Testimonials

Ran into the store a few days ago looking for fly fishing advice, Kyle and the team there were excellent resources for local fishing advice and hooked me up with some great flies. Definitely will visit them again next summer for rafting or a guided fishing trip.

Had a blast on the ziplines with JJ, Jaine, and Lacey. Very professional group of staff and a lot of fun to be around. Highly recommended!

The zip line tournament guides were so amazing. They were professional, fun, and everyone game back with all their body parts. Brandon and Naomi were so good with all the 10-14yr old boys. They had so much fun even if they didn’t get to do a running launch or a superman dive off the platforms.

What a Blast!
My husband is ultra safety-conscious and scared of heights, but their staff always put safety first, so he totally enjoyed zipping. Wish the course was a little bigger just because we didn’t want to stop (seems like it took a little over an hour).
If we ever go again we’ll add the rafting combo option – we didn’t know that was a posibility.

Absolutely great experience. Dylan and Alissa were fabulous. Thanks for making our zipline experience perfect.

Went with a couple of friends today. Had an awesome time.

If you go to Colorado this place is a MUST they were friendly and comforting managed to make me smile even though I was terrified. I had an amazing time here

This was so much fun. We’re all ready to go again. This was a bucket list item for me. Now many more times. The group who ran it were totally professional. Great Time

Alissa, Corey and Dylan in Idaho springs were absolutely amazing today!! We had such an awesome adventure and I definitely can’t wait to come back and do it again! Will be doing some rafting too!

What a great family outing! Both guides were fun and very safety conscious. The kids had a blast. The views were spectacular and the course well laid out. No climbing up towers or hiking and you end up right back at your car. This was well worth the trip!

Can’t believe I did this! Couldn’t have if I didn’t feel safe. Everyone was just great!!!

Spent Mother’s Day at AVA. Cory and Jordan were awesome zip line guides! We had a blast! We’ll definitely be back for some rafting and more zip lining! Thanks Cory and Jordan. You guys rock!

Best experience! Amazing views, really great staff! Jacce and Alyssa were absolutely great and we would definitely recommend it to anyone looking to zip line!

A couple of my friends and I did the zip lines outside of the Buena Vista, CO location yesterday afternoon. I cannot say enough good things about our experience! When we got there, there was a problem with our reservation, but Kyle was quick to help us and get everything figured out. Thanks Kyle! The zip lines themselves are amazing with spectacular views, but our tour guides Adrian and Mikey made our entire experience worth every penny!! They really know their stuff and explained every safety detail to make even the most nervous feel at ease. Both are hilarious as well, and we really had a great afternoon talking and zip lining. We 100% recommend this tour- Thank you so much Adrian and Mikey!

The 2 guys that helped us through the zip line are great guys…. it was fun and they worked with all of us… if I come back to Colorado I will see them again …. thanks for the great time.

Loved it is a must DO!!!!

They were incredibly professional and placed a strong emphasis on safety. I am very happy I decided to go with this company. We did the Clear Creek Half…

My girl friends and I decided on a fun girls weekend to Colorado. We did an online search for zip lining and came across AVA Rafting & Zipline. We always…

Took the family white water rafting and zip lining. Cameron guided us through Brown’s Canyon. he was knowledgeable and personable. he also knew his stuff in the water. we had a blast.

the zip line course was probably the best we’ve seen. Adrian and Preston were very helpful and knowledgeable.

AVA is a great organization if you’re looking to book adventure trips in Colorado.

We had an amazing adventure with Alex, the best guide. We will definetly be back next year.

Went rafting for a bachelorette weekend with myself and 9 other girls, Hannah was our guide. WE HAD A BLAST! So happy with the experience. Thanks miss Hannah!

Kids and I did the Goldrush rafting with Chris and as total novices, we weren’t sure what to expect. It was THE highlight of our trip. Thanks AVA and Chris for an awesome time.

Great rafting experience here. I’ve done this twice at AVA. Great guides. Jerrod(sp) was great. Lots of experience and tons of knowledge of the area too! 👌🏼

Did AVA rafting at clear creek (Idaho Springs), it was an awesome experience, Simon was a great guide, kept us out of the water.

My friends and I had a blast! Started the day off with zip lining with Brandon and Jill. Both guides were super helpful and made it a great experience. Afterwards we did the browns canyon express rafting trip with Preston. He was super knowledgeable and a delight to have. Highly recommend to anyone interested. It was the icing on the cake for our trip to Colorado!

Had a great whitewater rafting trip today on the upper Colorado River. John was our guide and made the trip for our family one we’ll never forget!! Great family float.

The 1/2 day rafting trip may not last too long, but it was exactly what my husband and I were wanting to do!! Hannah was such a great guide, and had us laughing!! Dylan was also a great guide, we were in his raft!! if you get the chance, definitely check them out!!!

We wanted to try an activity that was new to us while in Colorado… so we planned a rafting trip with AVA! Clay was our guide and she was AMAZING! She took a family of five with two kids (ages 10 and 13) and turned us into rafting fans! She was very helpful and patient with the kids (and adults) and would recommend her and the company to anyone looking to try rafting!

Today my family was fortunate enough to get to experience zip lining and white water rafting with AVA in Idaho Springs. Let me just say it was one of the best days we’ve ever experienced. Our zip guides Jacob and Hannah started us off with a fun filled action packed morning. Their experience and great personalities entertained us non stop. Just when we thought it couldn’t get any better we were lucky enough to be paired with Noah! He is truly the best guide we have ever had. His sense of humor and welcoming demeanor was a blast! His knowledge of Idaho Springs and the wildlife was amazing. He gave clear and easy to follow directions regarding rowing! Thanks to these amazing guides we have a lifetime of memories and fun experiences to take with us the rest of our lives!

We had the BEST time on our half day float with Hannah. She was professional, knowledgeable, funny, and she was so great with our three kids. We have twin 5 year olds and a 7 year old and they were nervous at first but ended up loving it. The river is beautiful, our weather was perfect. We are so glad we booked this. We were staying in Denver but out of all we have done this vacation this was the highlight for me. I want to come back and do a longer trip in the future and I would 100% look at AVA next time!!

My 12 year old son and I did the overnight rafting and camping in Brown Canyon. It was perfect! You start on slower rapids then it gets a little more each time. Perfect for the first timer and people with their kids. The entire staff was awesome and fun. Hank was our guide and he was perfect for the two kids on our raft. The camping part was smooth and fun. They have a great system in place, it was just such a great night. I definitely recommend them for rafting and any other events. Definitely coming back but with the entire family next time.

Cam and the young lady that was his partner were the nicest, most fun folks we’ve been around in a long time. I would recommend them to anyone and we will definitely be back to enjoy another day with you. Thanks again for a wonderful time!

Had a wonderful morning rafting with AVA. Everyone was professional, nice and helpful. Rowen, Nelson, and Chili were the best. Our boat had nine family members ages 68 to 6. We all felt safe, and comfortable on the river.
Five Stars *****

We had a fantastic time with our guides Emily and Brandon. Safety was always their top priority. They also made even the young and older feel comfortable and at ease. The lines were long and they eased you into the big drop line! Thank you for a outstanding afternoon!!!!

This was a very well organized and staffed adventure. All of the guides we encountered were great, especially ours, Neil. We brought our kids and felt safe and had the best time. I would definitely do it again.

We had an amazing experience today! Our guides Seth, Lane and Jeremy did an amazing job!! Great first experience!

This is a great company to work with! There was some confusion (on my end) with the trip I booked and they worked quickly with me to figure it out! Wonderful customer service!

We had such a great experience. Lucas was such a great guide. We would highly recommend!!

We had a great guide, Sparkles, who we give a 5-star cowboy hat rating. The tour down Brown Canyon (Arkansas River) was well organized, professional and a lot of fun! We definitely would choose AVA outfit for our future white water adventures!

Awesome experience! Do it!

Before you arrive to after you leave everyone here creates a feeling of welcoming you in like family. Guides we’re knowledgeable and provided a awesome experience down the browns river. They also make some pretty good fajitas 😊

Loved Josie in Buena Vista great guide and Awesome personality!

Wow! What an experience it was! Our guides were great at making sure we had fun and were safe throughout both zip lining and rafting. Guides are good at what they do there at AVA! Thanks for a wonderful time. We will definitely be back for more!

Simon (Scooby) and Goose were the best zipline guides! We all felt comfortable and safe throughout the course. They joked with us while still keeping us fully informed on all safety protocols. I can’t wait to come back and do it all over again!

This was my first time zip lining and AVA couldn’t have made it any easier or enjoyable. Such a great time! Simon and Emily were great hosts and definitely made the downtime between lines just as exciting as the lines themselves. 10/10 would recommend.

So fun! I would definitely recommend zip lining with your family, it is fun to be scared together! Such a cool bonding experience!
My whole family of 5 and my partner at the time were accommodated at the same time, but I am not sure what the person limit is if there is one.
Don’t worry too much about weight, my father was very heavy at the time and didn’t have any issues at all 😊

Great fun going zip lining with a friend and my youngest daughter (12). MJ and Spencer were our awesome guides – they both did a great job explaining what we had to do to have some safe fun down the 6 zip lines and the handful of extras along the way. They were especially encouraging to my daughter, helping marshal her courage for an amazing leap of faith (one of the fun extras you should definitely do). We will definitely be coming back for more!

Great experience! My family and I went ziplining this summer at AVA and it was so much better than I thought it would be. In complete honesty, I thought it was going to be pretty lame. Wrong. Super fun! Dillon and Tessa guided us through our decent down the mountain and the trees via metal braided cable. Great people, very funny and knowledgeable. Everyone was engaged, having fun and zipping through the trees. Be ready to do the “leap of faith” when provided the chance. Super fun!

This is a great company for rafting trips. We did the upper Clear Creek 1/2 day. It was a fun and exciting trip as a first time rafter.

The guides were all well trained and experienced, and our guide Hunter had worked in wilderness rescue as well. He was really great and made it easy to have a good time.

They do a fantastic job keeping you safe and prepared for your trip. You should feel confident using them for your next outdoor adventure.

My experience was so amazing, from the minute we got there . Everyone was super cool with lots of information. Best of all was Ken and Ryan our guides they are the yin and yang of guides both having the qualities that bounce off each other. They make you feel so comfortable like you’ve been friends for years , they’re fun , they’re experienced and they make you feel safe and happy . Thank you guys your awesome!

