Pedal and Paddle Adventure Package

Day one we will spend rafting the either Upper Colorado River, Clear Creek, or the Blue River, depending on water levels and your group's ages and ability levels.

• The Upper Colorado is our all-time favorite way to spend time with our friends and family. This fully guided rafting adventure takes place on the beautiful and pristine Upper Colorado River. This section of the Colorado River offers scenic views including meadows, valleys, rolling ranch lands and steep canyon walls. This varied landscape is home to all kinds of wildlife, including bald eagles, deer, beaver, and big horn sheep, there is always something to marvel at. Upper Colorado River Rafting provides mild Class I-II rapids and occasional Class III rapids at higher water flow. 
• Clear Creek is one of the best whitewater rafting rivers in Colorado, and for a great reason. Conveniently located about 30 minutes west of Denver, Clear Creek has a rafting trip option for various ability and experience levels. Our beginner trips are perfect for first-time rafters or families looking for a great introduction to whitewater rafting. Our intermediate raft trip near Denver is a great choice for experienced paddlers or aggressive first-timers craving the thrill and challenge of whitewater.
• The Blue River is the best rafting experience in Summit County. The Blue River runs through a beautiful rugged landscape of Colorado ranch lands tucked up next to the mountains of the Gore Range. The season for rafting the Blue River is May through July, but river flow is dependent on water released from Dillon Reservoir.

Colorado Adventure Guides is permitted to operate in a variety of terrain in Summit and several adjacent counties, which allows us to access a variety of zones for courses. Typically we confirm our destinations about two weeks before the actual course to make sure we have the most appropriate terrain for the course. Some of our favorite mountain biking areas include:

Breckenridge Trail Systems, Breckenridge Colorado

Experience flowy downhills, grinding climbs, and historic mining roads. Tucked in the foothills of the Rocky Mountain’s Tenmile Range is Breckenridge, a small town with big mountain biking trails and terrain. At an elevation of 9,600′ with 800 miles of track — it is also a Gold Level Bicycle Friendly Community, awarded by the League of American Bicyclists. Mountain biking and cycling are a huge part of Breck’s backbone. From adrenaline downhills to relaxing cruisy trails, the town’s incredible network of trails all boast easy access and will take you up and down Colorado’s famed terrain. Get ready for alpine singletrack, loamy forest trails, and fields of wildflowers as far as the eye can see.

Soda Creek, Frey Gulch, Horseshoe Gulch Trail Systems, Keystone Colorado

Mountain biking in Summit County is more than flumes, pine forests and mine tailings. When you get away from the Breckenridge area — home to the county’s most popular trails — things open up to reveal rolling meadows and faded ranch buildings. It’s the other side of life in the Rocky Mountains: Alpine ranching, the High Country’s last, great industry before the rise of ski tourism. On the west side of Keystone Resort is a system of trails that weaves past the fairways of Keystone golf club and then north into Frey Gulch or south into Horseshoe Gulch/Soda Creek. The systems eventually connect with the wooded routes many mountain bikers know and love — Blair Witch, Gold Run Road, the Colorado Trail — but for a few short-and-sweet miles, it’s a taste of riding not often found in these parts (unless you want to pedal high above tree line, that is.)

Frisco Peninsula Trail System, Frisco Colorado

Frisco is surrounded on three sides by national forest (75% of Summit County is public land.) It takes locals years to bike it all, so you will never be bored! The good news is that you can learn to mountain bike or fulfill all your dreams of gnarly mountain biking achievement all right here. We’ve got it all. One of the county’s most popular, early-season mountain bike trail networks is the Frisco Peninsula. For many Summit County residents, the peninsula trail system is the first place to go when the snow melts in the spring. Typically the first to thaw out, it’s a great place to warm up for the season, get used to the altitude, or just enjoy a beautiful trail ride next to Lake Dillon at any time during the summer. The network includes short interconnected trails, so get out there and explore. This is a classic lunch hour ride with incredible views and waterside riding along Dillon Reservoir. There are a lot of trails in this system, and they are perfect for exploring with little chance of getting lost on this peninsula.

Salt Lick Trail System, Silverthorne Colorado

Right out of the back door of our office in Silverthorne lies the Salt Lick Trails System. This series of trails pass through stands of lodgepole pine and aspen where you are greeted with amazing views of Lake Dillon, the Continental Divide, and surrounding areas. The Salt Lick Trail System offers intermediate routes for more novice mountain bikers, and includes Ute trail names such as “Nah-oon-kara,” the Ute name for the land where blue water meets the sky, “Too-pwech” which means rock, and “So-ov” which means aspen tree. You can take the Summit Stage to the top of Salt Lick and ride the trails down, or pedal from the bottom up to different types of loops and plenty of rolling terrain.

The Corona Pass / Idlewild trail system

Mostly single track loops climb and descend great trails just outside of the town of Winter Park. You can also take a wider dirt road. The Idlewild system boasts green, blue, and black trails you can mix and match, with many options to make the ride longer or shorter. Great views of the Fraser Valley and fall colors abound!

No prior training or experience is necessary to sign up for this trip.

Your guide/instructors work hard before, during, and after your course to provide you with a great experience, and while not expected, gratuities are always highly appreciated. If you had a safe, educational, and fun experience, gratuities typically range from 15-20%.

This depends on what you’re interested in. If big, exciting water is what your group is looking for, then high-water season is the best time. Mid-June to early July is traditionally the high-water season. When rivers run at their peak, it can make for a big ride. Keep in mind some sections may close due to high water conditions. Most people enjoy the normal runs in May then late July through September. Water levels and weather are very unpredictable, so book a date that best suits the group and be prepared for the unexpected. There really is no bad time to go white water rafting in Colorado.

All our guides go through extensive training, basic first aid, CPR, and all river guides are certified by the state of Colorado. Rafting is an adventure sport and involves a degree of risk on the part of the participant. Although we take precautions to ensure a comfortable and enjoyable trip, we cannot be responsible for lost or damaged articles and/or personal injury. It is important for the group to choose a trip within their entire group’s limits. Colorado Rafting Company/Colorado Adventure Guides is committed to the safety of our guests. Due to the inherently dangerous nature of some outdoor recreation activities in the backcountry, all participants are required to acknowledge these risks by reading and signing a liability waiver prior to trip departure. All participants under the age of 18 must have a liability/health history waiver signed by a parent or legal guardian. In addition to this form, the health history questionnaire must be filled out for each participant. All information submitted is completely confidential; it is for the guide’s use and would only be shared in the event of an emergency with medical and/or rescue personnel directly caring for the guest. It is Colorado Adventure Guides’ policy that all Emergency Contacts be a person over the age of 18 and not participating in the same guided trip or course.

Colorado Adventure Guides’ priority is keeping our patrons and students safe. Our instructors are trained to recognize potentially hazardous situations in the backcountry. This can be a physically demanding activity, and your ability to enjoy the adventure depends on your health and fitness, thus it’s recommended that you are in good physical condition.

All of our mountain biking trips will be operated on dirt trails with varying length and difficulty. We strongly encourage that all participants are on full suspension or hard-tail style mountain bikes with disc brakes and flat footed pedals.

We partner with local mountain bike rental shops, and the rental cost is $80 per bike. We take the stress away and get the reservation all set up for you. Mountain bike rentals are typically full suspension bikes with flat pedals and disc brakes, and are sized to the individual.

The best time to go mountain biking in Colorado is whenever you can get out! Our biking season can vary yearly and by location, but here in the high elevations of Summit County, our biking season typically begins mid to late May and lasts through September and some years into October.

We require a minimum of two guests for adventure packages.