This Glenwood Springs scenic canyon half-day float is perfect for those looking to skip the whitewater rafting experiences and instead take a casual float down the Colorado River. A life jacket, helmet, and optional use of river booties and wetsuits are included. You can also decide if you’d like to do some swimming or hop out on the water as float down the river toward Glenwood Springs.

Spend a few hours outdoors and float down the Colorado River
Perfect for families and groups—all equipment needed is included
Choose from different departure times, depending on your preference
Free hotel pickup and drop-off is available upon request with 24-hour notice

What's Included

Personal Flotation Device (PFD) aka, lifejacket
Helmet
Optional use of wetsuits, river booties, and splash-jackets
Happy Paddlers (guests 12 and under)
Shuttle
No additional fees and taxes
Free hotel pickup and drop-off upon request with 24-hour notice by calling our phone number.

Gratuities
Souvenir photos (available to purchase)

Meeting And Pickup

Meeting point

Defiance Rafting Company
1308 Co Rd 129, Glenwood Springs, CO 81601, USA
Please plan on arriving 45-minutes prior to trip departure. Defiance Rafting Company is located inside Glenwood Canyon Resort, which is just off the south side of Exit 119 (aka, the No Name exit). Proceed to the boathouse for parking and check-in.

End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

What To Expect

Defiance Rafting

Admission Ticket Free

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Wheelchair accessible
Most travelers can participate
Children must be accompanied by an adult

Operates in all weather conditions, please dress appropriately
Refunds will not be issued if tour/activity is missed due to late or non-arrival. Please arrive 45 minutes prior to trip departure.
24-hour cancelation policy (outside = full refund; inside = partial refund up to 50%)
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 100 travelers

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.

Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.
This experience requires a minimum number of travelers. If it’s canceled because the minimum isn’t met, you’ll be offered a different date/experience or a full refund.

Traveler Photos

Featured review

TIM_S

We had the most enthusiastic and exciting guide. Her name I believe was Demetrius. She was so knowledgeable and we felt safe in her hands. It was such a thrill. The scenery was amazing. Can't wait to come back again.

Reviews

5.0

168 reviews

Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews

Reviews by Viator travelers.

Showing 1-10 of 168 reviews

A beautiful day on the Colorado river.

Shelly_D, Oct 2023

It was amazing. We got to see a bear by the water. Our guide was so knowledgeable and the whole experience was a 20 out of 10.

Amazing Rafting Experience on Colorado River!

Rehana_A, Sep 2023

Neil was a great tour guide- funny, calm, made sure we were always comfy and happy while filling us in with fascinating events and facts about the Canyon, river and Glenwood Springs area! We had so much fun and it was an incredible and very memorable experience. The local company we were with via Viator were friendly, fun and made everything so easy for us by preparing us well!

Response from Host, Sep 2023

Thanks for coming rafting with Neal. We're glad to hear you enjoyed your scenic trip and hope to see you again in the future!

Amazing!

Gail_R, Sep 2023

The sites were beautiful! Neal was very informative of the things around us and did not tire of all of our questions.

Response from Host, Sep 2023

Thanks for coming rafting with us! Neal will be happy to hear you all had fun on your scenic trip!

An adventure we won't forget

TIM_S, Sep 2023

Response from Host, Sep 2023

Thanks for coming rafting with us! Demitra will be so happy to hear you had fun and that she made your trip memorable.

Great.

Debi_P, Sep 2023

The guide was wonderful. Knowledgeable extremely helpful and friendly. Would definitely do it again.

Response from Host, Sep 2023

Thanks for the review! We're happy to hear that you had a good time with your guide and hope to see you again in the future!

Julie 2023

Agnes_B, Sep 2023

The view of the mountain & the guide Was great peaceful quiet weather was amazing trip was lovely Enjoyed

Response from Host, Sep 2023

Thanks for coming rafting with us! Glenwood Canyon certainly does have some breathtaking views.

Went with the whole...

Chava_S, Aug 2023

Went with the whole family and had so much fun, our tour guide Ben was great and very informative about the area

Response from Host, Sep 2023

So happy to hear you had a good time with Ben and everyone enjoyed their time!

Relaxing beautiful float

Dawn_R, Aug 2023

We really enjoyed our float with Eli. Beautiful scenery, stopped at a fresh spring, nice peopleon our raft and relaxing all over. I would go back in a minute.

Response from Host, Aug 2023

Thanks for doing the scenic trip with Eli! He'll be so happy to hear you enjoyed your time out on the Colorado River. We can't wait to see you again in the future.

