Rio Grande Wild & Scenic River - Things To Do (U.S. National Park Service)

NPS/T. Vandenberg

A Boquillas Canyon sunrise

I always leave the Rio Grande reluctantly. The swiftness of the rapids, the beauty of the canyon walls, the solitude of the chasm are too quickly passed. The urge is to return again and again in order to have a more intimate look, to explore the high caves, to search out the wealth of agates and fossils that these canyons reveal. It is hostile country in a sense, not even the water being safe to drink. The bushes mostly have spines; the walls are precipitous; the rocks are either dangerously brittle or dangerously sharp.... But the call of adventure is strong, and those who run these canyons once will return, drawn by the twin magnets of beauty and danger.
-William O. Douglas, 1967

The spectacular river canyons, the primitive character of the Rio Grande, and its international flavor provide a stimulating environment for a high quality recreational and scenic experience. The Rio Grande is a free-flowing river with a sufficient volume of water during normal years to permit full enjoyment of river recreational activities.

Imagine drifting down the Rio Grande through sheer walls of limestone, with the occasional sound of your paddle dipping in the water and the song of a canyon wren as your only acoustic accompaniments. A river trip through the spectacular canyons of the Rio Grande Wild & Scenic River can offer you this type of wilderness escape.