Check-in Times for Half Day Trips Are At 8:45 am and 1:00 pm Daily.

The meeting times are critical because they have been arranged so that we can make it to the launch spot within our launch window. Therefore, you must be on time and in the case of large groups you should be a little early and have your group organized before the check-in period begins. This ensures that all paperwork and pre-trip necessities can be taken care of in a timely manner and allow us to reach our put-in site on time.

Our office staff is available to assist you with questions and advice, as well as take your reservation over the phone during business hours. However, if you prefer to fill out our online reservation form we will then call you back to confirm the reservation and secure the reservation by getting a major credit card number from you. Please feel free to call our office staff at 970-224-3379 or 1-800-369-4165. You can also email us at fun@a1wildwater.com

We take kids down to age 7 on our family trip (#1 Wildwater trip) all summer long and they don’t need to paddle while the minimum age for our #2 (Wild & Scenic) trip varies with water level. When the water is high, 15 is the minimum age on our #2 trip, then 12 as the water drops and 9 late in the season. Just about anyone can go whitewater rafting if they are of minimum age, are healthy enough to paddle, can follow the paddle commands, and are able to swim. People can and do fall out of the rafts occasionally and people need to build this into their realm of possibilities. People fall out of rafts even on the easiest of trips. No previous experience is necessary for our trips, but all of our trips require paddling (except kids) and you can expect to get wet. A1 Wildwater welcomes rafters young and old. People of all ages should be fit enough to swim to shore if necessary and be able to paddle down an exciting River while following the commands of a guide. With advance notice and screening we can accommodate a variety of special needs. People should not have serious health complications such as heart conditions, COPD, or other illnesses where falling out of a raft and possibly swimming in cold water could have serious implications. Our maximum PFD size (PFD=life jackets) will accommodate a chest size of 55 inches so we cannot take people larger than this. If older people are in good shape, can swim well, can cope with falling out of raft and swimming in cold water, and can self rescue by getting to shore on their own if necessary, they will probably do great. Please let us know if people of advanced age want to raft, the screening depends on water level, weather conditions, previous experience, the health of the individual and the trip they wish to sign up for. Please call us for specific details and answers.

As with any outdoor activity there is an element of inherent risk in whitewater rafting and we require all participants age18 and up (or parents or legal guardians) to read and sign an Acknowledgment of Risk form before every trip. In the case of unaccompanied minors these forms must be signed by the parents or legal guardians. Call our office for an Acknowledgment of Risk form in advance and copy as necessary to ensure that each minor has the form signed by parent or guardian. Once again, each and every member of the group must have a liability or parental release form signed before they will be allowed to board a raft.

Due to the National Wild and Scenic status of the Poudre River, the maximum number of people that can raft together in any one group on the River is 50 participants, not including guides. Larger groups can be accommodated by splitting the group and utilizing different stretches of river at the same meeting time. We generally run many small groups together to fill out the rafts. If the number of people who want to go rafting with your group grows just before the trip, please call us and we will try to fit them into your trip. We also have a total maximum number of people per day limit associated with the protected status of the River.

During High water, larger rafts are used which seat 8 people (7 plus the guide). We use Hyside self bailing rafts all through the season, which are considered the best in the industry due to their material strength, design, and handling capabilities. During high water, 7 people plus a guide make the raft heavy enough to break through large waves and holes and not get pushed around easily by the River. 7 is an odd number and sometimes we have to break up groups to make the raft handle at its optimum. We try to keep groups together but at times we are constrained by the water conditions and other factors. As the season progresses, we move to smaller rafts and the number of guests goes to 6,5,or 4 in a raft plus the guide. We have more flexibility to move people around in the rafts later in the season. Please be aware that we cannot overload rafts in order to keep groups together. 99% of the time there is no problem with keeping groups together but every once in a while the numbers just don’t work out and we may have to break up a group.

