Colorado Rafting & Hiking Vacations
Colorado rafting trips for couples, singles, kids, families and those with a zest for life: Yampa River Rafting & Green River Rafting
A Colorado rafting or hiking vacation with O.A.R.S. is the ultimate adventure vacation for families, couples, singles or small groups who seek a premium outdoor paddling or hiking experience with dramatic highlights including river canyon geology, native cultures and stunning scenery.
Yampa River rafting and Green River rafting trips are considered to be two of Colorado’s classic rafting trips. Our Colorado rafting journeys set an easy pace, complemented by an endless combination of exploratory side hikes in river canyons, quiet beach camps and moderate whitewater.
The waters of northwest Colorado can transport you back through time. The "mile high" Colorado Rocky Mountains are the source of Colorado whitewater rafting fun with spring run-offs from these towering peaks flowing through sandstone and granite canyons with rock formations rich in prehistory.
Spilling from these Rocky Mountain slopes, legendary for their winter snows, the surging spring rapids of the Yampa River and Green River flow 150 million years into the past, through the heart of Dinosaur National Monument. Fossils of more than half of all the different dinosaurs that lived in North America in the Jurassic Period are found in the Monument.
Beside fossils and paleontological riches, the riverbanks also protect Native American petroglyphs, pictographs and critical habitat for the endangered peregrine falcon, bald eagle, Colorado pikeminnow, and razorback sucker.
O.A.R.S. also offers facinating Colorado hiking trips featuring the geologic majesty and ancient cultural sites at Chaco Culture National Historical Park, Mesa Verde National Park, Ute Mountain Tribal Park and National Bridges Monument. Explore the Dark Canyon Wilderness, Monument Valley or Hovenweep National Monument by foot, hike through history and learn about the Anasazi and Pueblo cultures.
DINOSAUR NATIONAL MONUMENT FACTS:
The Dinosaur National Monument Quarry contains the last remains of the largest creatures to ever walk the planet. Sauropods - huge, long-necked, long-tailed, plant-eating dinosaurs - were the dominant animals of the late Jurassic Period. The bones of several kinds of sauropods make up about three-fourths of all the fossils found in the Quarry. This includes the diplodocus, the barosaurus and the apatosaurus or brontosaurus, which measured 75 feet in length and weighed as much as 34 tons.
O.A.R.S. Colorado Rafting Trips
Rafting the Yampa River means experiencing the one major tributary of the mighty Colorado River that still runs wild and free of upstream dams. Waters originate from the melting snows of the Colorado Rockies, so the water level you will experience depends entirely on run-off.
Each spring, this river offers thrilling whitewater, including rapids such as Teepee, Little Joe and Big Joe and Warm Springs (considered to be one of the ten toughest rapids in the country).
O.A.R.S. Founder and President, George Wendt, was present at the formation of Warm Springs Rapid in June 1965. Torrential rains had fallen on the Warm Springs watershed for days on end, and the ground became super saturated generating a massive debris slide of soil, stones, boulders and uprooted trees. The slide filled the riverbed and rolled up against the cliff on the opposite bank, damming the river for a few hours. The river breached the natural dam, creating a ragged S-shaped channel, enormous waves and holes for a half-mile.
It’s not all about whitewater, however, as there are long stretches of calm water meandering past colorful and dramatic canyon walls. Short hikes lead past abundant wildlife and ancient Native American sites, as well as to waterfalls, caves, petroglyphs, old cowboy hideouts, side canyon oases and more. Cozy and scenic campsites await your arrival at the end of each day spent on this memorable river.
The Yampa flows into Dinosaur National Monument where you’ll witness some of the oldest exposed rocks in the world. Dinosaurs, prehistoric turtles and crocodiles, and creatures three times as old as the apatosaurus once roamed the very places you’ll visit. You may even spot ancient fossils embedded in the river rock.
O.A.R.S. Yampa River trips last 4 or 5 days, and the river is rated Class III-IV depending on the water level.
Rafting the Green River through the Gates of Lodore with O.A.R.S. means an ideal whitewater vacation for families, couples and solo travelers (not to mention one of the best values in adventure travel). First-timers and veteran paddlers alike enjoy opportunities to learn about Dinosaurs and Native Americans that inhabited the area while we explore the river by raft and inflatable kayak.
O.A.R.S. Green River rafting trips begin at the Gates of Lodore (Lodore Campground) in northwestern Colorado and end near the Split Mountain campground in northeastern Utah. The river flows into Dinosaur National Monument, cutting through the Uinta Mountains, the largest east-west mountain range this side of Alaska. The region also played host to such notable Western characters as Butch Cassidy.
