence Pass, the highest paved pass in North America, and includes some amazing scenery along the way. The drive showcases the Collegiate Peaks, which is the largest collection of 14,000 foot mountains ("fourteeners") in the Continental United States and one of the top 10 prettiest drives in America.
Unlike other rafting companies who like to charge exorbitant fees for transporting you to the river, we encourage you to drive there on your own, not only saving you money, but enabling you to take your time to thoroughly enjoy the ride, and to make this incredibly scenic drive an integral part of your Aspen rafting adventure. From Aspen to our Buena Vista Basecamp, take CO-82 east over Independence Pass. Take a right onto Hwy 24, east toward Buena Vista. We’re located two miles north of Buena Vista on the right hand side of Hwy 24.
Following your Aspen rafting adventure, you may want to explore all Buena Vista and its surroundings have to offer. 180 degrees from the Aspen experience, Buena Vista (B.V. to the locals) is rustic and largely undeveloped with nothing glitzy or fancy about it. However, like Aspen, the surroundings are beautiful (Buena Vista means "beautiful view" in Spanish.) And don’t miss Cottonwood Hot Springs and Mt. Princeton Hot Springs, both just minutes outside of town.
Other Rafting Choices from Aspen
The Arkansas River is not your only option for Aspen rafting. Your choices also include:
The Colorado River — This Aspen rafting trip meets at our Brerckenridge Basecamp, which is approximately 2.25 hours from Aspen. Together, we drive roughly an hour to our river put-in in a remote canyon. The Colorado River is one of the classic rivers in the United States. Starting high in the Colorado Rockies, and eventually flowing through the Grand Canyon, the Colorado is the setting for some great mountain and canyon scenery, natural hot springs, old pioneer cabins and more. - The Blue River -— Blue River rafting trips also meet in Breckenridge, but the river is less than 20 minutes away. The Blue River is Summit County’s only whitewater river and one of the few opportunities for high country river rafting in the state. Exquisitely scenic, our Blue River rafting trip boasts gorgeous views of some of the highest peaks in Colorado, including the stunning Gore Range.
- Clear Creek — This trip starts in the historic mining town of Idaho Springs, about 3 hours from Aspen, but only 45 minutes from Denver, so it’s a great option for an end-of-trip adventure on your way down from Aspen to Denver. Raft before you head home or on your first day in Colorado. Full-day and half-day trips are offered as well as some terrific combination trips: try rafting combined with mine exploration or rafting combined with a soak in Idaho Springs' famous healing mineral springs. Idaho Springs is an historic mountain town with a charming main street full of shops and restaurants, the Indian Springs hot mineral springs resort, Mount Evans, abundant wildlife and the Argo Gold Mine & Mill. In fact, our office is right inside the Argo Mine building, so it's easy to make a town tour part of your adventure.