Dress according to weather and water conditions. During early season people dress much warmer than in mid season or late season. Rafting attire is generally shorts, T-shirt, a bathing suit or trunks, water shoes or shoes which can get wet and provide protection to the top of the foot like water shoes, wetsuit booties (we rent), or tennis shoes that can get wet but NO street shoes or concrete galoshes. Shoes with protection on top of your foot work best because they protect the top of your foot while the foot is under the cross tube or in a foot cone. No flip flops, your shoes must stay securely on your feet while in the water. Strap-on River sandals are ok but your feet will be very cold in the early season and the top of your foot my get chaffed from the cross tube. . We rent booties if you want to keep your feet warmer or you don’t have any footwear. Cotton wicks up water so materials such as lycra, spandex, polypropylene, polyester, or synthetics like those found in exercise clothing work best especially during the early season when It’s cold. You should wear shorts that will stay tight on your waist in a rapid, or you could find yourself without any. On rainy days or cool days during early season, wetsuits, wool or fleece shirts, hats, socks, neoprene booties, along with splash tops and rain pants will make your rafting adventure more enjoyable. We require you to have a wetsuit for advanced trips in the early season. We rent wetsuits or you can bring your own if you are on the #2 (Wild & Scenic) trip or the #3 (All day trip) before July 1^st. A driver’s license is required as security when renting wetsuits. Spandex or nylon shorts or leggings and shirts can be worn under a wetsuit and offer a thin comfortable under-layer. You might want a light duty poly-pro or fleece shirt as an extra layer with the wetsuit especially if it’s early season, raining, or cool. A dry warm change of clothes for after your return is always nice. We are the only outfitter to have invested in actual heated changing rooms where you can get into some warm clothes after your trip. Sunscreen, lip balm, a bandana, and sunglasses (we sell) may be important as UV rays can be very intense in Colorado. We sell ties for your glasses or sunglasses if you plan on wearing them on the River. Watches, glasses, hats, jewelry, rings, phones, wallets, water bottles, etc. are subject to damage or loss. A good way to think of what to bring on the River is to bring only things that can get wet, lost, or ruined. If you want to take a towel, water, or a quick snack with you (we sell these), that is fine, but these items are usually left on the bus as paddling requires both hands on the paddle and the River is very lively! Valuables are generally left in your car or you can rent a locker from us and you can check your keys with the office staff while you’re rafting. No alcoholic beverages are allowed on a raft trip and anyone arriving for a trip while under the influence of alcohol or drugs will not be allowed to participate and no refunds will be given. Complementary splash tops are available upon request.

_____ Tennis shoes, water shoes, or wetsuit booties (REQUIRED) NO FLIP FLOPS
_____ T-shirt, light fleece shirt, nylon under shirt (can be worn under a wetsuit)
_____ Wetsuit (definitely May & June if on advanced trip, we rent these)
_____ Shorts (quick drying!) Synthetics are best; spandex, polypro, nylon, etc. No cotton early season.
_____ Sunscreen, lip balm? (the sun can be VERY intense)
_____ Eyeglass strap! (we sell these)
_____ Change of Clothes, towel
_____ Sunglasses
_____ No jewelry, watches, wallets, cell phones or other valuables; leave in car.

_____ No keys or Fobs on River, leave with office staff. (fobs won’t work if get wet!)

_____ Water bottle (?) (Leave on bus, hands needed for paddling)

* Wetsuits are required in May and June for all advanced trips. We rent them, bring your own, or bring wool, polypro, or acrylic. Remember NO COTTON early season.

Photos of your rafting trip are available for viewing upon your return to our shop.

Our guests will need to arrive at our main office for check no later than 8:45 am or 1:00 pm depending on your trip time. Most groups arrive a little early. After you arrive you will need to check-in and fill out the required paper work (liability form, contact info) for your trip. After the paperwork, if guests didn’t arrive in their rafting attire then they usually head for the changing rooms to change into such. See “what to wear” for rafting attire.

