Colorado River Float: Half-Day Tour from Kremmling with Guide

4.82

(131 reviews)

What’s the experience like?

“You ever seen water this clear?” That’s what our guide, Jamie, asked as we pushed off near Pumphouse. I just shrugged — honestly, I hadn’t. The sun was already warming the air but the river itself felt cold when it splashed my hand. We’d all met at the Kremmling outpost (I was nervous about fitting into the wetsuit — turns out they have every size), then piled into a van for the 30-minute ride. The drive cut through open ranchland with cows just kind of watching us pass by. Someone in our group tried to count hawks overhead but lost track after five.

The actual float is slower than you’d think — not boring slow, more like time-stretching slow. Jamie pointed out some old cabins tucked up in the trees and told us how ranchers used to ferry cattle across here. There were a few little rapids that made my nephew squeal (he’s six), but nothing wild. At one point we pulled over so people could swim; I dipped in up to my knees and immediately regretted it — snowmelt cold, no joke. The air smelled like sagebrush and river mud, which sounds weird but I liked it.

We passed a couple of fly fishers waving from the bank and one old-timer who just nodded at us without saying anything — kind of perfect. The light on the water kept shifting between silver and green as clouds drifted over Gore Range. By the end I had that feeling where you’re tired but in a good way, like your brain finally stopped buzzing for a while. We finished near Radium and loaded back up for Kremmling, still dripping a little.