Great time

Cindy_Y, Aug 2023

Great guides. I liked the stop at the hot springs. Nice views of Glenwood Springs. I would recommend this trip!

Response from Host, Aug 2023

Awesome that you got to experience those river access hot springs, they are truly a treat! Hopefully we get to see you again soon!

Great Family Activity

Theresa_F, Aug 2023

This was a great family activity. We enjoyed the float down the river. There were voluntary stops along the way to swim, which only two in our group were brave enough to participate. Also, a stop at a natural hot spring that we all took advantage of. Neal was a great guide, he tried to get as many splashes as possible for the youngest member of our group who wanted to get wet and also gave our other grandson the opportunity to run the oars. Had us going in circles for a bit. Just the right length for this type of activity.

Response from Host, Aug 2023

Thanks for rafting with Neal! The scenic is a great adventure for families with opportunities for both swimming and splashes. It's awesome your grandson even got a little rowing action in!

Fun, very scenic

tanya_m, Jul 2023

Fun trip. River guide was awesome - knowledgeable, fun and friendly. Scenic trip was fun with some very small rapids- enough to make it fun, but very safe

Response from Host, Jul 2023

Thanks for white water rafting with us! We're glad you enjoyed the views through Glenwood Canyon, there's truly nothing else quite like those views!

Beautiful day and great...

Brooke_H, Jul 2023

Beautiful day and great time on the river. Experience was as described and Ellie was an excellent guide!

Response from Host, Jul 2023

Glad you could join us on the river! Elli is a wonderful guide and she'll be glad to hear you enjoyed your adventure!

Schwenkel Summer Vacation

Jody_S, Jul 2023

Traveled with 10-year old grandson. Was SO much fun! Definitely worth the time and $$! Guides were fun and engaging the entire trip.

Response from Host, Jul 2023

Thanks for coming out with us! We're happy to hear that you had fun with us and that your guides gave you a memorable experience. We hope to see you out there again sometime!

Beautiful "float" experience!

Mark_A, Jul 2023

I really enjoyed the "float" versus the higher level rapids. It gave me a chance to really enjoy the scenery and landscape at a slower pace.

Response from Host, Jul 2023

Thanks for coming out with us! It's great to hear you enjoyed your trip and the beauty Glenwood Canyon and the Colorado River offer. The scenery is definitely hard to beat!

Customized experience

Vicki_O, Jul 2023

Dillon made this a super fun experience for our party of 5! If you want to paddle, he’d make the calls! If you want to relax and sit back, he’d take charge! It was all about you and your experience!

Response from Host, Jul 2023

Glad to hear you had fun with Dillon! We strive to give all of our guests a memorable and fun trip down the river, so it's great to hear you experienced just that!

A day on the Colorado River ..

Kristine_W, Jun 2023

Ian our guide was very friendly and we enjoyed our journey down the Colorado River . We want to come back and do a level 3 for the excitement .

Response from Host, Jul 2023

Thanks for joining us on the river! It's great to hear you had fun with Ian, he'll be happy to hear it. Hopefully we'll see you again soon for those Class III rapids!

Great

Nicole_S, Jun 2023

My family had a great time. It was the perfect amount of rapids and distance for our family. Kids highly enjoyed. Highlight of our trip.

Response from Host, Jun 2023

It's very nice to hear that you guys had fun on your trip! We're also glad to know that your kids enjoyed it as well! Hopefully, we get to see you guys again at some point this summer, or in the future!

Family float

Elisa_S, May 2023

Great experience! Everyone there is super friendly, our guide Elle was great. The kids loved it. Would definitely recommend.

Response from Host, Jun 2023

Thanks for coming out with us! We're so glad to hear you and your family had a great time with Elli, she is an awesome guide!

Our guide Mary was...

Jane_L, May 2023

Our guide Mary was terrific! She made the trip fun for the 5 of us on the raft. We appreciated her skill as she safely guided through a few rapids.

Response from Host, Jun 2023

Thanks for coming rafting with us Jane! Glad to her Mary helped you have fun while also feeling safe, she's a great guide.

SO FUN

Donna_D, May 2023

Defiance rafting was FANTASTIC, from the ticketing to the checkin & especially the ride. We had many spots of just floating which allowed us time to appreciate the spectacular views, but also some level II & III rapids that made for a challenge & we definitely got wet. Dillon was an entertaining guide & brought in some levity that enhanced the whole experience.

Response from Host, Jun 2023

Thanks for joining us on the river! We're happy to hear that all of us here at Defiance made your experience so enjoyable. It's great to hear that the mix of scenery and excitement made your trip worth the while!