Most people lock any valuables in their vehicles and check their keys with the staff during the trip; please don’t take valuables on the river with you as they will get wet or lost and things such as key fobs may not work afterwards. After check-in and changing into rafting attire, you can relax in our picnic area until the guides call everyone over to be fitted for life jackets (PFD’s) and helmets. You may also go and pick up any rental gear after checking in. Note: We are regulated and have a set launch window to launch our rafts into the River; we cannot be early or late for the window so we cannot leave the shop early because there is only a small group scheduled for a meeting time. Whether the group size is 2 or 120 for a meeting time, we have to leave our shop at the same time each day in order to hit our launch window and for this reason we cannot wait for late parties. At times, it may seem like we are dragging our feet or delaying when actually we have to adhere to a time schedule which is standardized to accommodate large groups. So please be patient, our time schedules are standardized, assigned to us, and we cannot change them.

The safety talk comes next and is conducted at the picnic area for 10 to 15 minutes. Please listen carefully as we cover worst case scenarios and other valuable information for your rafting trip. Don’t be alarmed by the Safety talk, it covers things that can and do happen, but not that often. Next we load up on the vehicles (Buses/vans) and it is about a 20 minute ride to the River depending on which trip you are doing. Once at the launch area, you can stand aside or help walk the rafts down to the River. Whatever you do, you need to be CAREFUL as you disembark the bus, there is heavy traffic on the road and some staging areas are very tight with rocks and bad footing, poison ivy, or even snakes on the trails to the River. Sometimes, in all the excitement, a raft can be mishandled and/or dropped while unloading, so you need to be watching.

The staging areas are the most dangerous part of the trip and most injuries occur in these areas, so please stay watchful and stand out of the way in a safe spot if not participating in equipment transport. If you do want to jump in and help, just make sure to watch your footing and make sure you’re very aware of your surroundings. Keep your helmet on at all times and watch for traffic on the road because some of the staging areas are tight and close to the road! Keep an eye on your kids and keep them corralled at all times. At the River Put-in, we unload the rafts and get the crews in the water where the guide reviews some communication & safety items before slipping into the current. The rafting ensues which involves maneuvering and paddling down the River for roughly 2 hours depending on water levels and the trip you’re on. At higher levels the River moves much faster so we do longer stretches and at medium and low levels the River moves slower and becomes more technical (has more obstacles). Different trips run different stretches of the River at different times of the season and we always strive to give the safest, most exciting, and longest trip available at the water level available at the time. We call the trips “half day” because the entire time from meeting to arrival back at the shop is about 3.5 to 4 hours total.

At the River take out, we once again load up the rafts, board the vehicles, and return to the shop where you can check in your gear, pick up your license if you rented gear, pick up your car keys, change into street clothes, look at images from your trip and pick up items such as snacks, T-shirts, or other memorabilia before departure.

The Poudre is different than any other River in the State. The Poudre is Colorado’s only nationally designated “Wild and Scenic” River and with this Congressional designation comes special rules and safeguards designed to keep the River protected. Most commercially rafted Rivers in Colorado have no limits as to how many people can raft on them and this causes overcrowding and other associated problems. The Poudre has strict limits on group sizes and a daily maximum number of commercial rafters allowed on the River. These restrictions keep the River much less crowded than other Rivers in the State and also provides for a higher quality experience for those people who are on the River. But the converse is that spots fill up quickly in the main part of the season and we cannot take more people than our daily allotment. We generally book all of our allotted spots during the main part of our season (mid june through mid August) and have to turn many people away because we have met our quota. We cannot “overbook” trips as airlines do and therefore have to be very careful that people are actually committed to spots which we have to turn others away from. If you have to cancel your trip, we will refund your money less a 20% service charge if written notice is given to A1 Wildwater at least 10 days prior to your launch date. No refund is available if you have to cancel your trip less than 10 days prior to your launch date. If a trip is booked less than 10 days prior to its launch date, there is no refund. Please make this information available to all trip members. We are also on a strict launch window schedule set by authorities which is unchangeable and late arrivals risk missing the trip and the loss of the entire trip cost if they are late. No-shows are subject to100% of the trip cost. The use of alcohol or drugs before or during river trips is strictly prohibited. Anyone that is under the influence of drugs or alcohol will not be allowed to participate and no refund will be issued.