Guides were professional, knowledgeable, hilarious, had sharp memory(especially EMJ, who remembered everyone’s name on the trip, there were 10 of us in the group), easy to talk to, good communication skills, enthusiasts.

I had a great revelation during the trip that I don’t have fear of heights after the “Quick Jump” session. Actually adrenaline kicked in after the quick jump, from then on I was on a different level like I had done this activity several times.

Over all, great experience, nice group of people. Kudos to our guides EMJ and Briana.

It was EPIC! We did the Via Ferrata in the morning, eat a sumptuous lunch and went rafting in the afternoon. The whole day was packed with so much adventure and fun! Thank you so much to Shawn and Patrick! Best guides ever! We will definitely come back!

It was a great day 9/6/19, Kyle was a excellent guide showing us river patterns, bugs, and fly casting techniques. It was slow fishing but we managed to have several bites and caught a couple of fish. I played a large Brown Trout, so much fun. We learned a lot and the experience from start to finish was well done. Truly a great time, ask for Kyle!

Taz was our guide on our trip, 8/23/2019, the 8:30 rafting trip. He was very, very good with this over 60 group of women. This was my second trip with ava and I will recommend you to everyone who mentions they want to go Ziplining or whitewater rafting in Colorado. See you next summer! Thanks again for another wonderful adventure

Clay was awesome. Thanks for a great adventure.

The Roth family

This was our first time rafting and, to say the least, we were very nervous about the whole thing. Everyone was extremely helpful and we got lucky with Corbin as our guide. He was very witty and knowledgeable. He really had a way to put us at ease which allowed us to have a very enjoyable experience! We will definitely do it again!!

AVA’s white water rafting adventure was excellent. Half day trip on class 1 up to class 3 was a blast. Weather was excellent and guide/captain Jen was superb! A truly experienced rafter who took us through some significant white water conditions of the river on our trip. Our group thoroughly enjoyed the adventure and recommends AVA for the many activities they offer. Can’t wait till we can return again!

AVA’s white water rafting adventure was excellent. Half day trip on class 1 up to class 3 was a blast. Weather was excellent and guide/captain Jen was superb! A truly experienced rafter who took us through some significant white water conditions of the river on our trip. Our group thoroughly enjoyed the adventure and recommend AVA for the many activities they offer. Can’t wait till we can return again.

I was part of a bachelorette party that went on a half day white water rafting trip. Our guide, Simon, was fantastic. He was incredibly fun but also very knowledgeable about rafting and the area. I would highly recommend this trip!

Had a great time rafting The Numbers on a half-day trip. Our guide was Mike, and he was friendly, professional, and very capable. This section of the river is a lot of fun – constant action. Maybe better for folks who have been rafting before, and the minimum age of 15 seems appropriate. AVA was very well-organized, they take safety very seriously, and customer service is top notch. One of the best rafting companies I have used (15+ rafting trips).

When my 9 year old adrenaline junkie nephew picked an activity to do with his 56 year old uncle, I NEVER would have imagined I would be ziplining. We arrived and the check-in was efficient and the representatives were extremely welcoming and friendly. Our zipline guides were Tessa and Sam and they we BOTH the best guides. Super concerned about safety and ensuring we had a great time. They provided a safety talk before gearing up and at each of the 6 zipline platforms they would instruct us what to expect and how to make the most out of the activity. They also had very engaging personalities and made us all laugh more than once with their silly antics. They are both well experienced zipline guides and I would not hesitate using AVA again for another activity.

We did the 1/2 day Upper Creek ride. The river was never boring unlike some trips that have just one big rapid. Staff super friendly and a great experience.

Did the Upper Colorado 4 Hour Fly Fishing Trip out of Kremmling. Our guide, Kyle, was fabulous. My wife and I had never been fly fishing, but Kyle took the time to teach us the basics and, once we hit he water, did a great job navigating the river and coaching us all the way down. Not only was Kyle extremely knowledgeable about fly fishing, but he also shared interesting tidbits about the river and Gore Canyon as well as the history of the surrounding area. All in all, it was a great day of fishing and beautiful scenery. I would highly recommend this adventure to everyone!

Our family of four took the half day float trip and had a fantastic time. The trip was perfect for our 3 and 7-year old boys. Long enough to experience rafting and let the kids get the hang of it, but short enough to keep the 3-year old interested. All of the guides were great, especially our guide Jamie, who was really patient with the kids. The AVA facility is super comfortable. Everyone we came in contact with from the time we checked in to the time we left was as nice as could be. Highly recommend AVA!

AVA in Idaho Springs exceeds all expectations in every aspect. Great online registration, most affordable prices, efficient access, enjoyable ride and great guides. The site is great with clean dressing rooms, superior staff, and excellent safety equipment. Could not have improved the experience in any way.

Honestly super awesome! Andy was a great guide, good humor, kept the ride exciting, and if you ask kindly he’ll wear your go pro on your helmet and make sure to get the whole ride filmed! He’s crazy knowledgeable about the area too so you can recommend food places or other excursions based on your preference. If we’re ever back in Idaho springs would definitely go back!

our rafting experience with AVA far exceeded expectations. our guides lane and jeremy were helpful, engaging, patient and highly skilled on all aspects of rafting and camping. as first time rafters, we felt safe, learned so much, and had great fun listening to and sharing stories. we were paired with another wonderful family with children and had great dynamics. lane and jeremy had every supply we needed, and were fantastic chefs. every mile of scenery out of kremmling was incredible, and all equipment was in great condition. we are also grateful to grayson and mack for driving our bus. we will most certainly repeat the experience and we highly recommend AVA for beginning to advanced recreation enthusiasts. thank you!

Ziplining and Rafting was a lot of fun and our guides were excellent. Kelly, Isabell and Jonah

Our group of twenty aged from 6 to 74 and included my brother, a triple amputee. The team at AVA was welcoming, creative, and struck the perfect balance of respect and “just a normal guy” for my brother. He is talking nonstop about how included he felt, and how free he felt in the water. He especially appreciated the “princess ride.” Special thanks to the Jeff’s and Forest for help in planning, and to Kyle and Hannah for making our day magical. We came from Kansas, Oregon, and North Carolina, but you better bet we will be back. Such wonderful memories!

Absolutely amazing experience. Jacob and Sam were top notch. Both of them made my 11 and 9 year old kids first ziplining experience phenomenal. They are still talking about it.

My kiddos and I went on the Gold Rush float and it was perfect for our first time! My children are 8 and 10 and they had a blast. Our guide, Lucas, was wonderful and kept my kiddos curious kiddos engaged throughout the trip as he answered their questions and did small things to make our trip unique – ex. talking to my nature loving son about the fish and rocks.

The 4 of us had an amazing experience on our afternoon trip on The Browns Canyon Rafting trip. Tyler was our guide & we vote he was AMAZING! I’m sure the other guides were great too, but we were lucky to get Tyler today. He’s calm, fun & can read the boat. He put us at ease immediately. We learned a lot along the way as well. As a first time rafter he is very clear with instructions & We learned pretty quickly that he is really talented on the water. Just have to trust him. The guides work well together & help each other out when necessary. It is not a boring trip at all. I recommendation this trip & you won’t go wrong if you ask for Tyler!

Superb, would definitely recommend AVA

Exceptional. Every staff member was friendly, helpful, and made the experience even more enjoyable. Top notch from start to finish. Our rafting guide Tyler was great. EmJ and Mary made the zip lining an unforgettable experience for my 13 yr old daughter. Kudos to all.

The entire staff was friendly and helpful. Our rafting guide Tyler was superb. The zipline guides EmJ and Mary made my 13 year daughter’s experience awesome.

I had such an amazing experience with draugna (Daniel). He made it so fun and his jokes were hilarious! Highly would recommend having him as your guide 🙂

Our Family – 3 Boys (12, 10, 7), and wife absolutely loved the zip lining and browns canyon rafting. First, we spent 2 fun-filled hours with Adrian and Devon. Everyone was very skeptical at first but Adrian’s Dad Jokes relaxed the group and made us all enjoy each line. By the end, my boys wanted to do it again! Great time with the guides!

Then we moved to Rafting and had the pleasure of having Shawn Daws as our guide. This guy is a pro! He got my boys excited and ready to work as a team and coached us through some of the best rapids I have ever been on. He made sure to maximize the extreme factor because my boys wanted to experience the biggest challenges. If I go again, I am 100% requesting Shawn and recommend you do also. I researched all the major rafting companies, save your time, go with AVA. They are the best outfit in the area.

Awesome Aaron guided us through the Outer Limits with skill, confidence, interesting information about the area and even added some spins to make the trip more fun!

We went for the zip lining tour and it was a lot of fun. It is a guided tour and your two guides do all the hookups and advise you how to proceed on each line. There were 6 lines I think, and all but the first and last are a blast. The first is a practice line and the last is just to get you down the rest of the hill and isn’t very fast or exciting. The racing line is the best and you will fly down it so fast you’ll pray the brake line works right. Our guides were knowledgeable and friendly, although the silly banter between them got tiresome after a while. The scenery is an added bonus to the zip lines excitement so I give it 5 stars for the combo.

This was our family’s first experience for rafting and ziplining in Idaho springs, our raft guide, Brett, was amazing, it was an exciting adventure even on the calmer parts. On our ziplining trip, our guides, Swami and Emily, were absolutley terrific, they were patient with us, and they made the trip overall a lasting experience.

We did the Blue river today and was a great time. The water was running great and our raft guide Eric was awesome. Couldn’t get any better
Will be back next summer again for sure.

Great experience!

We did the Granite Via Ferrata tour and I would definitely recommend doing it over just zip lining! You get to do 4 zip lines as well as do some rock climbing and repelling. The guides are super helpful and go at your pace, so you don’t have to worry about getting left behind or feeling rushed. We have ziplined before but we definitely loved the Via Ferrata more than just regular zip lining. Our guides were Anthony and Patrick were awesome and made our experience even better!

Great time rafting with the whole family. Mack was a great guide. In addition to the work of guiding, she was personable and knowledgeable about the area and its history. The full day trip is the way to go. Miles and miles of beautiful scenery.

We had a great time on our first rafttrip. Dylan and John were real cool guides.
Also our busdriver we believe her name was Gabrielle brought us safe to the post and back.
Thank you all very much for this great trip!
Too bad…. the picture didn’t work so we have not got an picture too show off in The Netherlands.

Tyler was an amazing guide! He prepared us for what we needed to know. After his information we felt prepared for our adventure! We had a party of 6 first-timers! Wetsuits, lift jackets, and helmets were provided with no extra charge. Water jackets were also available! Water was 49 degrees. It was cold, but tolerable! 1/3 raft trip was perfect for us!

