More than rapids: New Mexico River Adventures offers a variety of specialized trips down the state's waterways

There’s more than one way to enjoy the river.

While standalone trips on the likes of the Taos Box, Rio Grande Gorge and Rio Grande Racecourse are all viable options for whitewater rafting enthusiasts of various levels, sometimes it’s nice to diversify. That’s when rafters might seek out a specialty trip, which, depending on availability, can combine rafting with food, drinks, music — and even education. New Mexico River Adventures is one outfit that typically offers a wide variety of options of these types of trips.

“We were the first to really start focusing on it and bringing in some new ideas and different concepts,” said NMRA owner Matt Gontram. “That really paints the picture of us. We’re always paying attention and trying to create new fun and innovative itineraries for our guests.”

More than rapids: New Mexico River Adventures offers a variety of specialized trips down the state's waterways

NMRA’s first venture in that regard was a wine tasting and gourmet food trip on the Rio Chama, where it partnered with Vivac Winery while a local chef prepared cuisine that paired with each tasting. It’s now a staple on the NMRA yearly schedule.

“It’s one of our most popular trips,” Gontram said.

While that particular option tends to fill up well in advance, NMRA also offers a Whitewater and Wine Tasting Day Trip multiple times throughout the season. It includes a half-day excursion on the Rio Grande Racecourse and then transitions to a scenic tour of two to three wineries for tastings, purchases and lunch.

“I thought it was just a logical mix, and certainly where we are in the Embudo Valley, it’s the center of the vineyards and wineries here in northern New Mexico,” Gontram said. “As we know, the wineries in Northern New Mexico, this was the oldest wine-growing region in the country … It’s a cool little fun fact that a lot of people don’t know.”

Another popular option is the New Mexico Sunset Dinner Float, a peaceful half-day trip that takes rafters on an approximately two-hour float through the Rio Grande del Norte National Monument, where they can view wildlife, go swimming, practice paddling techniques and enjoy the scenery. The journey concludes with a specially-prepared dinner on the shore before participants are transported back to NMRA headquarters via van. This trip requires a minimum group of 10 to run.

For those who like to mix it up on the water, there’s the Rio Grande Multi-Sport trip, a three-day extravaganza with rock climbing, standup paddleboarding, kayaking and rafting all on the agenda.

“We’re always trying to stay ahead of the curve and always coming up with new and innovative itineraries for our returning guests — which we have many,” Gontram said.

Some of the other specialty options offered include trips with musicians (complete with private concerts), craft beer-focused trips (NMRA partners with different local breweries each year) and educational trips (featuring lectures and perspectives from various experts). According to Gontram, NMRA only offers three to five of these trips annually, with the options consistently rotating. Gontram recommends that interested parties sign up for the outfit’s newsletter, which will announce next year’s specialty trip itinerary sometime in the fall.

“We only have so many launches on the Chama,” he said. “We’re the biggest company in New Mexico. We have a lot of people that want just a Chama trip. We don’t overload our schedule with specialty trips, but we like to just mix them in. We’ll do three to five a year and mix it up each year. Each year is different. We try to keep it fresh.”

However, NMRA will do its best to accommodate special circumstances.

“We are open and available for custom itineraries at any time,” Gontram said. “Sometimes groups will create specialty trips … Maybe they’re not available and one of our specialty trips is sold out. They really want to do it for their charter group. We’ll find musicians. We’ll contact one of the many breweries or wineries or scientists that we work with, and we’ll put together a specialty trip just for charter groups.”