Imagine the luxury of sipping on a leisurely cup of cocoa or coffee while watching the morning light reflect on the canyon walls as guides prepare a delicious meal (think stacks of pancakes!) After breaking camp, hop onto a raft for a morning filled with whitewater thrills or gazing at stunning vistas. Lunch breaks inevitably mean a stop at a sandy beach for a hearty picnic, as well as time for a siesta, a brief hike or a game of Frisbee or horseshoes. Afternoons bring more time on the river, whether a meandering through a calm section of water or splashing through more whitewater. Evenings are spent in spectacular riverside camps, often on sandy beaches, always between spectacular canyon walls.
There is no better time spent with friends and family than under a night sky, as our guides prepare a delicious feast. You’ll spend the remainder of the evening being serenaded by the sounds of water rushing over rocks, the wind tossing wild grasses and trees’ leaves and possibly the songs of crickets and frogs.
O.A.R.S. Green River trips last 4 days, and the river is rated Class III.
We also offer (through our sister company-Don Hatch River Expeditions) daily Green River rafting expeditions through Split Mountain Canyon. This trip covers approximately nine river miles.
O.A.R.S. Colorado Hiking Vacations
Hiking “the Other Chaco Canyon”
An O.A.R.S. hiking trip in Chaco Canyon will take you off the beaten path and into the heart of Chaco Culture National Historic Park and its outlying ruins. The park is home to a dense concentration of large pueblos built between 850 and 1250 AD. We’ll spend 5 nights in deluxe camping accommodations just south of Chaco Culture National Historic Park and a final night in a hotel in Durango. We’ll explore this remote desert landscape in small groups, maximizing our exposure to this fascinating archaeological wonderland. Archaeologists who have studied this area for nearly twenty years escort each trip and guest lecturers present evening programs that add depth to our daily exploration of Chaco Canyon’s ruins.
Of note, our private campsite on Ruby Ranch will provide most of the comforts of home in a gorgeous high desert setting. We have tents large enough to stand in with inflated beds elevated off the ground, and we provide linens, pillows, lanterns, chairs, rugs and bedside tables. Showers will be available each day. Throw in a large dining tent to enjoy chef-prepared meals and the expansive night sky over evening campfires and you have the perfect base-camp for a week of archaeological exploration.
O.A.R.S. hiking in Colorado’s Chaco Canyon trip lasts 7 days and is suitable for ages 18 and up.
Hiking in “the Other Canyonlands”
The O.A.R.S. experience in “the Other Canyonlands” is centered in seldom-seen parts of southeastern Utah that will take you on trails less traveled than at the nearby, and very popular, Canyonlands National Park. You will spend 5 cool evenings in deluxe camping accommodations at the USFS Nizhoni campground and a final night in a hotel in Durango. We will explore this high desert landscape in small groups, maximizing our exposure to the numerous ruins and petroglyphs. Archaeologists who have studied this area for nearly twenty years escort each trip and guest lecturers present evening programs that add depth to our daily explorations. We’ll even take a day to float by raft through a section of the San Juan River for the ultimate Colorado adventure vacation filled with geology, natural history, and ancient culture.
O.A.R.S. hiking in Colorado’s Other Canyonlands trip lasts 7 days and is suitable for ages 6 and up.
Hiking in “the Other Mesa Verde”
Mesa Verde National Park is one of the premier archaeological preserves in the United States and a very popular stop on the Colorado tourist track. Ute Mountain Tribal Park, on the other hand, is located just to the south of Mesa Verde and is a relatively unknown archaeological goldmine containing more than 20,000 Ancestral Puebloan archaeological sites and immense quantities of artifacts, cliff dwellings, petroglyphs, solstice sites and towers. It is often called “the Other Mesa Verde”, though you’ll notice a fundamental difference: at Mesa Verde, virtually all small Ancestral Puebloan (Anasazi) artifacts have either been stolen or removed for safe keeping, whereas at Ute Mountain Tribal Park, the artifacts—in the form of pottery shards, corn cobs, grinding stones and cutting tools—are found in great numbers. We’ll spend 5 full days exploring the region.
We’ll learn how the ancient peoples tracked the sky with “archaeoastronomy” during a special archaeoastronomy week when we’ll visit equinox and solstice sites at Turtle, Raymonds Pie, Butterfly, Eagle, Bear and more.
Our secluded campsite near the Ute Mountain Tribal Park campground will provide deluxe camping with most of the comforts of home in a scenic high desert setting.
O.A.R.S. hiking in Colorado’s Mesa Verde National Park trip lasts 7 days and is suitable for ages 18 and up
OARS Canyonlands, Inc. is an authorized concessioner of Dinosaur National Monument.
Have you run the wild ones?
Join O.A.R.S. on 