I was referred to AVA by Melissa and this is my 4th trip to Colorado to raft and zip line so I said why not and I am so glad I did. I called in and spoke with Cody to book my reservation and super great guy! I told him I wanted to raft and zip line at their Buena Vista location, I was booked and email confirmations were in my inbox in ten minutes! He asked if I wanted the food package because I was staying in their cabins for two nights and I said yes. I told him my wife and daughter both have celiac disease and he said no worries. So we show up and we were greeted by a great staff Baylee and Bill I believe and they were super helpful even a guy named Malcom came up and greeted us and said looking forward to have you and your family with us for a couple of nights (later I find out he is the GM). We go out and suit up for our rafting ride and we had Matt as our guide and this guy was absolutely awesome! We had a fun, motivating but serious safety talk by a guy name Bear who seem to know his stuff. The river was running at 3700 cfs that day and it was wild! Matt got us down the river full of excitement and safely! On our bus ride to the drop point we were told that we wouldn’t be coming back on the same bus and everyone awed because we had stuff we wanted to leave on the bus….NO WORRIES Sharon said I will transfer all your stuff to the other bus and not only did she, she put it all in the same seats on the bus before. Well we had a great run and it was lunch time and all the guides cooked us lunch and I wish I had all their names but there was one guide I think they called G who was awesome! So we finish our great trip and we get on the bus and now Dave is our driver who is like the coolest guy in the world. They provided us refreshments for the ride home which was great. I was sitting next to Blake who is a safety kyaker who was the most interesting guy in the world and great to chat with. So we get back to camp and we get into our cabin and dinner is at 7pm, well it was just my family and we had four people catering to us Devon, Brandon, Hannah and Isabel and you had to see the steaks they cooked for us, holy smokes! Brandon let us come to the grill and pick our steaks… then he comes up to my wife and daughter and says here are some gluten free cookies for you! Oh before I forget even at lunch on the river they knew they had some celiacs and provided GF Oreos, Udis GF bread and corn tortillas! Dinner was great and we slept like babies in the cabins. The next day we wake up and Bear and Dave told us where we could go for a great hike called the Stone Cabin which we did before zip lining. Baylee came out and also said we have your breakfast which I didn’t even know I ordered and she said here are two gluten free sandwiches for your wife and daughter and two for you…so good (breakfast burritos). So Devon and Aslin (spelling) took us zip lining and such a great time! They were fun and serious with safety at the forefront! We had an amazing afternoon with them and didn’t want to stop. So we are staying in the cabin that night but we were going out to eat in town at this cool spot and I think it was called Lailer, real cool music bar. This very nice young lady comes up to us who works at this place at night and said did you have fun today zip lining? I was kind of puzzled and she saw that and she said I was your photographer today but you may not recognize me with my helmet on, she introduced herself again as Miranda. I thought that was pretty awesome that she remembered us. Folks this place is the definition of customer service and they treat you like family hence how I know all their names! I can’t say enough about AVA, their customer service, there attention to detail and safety and most of all assuring we had so much fun! Thank you all for an amazing family weekend!

Upper colorado river, class I-III rapids full day, guide-KEN out of Kremmling, CO outpost. 2 adults, 2 kids (age 8 and 10) originally wanted to do browns canyon full day, but river was running too high so they increased age minimums to 10 yo. we came in disappointed that we weren’t gonna get enough excitement. we called AVA and they said they needed to change our trip from Browns to UPPER Colorado river b/c we have an 8 yo and they were going to refund us the difference. they assured us that we would still have a good time, but given we were first timers Browns would be too much at this time of year, July 2019. We came, got suited up (we did not need helmets and some of us wore dry shirts provided free), and were introduced to the most amazing lead guide KEN, who immediately made us comfortable on the water. My family and I had an amazing time, and my 8 yo was scared at first but had a blast. We rafted through class I through III rapids, with a deli lunch spread at a campsite down river, food was good, and did the job! Saw 2 bald eagles, views were amazing, and we were out of river by 3pm, perfect full day experience! Tip is highly recommended! trip to put it is about 15-20 min. and trip back to outpost is 20-25 min on a bus. by the end my 8yo was excited and has stated that rafting was the best part of our 12 day colorado trip which is extremely telling!!

We all definitely want to raft again, and would totally recommend AVA Colorado rafting anytime. We did consider Timberline rafting, but then noticed how crowded it was at the outpost with the timberline group, and glad we went with AVA. We had the lead guide, and a boat all to ourselves, which made all the difference!! THANKS AGAIN KEN, and Best of luck on all your adventures, on the water and IN LIFE!!!
-wildernessislife

We booked the following package with AVA: Browns Canyon Express Plus Dinner Zip Line Package. We had a great day of white water rafting and zip lining with AVA today. Our day started at noon with the 3/4 day rafting trip. Our guide Mike did a great job guiding our boat down the Arkansas River. The Arkansas River is really moving right now and we had some great class three rapids.

I highly recommend the 3/4 day trip as you get more rapids and we floated 13.8 miles. This was a perfect raft trip with our daughter who is 17 and our son who is 19. They both sat at the front of the boat and were smiling from the thrills they had all day. Kudos to Mike for knowing we were all ready for an adventure and not just a “float”. We returned to the main camp post at 4:30 and had to wait a bit for dinner with Brandon. Dinner was at 6:00 and Brandon fixed us a great steak.

Our day wrapped up at 7:00 with zip lining through the trees and mountain side with Shawn and Cam. Both were awesome and put our safety first while making sure we had fun. There are 6 lines and #5 is the second longest line in CO packed with speed.

So the only downside to our trip is that it doesn’t line out to the times they have on their website. The website says zip lining at 5:00 and dinner at 7:00. We had an hour and half of downtime while we waited for an early dinner at 6:00 and zip lining at 7:00. When we asked the staff member, at the main outpost, about the itinerary discrepancy, he was less than friendly.

The trip was awesome for our family, I do hope they fix their itinerary to match the website. The guides are very friendly and make sure you have a great day.

My husband, my 8-year old son, and I went and did both the rafting and the zip lining. Both trips were amazing! Taz, our rafting guide, was knowledgeable, funny, and made sure we all had a blast (and all get very wet!) The trip was beautiful, exciting, and we felt safe. Zip lining was also a thrilling experience. Hannah and Jacob were very encouraging and supportive and helped my son feel so brave-he was a pro after the first pass! We all had smiles on our faces throughout the whole trip, and agree that this was a highlight of our Colorado trip.

We went rafting on the blue river. It was a great trip and the staff was awesome. I highly recommend them for your rafting trip. Lane was a great guide.

This was our second rafting trip during our stay in Denver. We liked another company slightly better. Two things to consider: You must wear closed toed water shoes. They do not have any to rent so if you don’t bring any, they’ll sell you a pair. They don’t have lockers. You will need to leave your valuables in your car. I wasn’t crazy about that.

My wife and I, along with a couple of friends, signed up for our first rafting trip in the class IV rapids of Upper Clear Creek. The trip is billed as a half day, but the water was very high and very fast – “a solid class IV” according to our guide, Lindsey. As a result, the rafting itself was just shy of an hour, with the total experience taking about 3 hours including instructions, dressing, and transportation. Please not this is not a complaint – the water was incredibly cold and the trip physically demanding. Did I mention it was cold? I’ve never been this cold and wet. But holy cow was it fun. Our guide was marvelous. The entire business was really well run; I felt mentally and physically prepared for the trip thanks to the AVA. Highly recommended.

From the moment you arrive, the staff guides you through the steps leading up to your raft trip. Every detail is explained to make you feel safe and knowledgeable about what the experience will be like including what to do in every possible situation that could come up. Our raft guide Kimberly, was amazing! She had a great personality, connected with us and made us feel safe. There were 7 of us in our group and I can speak for everyone by saying that it was a highlight of our trip to Denver!

My son and I did the via-ferrata because we’re getting tired and bored of the traditional zip-line tours. It was awesome! Very cool, very safe, and something completely different for an adventurous person!! I would recommend this for anyone that likes a bit of an adrenaline rush and isn’t afraid of heights.

We wanted to try an activity that was new to us while in Colorado… so we planned a rafting trip with AVA! Clay was our guide and she was AMAZING! She took a family of five with two kids (ages 10 and 13) and turned us into rafting fans! She was very helpful and patient with the kids (and adults) and would recommend her and the company to anyone looking to try rafting!

My husband and I took our first family vacation to Colorado just last week. From the moment we started planning, everyone wanted to go rafting with the exception of me, as I was terrified to try it! I looked into it more, did comparisons of other companies and decided that AVA would be the one I put my trust in. Clay was our guide and I was at ease immediately! She knew exactly what she was doing, was fun, and I was no longer scared at all. If given the chance, I will definitely return and hopefully Clay will still be there. (If you do go, be prepared for the cold water. The water temp was 40 degrees that day!)

Thad was THE man. Absolutely hilarious and super knowledgeable about the area, and the rapids! Gave clear instructions while keeping it nice and fun! The whole experience was super organized, and with it being our first time we had a great experience.

Our family did an all day rafting trip of the Upper Colorado River. The rapids we just enough excitement to give everyone a thrill. Our guide, Nelson was extremely knowledgeable about the history of the area, geology and had enough corny jokes to keep our entire boat entertained the whole day. We stopped several times along the way for some cool side excursions, lunch and my sons got a chance to take several dips into the chilly water. Thanks for helping make family vacation memories.

The rafting was a great experience! Jozi was our guide and was definitely the best one out there. She was knowledgeable and fun!! The zip-line was really great too, but the only complaint is we had too many people in the group. It made us wait for awhile each time. Plus put us in a rush to eat and then go rafting.

I’ve rafted in Alaska and New Zealand and this run through the creek was the most exciting, demanding, and fun trip I’ve experienced. Patrick, our guide, was great to lead us through the high cold water and the fast currents. I felt safe at all times and got the rush that I love with whitewater rafting. I would recommend this company to anyone going to this area looking for an experience like this. Top notch.
If I had to come up with a negative…..it would be that since I’m a big guy, 6’3 330, their rain jacket wasn’t anywhere close to fitting. I went without and it wouldn’t have made a difference anyway. You don’t do this to stay dry. Everything else fit fine.

Upper Canyon 1/2 day 11 am High fast water with a temp of 37 deg. Air temp was in the 70’s.

