Full-Day rafting trips

When it comes to outdoor adventure in Colorado, you simply can’t get too much of a good thing. Enter full-day rafting trips to maximize the fun factor! Full day rafting in Colorado is a great way to make the most of your limited time while traveling in the Colorado Springs and Cañon City areas.

Echo Canyon River Expeditions offers multiple types of full-day whitewater rafting trips. Either you can float the river both morning and afternoon, or you can raft for part of the day and take on another adventure for the other half of the day.

For those looking to pack in as much action as possible, Colorado whitewater rafting day trips offer the perfect combination of scenery, thrill, and convenience, all in a single day.

No matter your experience with rafting or your preferred level of adventure, Echo Canyon River Expeditions can craft a trip just right for you.

What are Full-Day Rafting Trips Like?

Since our experienced guides teach you the ins and outs prior to heading out on the river, full-day rafting trips are great for all types of people. No experience necessary! Sure, you aren’t a pro rafter by the time you and your crew tackle the first rapid, but it won’t be long before you’re anxiously peering downstream looking for the next rapid on the horizon, your skills improving with each passing river mile.

Colorado whitewater rafting day trips like these strike a perfect balance between heart-pumping whitewater and moments of relaxation. Even more, your time on the water is also broken up with a delicious and freshly prepared lunch, where you can get out and stretch your legs on the banks of the Arkansas River.

Whether you’re a first-timer or looking to build on past experience, full-day rafting gives you the time and space to settle in, build confidence, and fully enjoy the journey.

In total, you should plan on spending about 6 hours on a full-day rafting trip, including shuttles, safety briefings, and loading/unloading gear.

Why Book a Full-Day Trip with Echo Canyon River Expeditions?

Immersive experience

A family on a full-day rafting trip in Colorado with Echo Canyon River Expeditions.

Educational and fun

Choose between 1-day or half-day trips on your next Colorado rafting adventure.

Less busy, fewer crowds

Echo Canyon Full-Day Rafting Trips

As one of the top rafting companies in Colorado, Echo Canyon River Expeditions has a full-day trip that will match your needs.

Bighorn Sheep Canyon Full-Day

Bighorn Sheep Canyon offers the perfect full-day trip for families and beginners. With many calm stretches of river and class II-III white water, you get ample adventure and relaxation.

Royal Gorge Full-Day

A full-day outing in the Royal Gorge is a once-in-a-lifetime trip that is recommended for people over 13 yrs. old. With the Royal Gorge, you start with class II-III rapids in the early part of the day and work your way up to challenging class IV water in the afternoon.

Full-Day Packages

Does a full day on a raft sound like a little too much for you? If so consider one of Echo Canyon’s full-day packages that mix rafting with other adventure activities. With full-day packages, you get a break between rafting and the next adventure where you grab lunch on your own. 

Echo Canyon's Colorado ATV and rafting adventure package

Raft & ATV Package

Echo Canyon’s Raft & ATV trip starts with a whitewater rafting adventure on the Arkansas River and finishes with an awesome land trip. After you get off the river, meet our partners at Play Dirty ATV Tours in beautiful Cotopaxi for a guided trip in the Texas Creek Trail system.

Zip lining in Colorado near Colorado Springs and Manitou Springs

Bighorn Sheep Canyon Raft & Zipline Package

Our Bighorn Sheep Canyon rafting & zipline package is great for families with children ages 6+. After a mellow float on the Arkansas River, you head to historic Manitou Springs for an incredible zipline tour. We partnered with Adventures Out West to get you ziplining right at the base of Pikes Peak!

Zipline high five

Royal Gorge Raft & Zipline Package

The Royal Gorge raft & zipline package offers heart-pumping white water rafting and incredible zip-lining. Start your day by floating through the 1,000 ft deep Royal Gorge. Next, take a scenic drive to Manitou Springs and team up with Adventures Out West to get your whole family on some world-class ziplines.

FAQs about Full-Day Rafting Trips

Our full-day rafting trips include a highly trained guide, transportation from our office to the river and back, a hearty lunch we’ll serve riverside, and a full wetsuit package. The wetsuit gear includes a wetsuit, insulated river shoes, a splash jacket. Life jackets (also known as Personal Flotation Devices or PFDs) are included and required for all of our rafting trips.

In total, plan on being with us for about 6 hours. A more detailed breakdown of that time includes the short shuttle rides to and from the river, loading and unloading of rafts and gear, a safety orientation and paddle instruction, and of course lots of time on the river. Plan on a couple of hours of rafting in the morning. Then we take a break for a delicious riverside lunch. We follow up lunch with another couple of hours on the river. It’s a pretty full day of adventure!

Children are allowed on a full-day rafting trip so long as the age of your little one aligns with our minimum age recommendations for the specific trip. That means, our Bighorn Sheep Canyon full-day trip has a minimum age recommendation of about 6 years of age at most water flows.

We also understand that teenagers are kids, too – especially in the eyes of their parents, so let’s address that topic! Our Royal Gorge full-day trip has a minimum age recommendation of about 13 years of age at most water flows. Please feel free to have them join in on the fun!

When we say ‘most water flows’, we mean at flows that are not high water – typically this is the early half or even late half of June when the snow runoff is at it’s peak. If you are unsure if the trip you’re interested in is appropriate for your child, then please give us a call! We’re happy to assist and give guidance. 800-755-3246

What Guests Are Saying...

M BidingerBroomfield, Colorado
"Love rafting with Echo Canyon! I’ve been on three trips with them now and each one has been great. The facilities are clean, the staff are friendly, and everything is well organized. We also eat at 8 mile right next door and the food is great! Shoutout to Pam and Corndog for being our two most recent guides! They were so fun!"
D FifieldMesquite, Texas
"Can’t say enough great things about Echo Canyon. Good prices, really nice facilities, very friendly/knowledgeable staff & good equipment. Our guide Jam was Awesome, she knew the river, knew the boat & knowledgeable about the area & its history. Was never worried going through the rapids with Jam at the helm. We had a great adventure with this outfit, will definitely be going back again before this trip ends."
E FondrenIndependence, Missouri
"This was our first ever trip. The Full Royal Gorge float was definitely worth the money. Pam was our guide and she was the best. Thank you guys and we will definitely be back!!"

Book Your Rafting Trip Today!

Full-day trips are generally available to reserve Memorial Day weekend through the middle of August. If you are looking for bigger rapids, the best water flows come in June and early July due to snowmelt. Need more insider tips or recommendations? Contact Us today and we’ll assist you with the planning of your next Colorado adventure!Â