I took three of my children ages 15,13, and 6. Our guide Neil was super! He really understood my oldest on the spectrum and had such patience and took in my youngest under his wing and safety was top priority and fun second! Neil carried my six year old to the small cliff so he could jump into the water and even let my 6 year old make some of the calls for instructions the last part of the float. This company really makes sure everyone has a great adventure

First our trip started with Zip lining With Jacob and Alec. Those two are a blast to zip line with. They made the experience fun and safe. Couldn’t have asked for better guides, just wish there were more lines to zip. Next our day continued with SamWise on the river for rafting. We did the Goldrush rafting with level 3 rapids that was also a blast, just as with the zip lining we wished we could’ve had more river that was level 3 . The whole day was a blast, the 3 guides were great. But as with everything it had to come to an end. Thanks so much for the great memories.
Thank you again Jacob, Alec, and Sam for making a great day.

I greatly enjoyed my experience at AVA Rafting & Zipline! We went ziplining our first day in town and then rafted the second day. We have ziplined and rafted several times before, and AVA gave us an experience that was very fun! We had Tony and Spencer as guides for ziplining, and they knew what they were doing and made the trip entertaining. I really enjoyed the optional features on the course that were not just ziplines, such as a 30(ish) ft. controlled jump off a bridge and a small challenge course (tightrope and log bridge). For the rafting, we had Chuck as our guide. He was very experienced and guided us safely down a very technical river with several tight fits between rocks. The water wasn’t as high as I had hoped, but he made the Class III and IV rapids as enjoyable as the Class IV an V I had hoped for. I highly recommend this company for a fun outdoor adventure!

Me and some friends booked a white water trip with AVA and we had a blast! We were pretty much all beginners, but went for the class 4/5 rapids anyways. The administrative staff and instructors were super chill and professional. They all made sure we all knew the safety protocols Incase we got into a hairy situation. I felt safe the entire trip. The water was obviously cold but totally manageable.

I’d like to give a shout out to our tour guide, Simon. He killed it and made the rafting experience awesome. I recommend requesting for him.

Also, get out there now because the creek is raging!

First thing,
I was scared as hell and would have never done it without my lady pushing me! What an experience that was!

We did the first ride at 8am, water was at 45F and the air was filled with anxiety and doubt!

The safety briefing didn’t help calm the nerves at all but it help tremendously!

Patrick, our guide was so helpful and reassuring, we were in good hands and safe at all time.
He had good control of the boat and pushed us to our limits!

One of the best work out we have ever done in years.
It was a full on team effort in order to keep the raft at float on a level 4 out of 5 on this beautiful river rapid!

The view of the 1850 gold mines along the river was the “cherry on the cake” of the great experience we have just had!

Highly recommend good gears.
You wont feel your hands and feet at some point but the adrenaline rush will push your instinct and fire will explode witch will warm up your body fast!

We have done many activities in Colorado but this one was definitely the best!

We are already planning on coming back and attempt level 5!

Bravo AVA, what a fantastic trip down the Clear Creek. We hit it perfect with the snow melt, river levels up, and true Class IV Rapids.

We had an amazing time rafting here. We went on the Clear Creek trip with Charlie and had an awesome experience. He was fun, energetic, and was a great guide. We enjoyed the entirety of our trip and recommend it to anyone who wants to go rafting. The only caveat is that Charlie told many funny jokes and when you are grinning from ear to ear, you have a hard time keeping water out of your mouth.

Don’t have enough space to write all the good things about AVA. Knowledgeable staff & very friendly, Concerned for your saftey. I felt safe with all the gear and instructions given. Nico, Jill, and Sean were great guides on the zipline, you could tell they love what they do. Sparkles was an exceptional leader for our raft trip. Knew so much about the water, where the rocks were, how to manuever and did a great job of instructing us on what to do and what to expect. The boat handled the swells/waves very well and she did a great job of keeping us in the boat but still hit those “Fluffy Bunnies” as she called it. The lunch was AWESOME! The guys/girls working at AVA are more like family members to each other, at least it appeared that way to us, instead of just coworkers. Thanks for the fun memories!

Aside from the freezing water (out of your control), I had a blast marking white water rafting off my bucket list. I went with my family and friends on this level 5 for my first time beause it is what they chose. Lol. We could not have had a better guide. Simon was fabulous! He let me sit right in front of him because I was “the most nervous”. For the entire trip he gave positive encouragement, and praise when we made it past a rough spot.In addition he shared stories about history of th area as well as good places to visit in town. Awesome job Simon thanks so much. Now instead of a one time experience, rafting is something I would like to do often ( in much warmer water).

NOTE TO 1st timers: BRING A CHANGE OF CLOTHES to change into afterwards. THE SITE DOES NOT MENTION THIS!! A WET SUIT DOES NOT KEEP YOU DRY ONLY WARM. A WET SUIT IS WET!! Also a hat with a visor and sunglasses will keep the water out of your eyese. And my good up kept it out of my ears. I also wore my, well Brooke in, waterproof hiking boots, (They quickly filled up with water but somehow that WARM water foot bath protected my feet from wind chil. Also they helped me with steady footing on the rocks climbing in and out of the raft.

Go with Simon and have an awesome adventure.

If you love whitewater rafting like we do there is no better time than Spring. We went with Jeff down the Blue River for some ice cold, splashy fun. This is a great class III trip and truly perfect for families and beginners just like the the description says. My party included kids: 16, 14, 11, and a first-timer 8 year old. We all had the best time! Just do it!

This was my first time ziplining and I had so much fun! Sam and Mary were very good at explaining things and made us feel safe. They also made us laugh a ton!! 🙂 The equipment was new and the location and views were amazing!!

We had a great trip with AVA. We camped onsite on Friday when we arrived and the staff was great when we arrived. We had the camping sites all to ourselves. We booked an overnight rafting trip in Browns Canyon. Our guide G (Alex G.) was awesome and so were the other guides along on the trip, Joey and Zeb. We had a blast hanging out with the guides and had wonderful food along the river. I would definitely recommend AVA for anyone looking for an adventure!

Absolutely amazing! Our guides Spencer and MJ were so much fun! It was 6 of us and none of us have ever done anything like this… they made the whole experience so much fun from shaking our nerves off from the beginning to solving riddles at the end. We would definitely come back and do this again with them! If you ever want to get out of your comfort zone, don’t miss out on this even if you are afraid of heights (like all of us were) and make sure when you book to get MJ and Spencer!

We went on the 3/4 day Browns express trip with Hank as our guide and Mark as our driver. Both very knowledgeable and welcoming people! We had an absolute blast. I will be recommending AVA to anyone I know visiting Colorado and we will definitely be back. Thanks again Hank and Mark!

It was our first time zip lining and our guides Emily and Sunny really made the experience fun and stress free. It was rainy and chilly but still a great time. Sunny’s energy was contagious and brought the fun levels up for everyone. Would definitely recommend this place to anyone.

We started our vacation ziplining! This was an amazing experience and the guides and staff at AVA were awe-mazing! Anthony was our lead he was very knowledgeable, safety conscience, and was made for the position he is in!! Emily was the other amazing guide! She treated us with so much kindness and added much humor on our 2.5 hour tour. Many thanks to Miranda taking over 66 photos that we will always cherish!! Highly recommend this company and group of people. Thank you!!

This was my first time whitewater rafting and it was awesome! Some of the rapids were at a level 4 but our instructor was fantastic and took us right through them with a little bit of hard work from us. We were the only raft on our trip that didn’t flip over. That’s a win considering the water was quite chilly.
Our instructor/guide was incredibly knowledgeable and made all of us feel safe and prepared during the trip. It was my first time whitewater rafting but my mountaineering father came with us. As an experienced rafter, he was quite pleased with the trip and the instructor.
Any member of staff could answer any questions we had. From how cold the water was to where to grab a bite to eat, they knew every answer.
I highly recommend AVA for any rafter in the Denver area looking for adventure!

My girlfriend and I had an amazing time ziplining with Tim and Peebs!! They reassured us we were safe, we took 6 ziplines with breathtaking views, as well as very fun optional obstacles they have in the mountain. We were the only two ziplining that morning, but there can be a lot of people going with you, depending how busy they are. You get your money’s worth and experience something you can’t find anywhere else! Truly, thank you for making this experience worth it for us during our stay in Denver!

I went ziplining for the first time with my boyfriend today and IT WAS PERFECT! Highly, highly recommend. The staff is awesome and knowledgeable!

My husband, I, and our three youngest children (13, 9, & 7) had a great full day raft trip. Our tour guide Mark W. had a great personality… kind, patient, funny, sociable… and did a good job pointing our little things along our journey to teach us a bit. The kids loved him, and even weeks after were home are still talking about some of his jokes. It was a beautiful day.

Had a great experience at CRR! The facility was easy to find, and staff was very helpful in answering all the questions we had. They were able to provide me with a helmet with a mount for my GoPro even though our trip didn’t require helmets which I thought was a plus. We went through a storm on our way to the dock, and the first 15 mins of our trip was raining and cold, but it soon passed and turned into a nice, sunny trip filled with amazing scenery. Ken was our guide, and very knowledgeable in the safety measures and what to expect on the river. Dylan was on the raft with another group, and also knew the river very well. Chris was our driver, and transported us to and from the dock safely, even through the storm! Overall pleasant experience, and would recommend this outfit to others!

I was in Denver on a Bachelorette Party, our rafting trip was sooo much fun. Our guide, Mark, was awesome. The river was beautiful, Mark pointed out wildlife and told us about the river. He stopped the boat at a hot spring along the river which was amazing since the water was so cold. He was very friendly and entertaining. We played a rafting games which were a blast. The water bull riding was the best, Mark even did it. I would 100% recommend this trip to anyone visiting the area and would come back myself next time I am in the Denver area. I will definitely be requesting Mark as our rafting guide also. The water was a bit cold but the weather ended up being perfect on the day we went.

We did the Upper Colorado 4 hour fly fishing trip and had a great time. We didn’t have any luck with the fish but the trip was worth the time and money.

We did the zip line course . Shawn and Elise were our guides . It was a lot of fun . The guides were humorous , well trained and made me feel safe ! I’d recommend this activity. Very thrilling and fun adventure!

Awesome!! Great fun with great guides!! We had a blast. Shaun and Sunshine were great and made it even more fun.

From the time we checked in throughout our entire experience it was great! Eric was our guide he was great!! I cannot remember the girls name who checked us in but she was very helpful and friendly! We can’t wait to go back for another rafting trip!

Amazing adventure today Ziplining at Ava! Great lines, beautiful views and incredible guides. MJ and Matt were fun & knowledgable. They love their jobs & it shows!!  Thanks for an unforgettable experience! Two thumbs up!

My girl friend and I had an epic time on the Inflatable Kayak Trip starting in Kremmling Colorado River. It was her first time in a kayak on the river and she had lots of fun. The guides who accompanied us made sure we had an awesome time. Some special mentions would be Jacob and Hannah. They tried to make us laugh the whole way on the bus ride even though we were a boring and quiet group who didn’t respond much. Especially Jacob. I think he’s an amazing entertainer! He does his job as a raft guide really well. Hope you guys get to read this.

Thank you guys! You made our day.

Well worth the money. It was our first time, 2 adults and 2 kids, 7 & 10. We all pushed our comfort zone limits but everyone had a total blast. Swami and peebers did a great job as guides! Highly recommend it!

From start to finish AVA was amazing! A few day prior to our tour, we were notified that our Clear Creek rafting was canceled due to low water conditions. The staff was very accommodating in providing other options for us. Upon arrival from Forrest greeting us and giving us recommendations in the Kremmling area to Chris our bus driver to our fantastic guides, Elyssa, Ken and Nauti Nelley they sure made up for our disappointment from our original trip being cancelled. My husband & I were fortunate to get Nauti Nelley as our rafting guide. This guy is class act, from his kindness, knowledge of the river and history of the area to his ridiculous sense of humor!!! If you’re adrenaline seeking this is not the trip for you (unless you count jumping from a 30 ft cliff, which I did), but if you are looking for a relaxing, breathtaking scenic float down the river, this is the tour for you. Just be aware of the AMTRAK if you are fortunate enough to receive Nauti Nelley as your guide 🙂 Thank you AVA, can’t wait for our next adventure with you!!!!!!

This rafting tour was beautiful and fun! They outfitted us well, had great equipment and friendly service. The river and surrounding area was really beautiful. Matt was an excellent guide, knowing just how get us through the challenging spots. We would totally do this again, or try an even more challenging rapids.

We had a group of about 20 parents and kids, ages 3-8 and we were looking for a rafting trip that all could enjoy. We booked the Scenic Float out of Kremmling and everyone had a blast. Although the safety debriefing was quite scary (what to do if trapped under a log? what to do it the whole raft flips? I thought we signed up for the easy ride!?) the trip itself was calm, beautiful, with a bit of small “rapids” to thrill the kids but in no way dangerous. Even the little kids spent most of the trip seated on the middle supports of the raft, no need to sit on the floor. We went through Gore Canyon, which was beautiful, and towards the end we had the optional choice to jump off a 5′ or 25′ cliff ! A fun challenge for some of the kids.
Our 3 guides were great and very knowledgeable. The staff in the welcome center was very nice too. Plenty of room there to change clothes and to purchase last minute supplies (water shoes, t-shirts, etc).

We were a group of 4, we were on the class 3 trip as in mid August they cannot run the class 4 or 5 trip. Our guide was Jared, he was very knowledgable about the river, the rock formations and rafting. He was an excellent guide and made the trip a lot of fun. I did not think the class 3 trip would provide a lot of excitement but it was great. We all enjoyed it and look forward to hopefully returning next year for a class 4 trip.

We just finished our rafting trip in Kremmling. Mac, our guide, was phenomenal, request her if you go!! She was very informative, not only about our rafting experience but also about the surrounding area wildlife and history. We had such a fun time and Mac’s dad jokes are on point, make sure you bring a few with you to shoot back at her! Definitely recommend this company and will not go anywhere else when we return.

The whole experience was amazing! Shout out to Hannah, Luke, Chili and all the others that made the trip so memorable!

We took our son and our nephew to go ziplining for their first time and they had a blast! They enjoyed all of the passes and the extra little activities (tight rope, log bridge, etc.) just as much. When we were done they were wanting to go again. Our guides were super and really knew what they were doing. Ready to go again!

We did the Kremmling raft trip on the Colorado. whole family, kids and all. very fun. Terry was a great guide. we’d go again!

Our first time Zip-lining. Our little one loved it. Although she is not able to speak english our two guides took all the time and patience needed to make this one of the more memorable experiences we had during our trip. Thank you Elise and I am sorry i don’t remember the name of the second lady). The only thing our daughter was complaining about that she was not able to do it again 🙂

Crook is the man! Gave our group an amazing experience last week even with the low water levels. He still made the trip exciting and managed to get us through obstacles that other rafts struggled with. From start to finish AVA runs a great operation. There was another company on the river with us and you could tell they were not as well organized, trained, or working as a team of guides as everyone at AVA. Would recommend without hesitation.

Outstanding trip lead by guides Sunshine and Riggs. This trip has traversing, rappelling, bridge walks, and zip lining. It runs about 2.5 hours and will definitely get your pulse rate up. Can’t wait to do it again!

We rented a cabin at the base camp so we could wake up early. The Cabin was reasonably priced and offered convenience to relax after our all day adventure. We had such an amazing time. The first day we went Rock Climbing up Maytag with Cate. She was wonderful. She was so patient and kind to my 14 year old daughter who climbed several hundred feet up the face of Maytag. She made sure we were safe and ensured that we had an awesome incredible time. The next day we went whitewater rafting. The captain was awesome. He was experienced. He ensured our safety. Everyone was wonderful. Some of the best people I’ve met in such a long time. Makes me want to leave the city and run away to the mountains forever. Words cannot express my gratitude for everyone that helped to make my vacation with my daughter such an amazing experience that I’ll remember for the rest of my life. Thank you AVA!

Our friends recommended AVA for a family river rafting tour. We drove from Denver to Kremmling to check AVA out. We had a great time with our three kids on this trip. Our guide, Dillon AKA Joe Dirt, opened our eyes to the adventure of river rafting. We learned a lot on our trip and will be looking to explore more rafting adventures!

All of the staff at AVA was very friendly and kind. They were very good with kids. We will definitely look for more excursions with AVA.

Had an excellent time yesterday! Erica & Mikey were great zip leaders! Informative and funny! Our whole group had a blast!

When we returned to the outpost, Erica grilled us up some bomb fajitas! Delicious!

We ended the day rafting down Browns Canyon with Goose. Super great time there as well even with the low water!

We will be back for more adventures!!

My fiance and I just went out on a half day ziplining and half day rafting trip. The experience was amazing. We had Ericka and Mikey for ziplining and Shaun Davis as our river guide. Both of the trips were fantastic and I would highly recommend both activities and the staff of AVA. Both sets of guides were very professional and informative.

We recently visited the ziplining operation at Idaho Springs. The only negative from the whole experience was the driver who transported us to the top of the mountain to begin our day. We expressed our displeasure with the driver and the company has given us a positive response. Our guides went over a check list of topics at the first station to insure we all knew what our responsibility would be for a successful experience. The two guides were very thorough in explaining what we would experience at each station as we worked our way down the mountain. We would definitely recommend AVA Ziplining, in Idaho Springs, if you are looking for a couple of hours of excitement.

We started our day with Ziplining with Terry King & Mike Crook as our guides. They were incredibly funny, encouraging & had a great sense of humor with our boys. Returning back to the Outpost, we enjoyed the delicious fajita lunch. Our afternoon was spent our guide, Jake from MN. He was so helpful and patient with our boys and a great conversationalist. We can’t say enough GREAT things about AVA. Thanks for a most memorable day in CO!

We did the overnight rafting trip out of Kremmling, colorado with Kate Donner and Nick Walsh. This was an awesome trip. The sights and scenery were unbelievable. Would recommend to all.

Had an awesome time doing the Zipline this afternoon with Nico and Anthony. Definitely worth the time to drive from Breckenridge. Guides were great and make all of our party feel comfortable and safe with all the lines.

From bus guide Katie to raft pilot Dylan, our trip down the Colorado from Kemmling was pretty doggone fun. This is an easy raft trip, with one Class 3 and a couple class 2 rapids. We had 3 11 year olds and a 9 year old who had not been rafting and this was a little mild. The trip took a couple hours with a stop halfway to jump off rocks. The kids loved that. Bus ride to and from was about 30 min, and Katie told us a lot about the area. We recommend and would do it again.

AVA ziplining was a blast to say the least. The kids enjoyed every course and even did the quick drop when some of the adults wouldn’t. Matt and Jew Jew are phenomenal at their job and are very accommodating. Matt was more than patient with the kids and went above and beyond making sure they were happy and having a great time. Both instructors are very thorough with the direction and don’t rush you at all. We were a family of 5, 2 kids, one 7 and one 6 and they were able to do every course. We shared our zip tour with another family and by the end of our tour we called them our zip lining family. I recommend taking a camera because we were able to capture so many great pictures. Also a bottle of water if you get winded easily. I’m sure all of the instructors are good at their job but I highly recommend both of them. They gave us an experience we definitely won’t forget! Don’t forget to TIP your instructors individually!! Thank you Matt and Jew Jew!

That was the BEST zip line experience ever. Our guides, Brandon and Sunshine, were amazing! We would highly recommend AVA Rafting and Zipline And thanks Sunshine for retrieving my brand new GoPro.

Signed GoPro kids Dad

This trip was the best I have ever experienced. While we expected a simple ride down the river, our guide gave us so much more. Eric took us to see hot springs, bald eagles, and dinosaur fossils. We learned how to properly welcome the Amtrak train, and how to read currents. After traveling most of my life and always seeing new things, this was without a doubt one of her coolest excursions I have ever taken part of and would do it again in a heartbeat. Recommend 12 out of 10!

This was the BEST activity of our entire two week trip to Colorado! Nico & Terry B King were amazing. We learned that you CAN participate at any age and/or activity level. Don’t be held back by your age, physical capacity or fear. We are in our late 50’s! We did a combo of ziplining, lunch and then white water rafting. Make a day of it!! Ziplining was the highlight of our entire trip. Nico was a great motivator & Terry was right by our side all the way!! We tipped them originally and then decided to give them more because they had done so well!!It was that good!!! 5 Stars!! Anne Owens, Kentucky.

We had a great time doing the half day raft. The guides were super fun. We went at a time the river was lower but we still had a couple of fun rapids to adventure through. I would definitely recommend this company. Thanks Liam for being a great guide!

This was our first time rafting…. not much opportunity for that in the Toronto area 🙂 We try to do something different each time we travel. This was different. All the guides were knowledgeable and hilarious. They told us all about the local history and the area… plants, animals ….. all kinds of interesting tidbits. The 30 minute ride passed quickly and with lots of laughter to. Ken our river guide was awesome!!! There were 8 in our raft our family of 4 ( older kids 16 and 20 ) and another family with 2 kids 11 and 12 yrs roughly. It was a nice trip and not scary at all but FUN. Good mix of gentle and getting wet….. if we ever go back will book with these guys out of Kremmling CO but take a level up in the rapids level. Great trip for young and old. Hint ask to stop at the natural spring along the way… was a nice soak !!

Enjoyed our zip lining experience at the Idaho Springs location. Took about 1.5 hours to do the course. There are 6 or 7 zip lines and the opportunity to do some optional bridge and tight rope walks. Our 6 and 7 year old boys loved it.

I gave this experience only 4 out of 5 because we expected to have better scenery as you zip lined. Unfortunately, your view is the road and several buildings, not so much the forest or mountains.

We were a party of 6, doing The Numbers 1/2 day trip. This was our 2nd time to do this trip. Chris was our guide, telling us he had 17 years experience on this river doing the job. This has been a really dry season for CO, going back to the winter. So the river was running about 565 cfs. This basically reduces the difficulty of the rapids, making Vs into IVs, and IVs into IIIs.

The guide and company really do this well. Nothing to complain about, they just have this process down. Still a fun run even though the water is lower. Will definitely do this again next trip, just hope the water is higher next time.

Did zip lining with the family and daughters best friend (first time for best friend). Mikey and Jozi were our guides. They did a great job of explaining the safety rules, showing us proper technique, keeping us engaged and entertained, and making sure the newbie in our group had a great experience. You can request people to be your guides and I would highly recommend these two. We will also be requesting Jozi as our rafting guide later in the week.

We took the level 3 half day white water rafting adventure on the Arkansas River from Bueno Vista. It was me, my husband and three teenage boys. (our son and two friends). Mind you, I’m no spring chicken and Im not on the skinny side. It took the guide (ALEX) and two boys to get me into the raft but we did it! What an adventure! I fell half way out at one point and Alex grabbed my life jacket and hauled my fat rear end back into the raft. I thought it was a hoot but I about gave my husband a heart attack. Alex was a wonderful guide. He knows his job , very experienced…..I felt safe with him. Quite a gentleman….he did his momma proud. This excursion was the highlight of our vacation. To Alex and all the guides who do this job daily, I pray for your safety and well being. Keep on keeping on. Thank you for the great memories. We had a BLAST!!!! Oh and lastly, whenever I see a picture of a Leprechaun, I will surely think of Alex.

Wow! Nate made this experience amazing for me and my family. I appreciate the extra time he spent making us feel comfortable with the rafting. He was so knowledgeable and wonderful. The river was low, but we had an awesome experience. If we visited again, Ava would be first on our list with Nate as our guide. Thanks you for a great trip.

This was a fabulous day for our family of 3 generations! The staff was exceptional! Ken, our rafting guide, was entertaining for everyone and made the trip so fun! We even toasted him at dinner! Elyssia was our bus guide and told great jokes. The scenery was breathtaking and the trip was exciting, especially the cliff jumping!

We just finished the most amazing 24 hour overnight rafting trip down Browns Canyon. I was nervous being 1st time rafting and not much of a camper but Preston was an amazing guide and made the whole trip a blast. This trip was a 40th bday gift for my best friend and we all said we would do it again. The campsite was gorgeous, food provided was very good and there was a lot of it. Wasp made sure we had everything we needed at camp. We played cards with guides and other campers late into the night and just had a blast. What a memorable experience. I would highly recommend AVA and request Preston to be your guide!

This was a fabulous day for our family of 3 generations! The staff was exceptional! Ken, our rafting guide, was entertaining for everyone and made the trip so fun! We even toasted him at dinner! Elyssia was our bus guide and told great jokes. The scenery was breathtaking and the trip was exciting, especially the cliff jumping!

We have two children, ages 11 and 14, and this was our first rafting trip. We took the Brown’s Canyon Express which is a class 3 and had a great time. Our guide, Ian was amazing. Not only did he teach us about rafting, but was very knowledgable with the surrounding wildlife and terrain. His good instruction also kept us all in the boat! We took the 3/4 day trip which I felt was the perfect length. The trip took some physical exertion in the form of rowing, so it could wear down less fit people. We also got soaked. Don’t take anything you don’t want to get wet. In addition to Ian, the other guides, Ben, Phil, and KT (I think?) were great to work with and very knowledgable as well. I highly recommend this trip.

Our family of four had a great experience with the Browns Canyon Sizzler Package (Full-day Raft including fajita lunch and steak dinner, Overnight Cabin, Breakfast burritos, Mountaintop Ziplining). Fantastic guides: Nate W. Erica, Sebastian.
Wish we had free wi-FI in the cabins, ice for sale, and better photo choices (ability to buy one package with photos from both days). The cabin was way nicer than I expected. Warm and Rustic but clean and comfortable. Fresh towels, pillow and sleeping bag provided. AVA is professional and well kept up. We’ll be back 🙂

Half-day Via Ferrata trip on Mt. Evans with our guides Sunshine and Emily. They were both really patient in helping us conquer our fears and we ended up having a ton of fun. I will definitely be coming back if I’m in the area again.

Great fun & intro rafting trip for all ages; We had a grandpa down to 8 year old and everyone had a good time! The guide was very professional & engaging too. Highly recommend

Katie and Mary began our day by guiding us through the zip line course. They were outstanding. One participant was not 100% sure about the height and they were patient and excellent at guiding her through until she was comfortable. The four teenage boys loved every minute. Tip: purchase the photo package ahead of time and save 10%!
Sammy was our Gold Rush rafting guide and he was incredible. We have rafted before at other spots in CO. and Sammy was the best. He made it the best trip ever. I highly recommend AVA.

This was our first time in the area and had rafting on our ‘must do’ list! It was a blast!! (We did the Intermediate Clear Creek at Idaho Springs) At check in, we were told to wait until our group was called. We were then given our equipment and also given a safety briefing (guides had a check list to follow). We got on the bus and took a short ride to the launching area. We had Patrick as our guide and he was very knowledgeable! We would definitely try to get him again! We were able to enjoy some of the view when we weren’t paddling or going down the rapids. I can’t wait to return and do this again. Pricing was fair as it included all of the equipment.

After the rafting, we decided to go Zip-lining!!
We were geared up, safety briefed and jumped in a truck for a short ride up the mountain. We had Spencer and can’t remember our other guide but they were both very nice and funny. Spencer had that sense of humor where you didn’t know if you should believe his stories or not! LOL
This was our first time zip lining (well except for my husband) so we were nervous but once we got out there, it was so much fun. The only downside to it, I was so worried about braking that I didn’t really get to enjoy the view while on the line. Other than that, we had a great time!! We felt safe and the guys made us feel comfortable. I would definitely recommend and I can’t wait to go back!!!

Would highly recommend AVA for your outdoor adventures in Colorado. We did an afternoon rafting trip with the whole family including our 6 year old and the guides were outstanding in both their instruction and safety. We loved having Charlie as our instructor, as he made it fun for us on the river while also keeping us safe. From our 6 year old to our 16 year old to my wife and I we all had a blast and can’t wait to do it again with AVA!!!

White water rafting had been on my bucket list for a long time, so I knew when we were traveling to Colorado that this was a must do! My husband, daughter & I took the 1/2 day Brown’s Canyon trip. It exceeded my very high expectations. This is a professional outfitter & I couldn’t have felt more safe. We were given all the equipment we needed & didn’t need to pay any extra if we wanted a jacket, wet suit, etc. While my husband fell overboard (and was easily rescued) in the first 5 minutes, the rapids were just the right excitement for us. We chose the level 3 because we didn’t want a lazy river ride, but didn’t choose higher since this was our first time. We did have to paddle, but were taught how by the expert guides. The beauty on the Arkansas River can’t be described. This is an experience we will be talking about for some time to come. We are happy that pictures were taken & offered for sale so that we have this memory forever!

We went Ziplining with our 3 young children (11, 7 & 8) and had the best time. The lines were thrilling and the guides Swimi and Mary were so much fun and very professional. I felt 100% safe with entrusting them with the safety of our family. Thanks for a great Experience!

My family and I did the all day white water rafting, stayed in a cabin on the site, then went ziplining the next day. Had a blast!!! The white water rafting was so fun, they kept us safe, informed and fed! We had Nate West as our rafting guide and he was fantastic at making sure we had a fun time and navigating is through the waters with ease!

Ziplining was incredible! Our guides, Erica and Sebastian, were so great! They were patient with us and kept us laughing and happy the whole time! Couldn’t have asked for a better pair to guide us! I felt completely safe the whole time!

A must spot to visit if you’re planning a trip to the Great State of Colorado!!

Ava Rafting in Kremmling, CO is an awesome experience!! The staff are organized, friendly, fun, and safe. We especially appreciate our guide, Jamie, who had some great historical knowledge but also knew how to guide us safely down the river and Chile who drove the bus safely as well. Thanks to a great team for a true day of fun!!

Kimberly was absolutely amazing!!!! She made our day so much fun, we had three young children with us and she went over and beyond to ensure the kids were safe and having an awesome time! I’ve done a lot of these trips and Kimberly is by far the best raft guide I’ve ever had! She even made it fun for all the adults! She had a ton of fun facts to share and great jokes to keep everyone laughing, wish I could give her 10 stars!!! Can’t wait to book our next ride with Kimberly!

We went on the Sizzler full day trip with lunch included. This was our son’s first rafting trip, so we wanted something that would give him a taste of white water rafting excitement without scaring him out of ever wanting to go again. This trip was the perfect choice. The lunch broke up the time on the water, and there were plenty of fun rapids along the way to hold everyone’s interest. Our guide IAN was top notch! He was super knowledgeable and added fun commentary throughout the trip. If there’s any way you can request Ian, do it. You won’t regret it.

We went on the Sizzler full day trip with lunch included. This was our son’s first rafting trip, so we wanted something that would give him a taste of white water rafting excitement without scaring him out of ever wanting to go again. This trip was the perfect choice. The lunch broke up the time on the water, and there were plenty of fun rapids along the way to hold everyone’s interest. Our guide IAN was top notch! He was super knowledgeable and added fun commentary throughout the trip. If there’s any way you can request Ian, do it. You won’t regret it.

I did a white water rafting tour with my family and Liam was our guide. He was really funny, kind, and knowledgeable. We had zero issues on the river and felt very safe while having a lot of fun.

We took our softball team (16-19 year olds) and families on a trip yesterday of the Upper Cleer Creek Class IV trip. We were the first trip of the day and it was awesome. I would highly recommend going first thing, then you aren’t going to have to struggle to share the creek.
Patrick was my raft guide and ROCKED! He was knowledgable and patient.

My only issue was the call center. We called and asked for a Class II-III rapid, and I was informed this one wasn’t really a IV because the water was high. Our guides were not happy that we were told that. There is clear disconnect between the call center and the actual rafting centers. We were told from the guides that the call center is located in Breckenridge so they aren’t that familiar with the creek.

We have gone rafting with AVA twice now. In 2017 we did the Browns Canyon full day, which was great, and this year we did the Numbers/Narrows full day trip. It was really awesome. Our guide this year, Zach, had so much experience under his belt that it was just cool talking to him let alone raft with him! The rapids were so much fun!

AVA takes safety very seriously which I appreciate. Their guides are some of the best in the business. I highly recommend them! We’ll definitely be back for more rapids.

Great trip! Great Service! Thanks Brett (our guide). Would do again in a heart beat. Highly recommend!

We took the half day tour down Clear Creek in Idaho Springs. Charlie, our guide, was great. He was funny and made the trip extra enjoyable.

They said water was low for this time of year so we had to go down to the second half of the creek because that part was the intermediate level of the creek. There was a good amount of rapids to keep you on your toes.

They provide you with a wetsuit, a splash jacket, a life jacket and a helmet. They said the water was 38-40 degrees so we bought some white watering rafting socks in their store. I would HIGHLY recommend doing this whether it is at their store or before you get there. I also bought some wetsuit material gloves and I did not regret that. The water is really cold.

The only thing I wish was different was that on their site they give you one price and when you go and checkout a very large amount of fees get added. It does not tell you what the fees or for and it made it difficult to try and coordinate prices with the rest of my party. I wish I knew all of the cost upfront.

Great day with family. Adrian on the zip line tour was great with the kids and even has more bad jokes then they have. On to rafting with Shawn. Kids were so happy they said they needed to pray for more days like this. Thanks so much for a wonderful family adventure.

So much fun!! We Zip-lined in the morning and had a lot of fun with our guides Adrian and Emma. Then we had a great chicken fajita lunch. We then headed out for rafting trip. We were paired with another group of 4 who turned out to be great people. Our guide was Alex and she was awesome! We had a blast with her. She really knew what she was doing and made it so much fun for us. She located a great camp site for us and they cooked us dinner. We set up our tents and the guides brought everything for us. Unfortunately we couldn’t have a fire due to a fire ban but that was no ones fault so we sat down but the river and still had a ton of fun! The next morning we had a hearty breakfast and went back on the river for more class 3 rapids. We got lucky with the weather and didn’t need wetsuits. Such a unique,fun experience. Would recommend it to anyone!

We had a great time zip lining with Swami and Brendon, they were very helpful and fun, wouldn’t trade the guides for anyone else. Then rafting with Brett was also a great experience, really made us laugh and have a good time. We had my little sister who’s 6 in the raft with us and he made sure she was down in the raft good so she wouldn’t bounce out. Definitely recommend if you travel thought Idaho Springs.

First off, if you are lucky enough to ride in Ken or Dylan’s boat, you are guaranteed a great time. My family went on a float trip with Dylan out of their Kremmling location. All of us had a great time, and Dylan did a great job. My 17yo daughter and I did the Blue River trip out of Silverthorne with Ken. He is both entertaining and supremely capable. Great guy and great guide. He could expertly soak anyone in the boat at any time 🙂

I would recommend to anyone to find a trip with AVA

Did the 1/2 day Clear Creek trip–super impressed with the company. Easy check-in, great instructions. Shane our rafting guide was awesome! Felt SUPER safe the entire time. The guides make rafting look easy–but they do most of the work! Very professional set-up and they take every chance to keep you informed, safe, and having fun at all times. Thanks for the day! We will be back.

Have long wanted to go rafting but thought it was too late as I have had a stroke which has left me with issues but as this was a category three rapid I thought a good entry level. The wet suit & crash hat were of good quality, as was the safety instruction. Boarding the boat was not easy but assistance was available. The guide was superb and ver safety aware. The water was cold as 24 hour old snow melt. Bit of a wake up when it hits you , and it will hit you!. If you are unfit as I am, this is a great abs workout.. If I am in the area again iffy, as I am in my 70s I would gladly do it again. So thrilling.

We booked an am zip line adventure with an afternoon whitewater rafting “Goldrush” adventure at the Idaho Springs loc. When it came time to book, they were filled up but opened up a new slot 1 hour earlier for us. The zip line was led by EmJay and Lizzie. They were so fun to be with. We had a few hours to hit the local strip for lunch and some shopping. In the afternoon we (family of 4) were put in our own raft with Sammy. We had so much fun and he was so nice and energetic. All the staff there helping the entire group get ready were hilarious and very helpful! It was a pricey adventure but so worth it. It’s one more thing checked off my bucket list but definitely one I will do again. I will say … wear long sleeved and legged dry fit apparel and bring a complete change of clothes (bra, underwear, etc). You will get wet and it is cold water! I would even consider neoprene socks/boots under your sandals. If it’s something you’re thinking about – quit thinking and just do it. You won’t regret it!!!

As a part of a bachelor weekend we chose AVA – Idaho Springs and had a BLAST! It was the perfect amount of high adventure. We chose the class 4 whitewater rapids down Clear Water Creek and did ziplining before it to ensure we got a balanced amount of thrill. All around, the experience was excellent from the welcome to the prep, to the adventure, and the guidance and knowledge of those leading us. We had Luke and Juju for our ziplining excursion and they were a riot—they were knowledgeable but balanced the outing with lightheartedness, dad jokes, fun comments, Star Wars references, and thrills! You definitely want them both as they managed to keep us 9 guys entertained and engaged throughout—no small feat. As for the rapids, we had Lucas for this and would HIGHLY recommend him given his knowledge and expertise. He calmly navigated us through all sections of the river while keeping conversation and fun comments lively. He is highly skilled at navigating the river and it showed—definitely go with him if you can!

All in all, this was an amazing experience and the highlight of our bachelor weekend. I would gladly go through them again!

The trip was awesome! We would highly recommend anyone in the area doing the rafting. Our guide, Sparkles, was totally awesome! She put us in some rough water which everyone wants if they are doing a rafting trip, but still made sure it was a safe experience. Overall the day was perfect!

How can you go to Colorado and not go on a rafting trip? I knew we had to go, no matter how scared I was. My boys are 9 and 11, and I was more prepared for them to fall in the water…well nobody fell int he water! 🙂

Our fantastic guide, Eric, was great with the kids and put our mind at ease. We were completely outfitted and safe. The water was very cold, and our feet froze as the water was always at the bottom of the boat. Maybe purchase the socks they have available?

I had my go pro camera, and it wasn’t turned on…I was so so sad. I went to the AVA office in Breckenridge to see if we could go back the next day, but it was too expensive. The boys had a great time, and it was the highlight of their trip. We will have memories forever! I highly recommend going rafting with AVA, and don’t stress out or be scared. It will be fine! Ask for Eric, as he’s a great guide, and I think he talked one of my sons into becoming a rafting guide. 🙂 Yikes! Thanks Eric!

How can you go to Colorado and not go on a rafting trip? I knew we had to go, no matter how scared I was. My boys are 9 and 11, and I was more prepared for them to fall in the water…well nobody fell int he water! 🙂

Our fantastic guide, Eric, was great with the kids and put our mind at ease. We were completely outfitted and safe. The water was very cold, and our feet froze as the water was always at the bottom of the boat. Maybe purchase the socks they have available?

I had my go pro camera, and it wasn’t turned on…I was so so sad. I went to the AVA office in Breckenridge to see if we could go back the next day, but it was too expensive. The boys had a great time, and it was the highlight of their trip. We will have memories forever! I highly recommend going rafting with AVA, and don’t stress out or be scared. It will be fine! Ask for Eric, as he’s a great guide, and I think he talked one of my sons into becoming a rafting guide. 🙂 Yikes! Thanks Eric!

During a recent bachelor party in Denver, my group went ziplining and rafting through AVA – Idaho Springs. Everything was very well organized, the guides were friendly, and we had blast! I highly recommend booking with AVA. More details below.

Ziplining – while not the most exciting zipline course I’ve been on, AVA has enough variety of other activities (50-ft freefall, surf-zip, rope bridges, etc) thrown in to make it enjoyable and worth the cost. Luke and JuJu were our guides, and they were awesome! Keeping a group of 9 guys organized and entertained isn’t the easiest thing, and they did a great job.

Rafting – we booked the Clear Creek half-day route, which meant a good amount of time (about 3 hrs) on class 4 rapids. Our group had to split up (6 people per raft max), and my boat had Lucas as our guide. He’s hilarious, and navigated the route with ease.

Overall, I recommend AVA – Idaho Springs, and would certainly book through them again if (when) I find myself back in Denver.

During a recent bachelor party in Denver, my group went ziplining and rafting through AVA – Idaho Springs. Everything was very well organized, the guides were friendly, and we had blast! I highly recommend booking with AVA. More details below.

Ziplining – while not the most exciting zipline course I’ve been on, AVA has enough variety of other activities (50-ft freefall, surf-zip, rope bridges, etc) thrown in to make it enjoyable and worth the cost. Luke and JuJu were our guides, and they were awesome! Keeping a group of 9 guys organized and entertained isn’t the easiest thing, and they did a great job.

Rafting – we booked the Clear Creek half-day route, which meant a good amount of time (about 3 hrs) on class 4 rapids. Our group had to split up (6 people per raft max), and my boat had Lucas as our guide. He’s hilarious, and navigated the route with ease.

Overall, I recommend AVA – Idaho Springs, and would certainly book through them again if (when) I find myself back in Denver.

On 6/6/18 my family of 4 (children ages 11 and 9) went rafting on the Blue River just north of Silverthorne, Colorado, with AVA Adventures. We had never been rafting before and were a little nervous. This specific tour was class 3 rapids so we thought it would be ok for our family. We were outfitted with helmets, wet suites and PFDs and then headed off in the van to the launch point on the river. After the safety speech (which is required and definitely understandable) our two kids kinda freaked out. Both were pretty scared about the raft tipping and them falling in the river. Luckily, the guides (especially Greg) were GREAT and calmed them down, reassuring them that they would do everything they could to make them safe and have a fun trip. Greg was an experienced rafter and made our trip fun while keeping everyone safe. The first three miles of the river were calm smooth waters, which allowed us to take in the sights and beauty of the river and then the next 3 miles were full of class 3 rapids. Super super fun and for an inexperienced family such as ours were exactly what we needed. Would definitely go rafting with AVA again!

Highly recommend AVA! Check in was smooth and easy thanks to AVA’s great communication before our trip. We tried the via ferrata course for the first time and LOVED IT! Sunny and Riggs were fantastic guides who kept us safe and entertained. Thanks for a fabulous morning, I can’t wait to come back when the longer free fall is installed!

So me and my girlfriend did some research on a good ziplining place near Denver.  It was either Idaho Springs or Canon City.  Idaho Springs was closer so we went there.  Best decision of our lives.  When we arrived there we were immediately greeted by Matt and Emily and they took 30 minutes going over safety and putting on necessary gear.

Everything moved so fast and I can say that feeling of ziplining is relaxing.  It was a successful trip because of our instructors. I remember one person getting stuck near the end and Emily going after her immediately and literally carrying the extra persons weight to the finish.  Matt and Emily are professional and fun and funny, I highly recommend because them being good at there job kept this trip safe and fun, we’ll definitely be coming back.

Had such an amazing time with this company.  I went white water rafting with a group from work and it was a BLAST.  We registered and bought online and the company provided ALL of the information you need including gear that you need to bring along with tips and tricks for the trip. They first have you meet at their main location and bus you to the raft drop. There were 6 people to a raft and we traveled in a group of 4 rafts who all had different instructors.  Ours was a BA chick who kicked butt on the rapids.  I think we went level 4 which I would definitely recommend for your first time if you are adventurous.  It is a tad scary at times if you are afraid of falling off the raft but so invigorating.  We only had one person fall out the entire trip which was half of the day. The water is very cold so be prepared….your feet start get numb so you are used to it.  You do get to stop at smokin’ yards which is, by the way, the best BBQ in the mountains.  You chill out for about 45 min, eat, regain some energy and head out again. I had an amazing time and would recommend this anyone. I cannot wait to go back again.

My wife and I recently took a guided 4-hour fly-fishing float trip down the upper Colorado river. Our trip was provided by an outfit called Fly-Fishing Colorado, part of Arkansas Valley Adventures, or AVA, which operates out of a facility in Kremmling, CO. Our guide was Kyle Townsend who lives in the area and has years of fly-fishing experience on this river. During the trip down the river Kyle was an outstanding guide and fishing coach for us both. Before shoving off on our float down the river Kyle spent some time giving my wife a beginners introduction to the basics of fly-fishing she would need on this trip. In this he was thorough and professional, yet patient, making sure that his student could execute each cast before moving on.

The 4-hour float was a wonderful outdoors fly-fishing experience. Although it was a slow day fishing the river (our experience was similar to other boats) we hooked several fish, although landed just one. Some days are like that, as those of you who fish would know. Kyle was tireless in his attention to us, tying flies, planning strategy, coaching us on presentation and casting technique, and much more.

I strongly recommend Fly-Fishing Colorado and AVA for a guided fishing float trip on the Colorado river. The organization is professional and thorough about their business of taking customers on these trips. That includes the equipment used, their knowlegable and hard-working personnel, preparation beforehand, and making best use of the time afloat on the water.

Rented a raft from here and the service was awesome. Good people to deal with.

My adult son and I chose the Browns Canyon Half-Day rafting trip and were not disappointed. He had never rafted before, and my only experience was 30 years ago. This trip was easy with mostly gentle rapids. There were a few Class III rapids that made it thrilling and interesting. Hunter, our guide, was excellent and very skillful. He kept us from falling out of the boat a couple of times. It was a little chaotic upon arrival, because three different trips were leaving at the same time, but we eventually figured out what to do and where to go. We had a family with two rather young children (about 7 and 8) in our boat, and we all had a ball.

We did three things with AVA, their zipline, rock climbing, and a half day Browns Canyon trip.
The zipline was good, nothing special and certainly not worth the drive from Breck if that is all you were going to do. Again, don’t get me wrong, it was fun. But it’s no better than any other. So feel free to add it to a trip to make the drive more worth it but again don’t make a trip all the way out to Granite just for zipping. (I will say both of my kids are little and my son didn’t make it all the way on most of the lines and man the guides were awesome, quickly jumping out there to haul him in. Making it fun having him sing the Indiana Jones theme song while they rescued him. Great guides will be a theme throughout this review.
Next I’ll cover rock climbing. Our guide made the trip for us. I was a little worried because this was our first outdoor rock climbing experience but all four of us have done quite a bit of climbing indoors. My two fears were we’d go somewhere too difficult and slow another group down and not have any fun. Or the opposite, they’d have us climbing some stand up rock tower in the back yard. Our trip was perfect. The guide “Cate” quickly figured out the perfect spot for us it was so fun and challenging and honestly our climb was like a drug for me, I want to go again already. My kids are 7 and 9 and Cate just connected with them (and us) giving them the perfect amount of encouragement to not give up too easy, but also totally reading it perfectly when they were out of gas and just needed to come down. She was patient, and fun, and funny and we truly enjoyed our time with her. In fact when we came back the next day we saw her several times around the outpost and my kids would run up and hug her.
Finally I can;t say enough about the Browns Canyon raft trip. We did half day which was perfect for our kids. Long enough, but not too long. This was our third time river rafting but our first time with class 3. (Again with their ages the previous two trips over the last two years were just to get them out on the river and comfortable in a raft with very very little rapids if any.) Man, this one we had tons of action. The kind of action that was fun and exciting but felt safe to us for sure. Our guide (Jake) just rocked it, what a calm cool dude. I’d even say while the trip was amazing I was kind of dreading the 35+ minute drive with tired wet cold kids back to the outpost, but the guides on our bus made the time fly by chatting it up. What an interesting group of people. I’ll certainly do more trips with AVA the next time I come back. Everything ran like a well oiled machine, no surprises, no extra charges, everything was on time and ready.

I recently used AVA in Granite for outdoor activities for our vacation while driving through Colorado. From the time I found this company and booked activities until we were finished with our vacation they were absolutely awesome! From helping us find local resorts to stay at and book ahead of time to the activities and guides all of which were friendly, knowledgeable and awesome, AVA impressed me and gave myself(40), my daughter (10) and my father (60) the trip of a lifetime. We used AVA for white water rafting, zip-lining, beginner’s mountain climbing and finally a hot air balloon ride! AVA was helpful with directions, scheduling as some activities were off site. They were amazing and I would highly recommend them to anyone looking for outdoor activity fun all over Colorado! The Miranda’s

Took the ¾ day trip on 7/22. Erica was our captain. She was excellent. She handled everything our raft full of amateur rafters threw at her. The trip included all the rapids the full day trip hits but doesn’t stop for lunch. If the water was a little higher and crazier, I would give the trip 5 stars.

My friend and I needed to rental inflatable kayaks, wetsuits, helmets and life vests. The staff in Kremmling CO were extremely helpful. Though we knew what we were doing, they asked questions to make sure we were being safe and we understood the dangers of the rapids. They even gave us tips about parts of the Colorado river. Our adventure was wonderful!

As a family of 8, we enjoyed the AVA rafting, horseback riding and zip lining during July 4th week. We did them on separate days. The first day was rafting which was awesome. Matt was our guide and he was really good. Patient because we struggled to paddle in sync and he had to work overtime to guide the raft. The second day was zip lining in the morning and horseback riding in the afternoon. The zip line was fun and safe. James and Ben were our guides and they were great. They were informative and lots of fun which made the excursion fun for the kiddos. We drove into Buena Vista for lunch at the House Rock Café which is excellent. Afterwards, we drove to Mt. Princeton for the horseback ride. The ride was really cool. The views were awesome and the horses well behaved. Our guides, Kyle and Clint, were really good as well. Overall, all three excursions were really good.

We booked this trip with no idea what to expect. Our 11 year had a blast. Our guide, Hank and the others like Avery and Skunk were all very professional and knowledgeable about the River and the Canyons. We recommend that you wear quick dry clothing along with a wet suit and the splash jacket because you will get wet and the water is very cold during the summer. A full day of rafting is definitely worth the extra time and money. A half day would not be enough fun! The option to buy the pics is a great way to remember the fun since it’ll be hard to take pics while rafting. It may be worth splitting cost of pictures with the crew on your raft since one pic alone will cost about $25 as to where the entire album with about 17 pics will cost about $60.

The Zip lining was fun but the rafting was by far better. If you have zip lined before it’ll be pretty much the same, only difference is the scenery. Benji and the other guide were very professional, funny and very patient with the younger kids.

If you have never been horseback riding on the Rockies, it is well worth it. Verify your reservations with the stables the day before to make sure AVA sent the reservation because it is a 3rd party activity.

Cabins are nice if you are looking to “rough it out” I would not recommend for a family with small children, as there is no Wi-Fi connection, radio, and no TV. The beds do not have bedding, just a sleeping bag on a thin pad as a mattress and a flat pillow. You will be better off staying in a hotel in Buena Vista. Meals at the Granite outpost is not the best option for the amount of money they charge per meal. What they consider breakfast is a burrito stuffed with sausage and egg. Don’t expect pancake, waffles, bacon, biscuits, orange juice, etc. because there is no kitchen at the outpost. You will be better off eating in one of the local towns. There was one day were they ran out of food considering they take a head count before the guides are provided with the food to cook for the guests under a tent.

Overall, the entire staff was very nice and accommodating and for that reason we are looking forward to going back real soon. Very fun experience and we can’t wait to do it again! We were told by a “local” that it is cheaper to fly into the Colorado Springs airport rather than Denver International Airport. Shop wisely because there are over 50 rafting companies, big and small. The level of experience the guides at AVA have makes a huge difference and it shows when you’re on the river. Thanks Hank, Benji, Avery, Skunk and the rest of the gang for such a wonderful time!

Awesome staff, fair prices, good equipment.

The day could not have been better–and not just because of the fish caught! AVA is a first-class operation and our guide, Brian Baca, was truly one of the best fishing guides I’ve ever had the pleasure to fish with and learn from. We fished the stretch of river from Rancho del Rio to State Bridge by raft and were often the only ones around. The landscape is quintessential Colorado, which is to say views just plain make you feel lucky to be there.

We did a full day float trip out of Kremmling on the Colorado River. Last year we did a float trip in Costa Rica. This float trip was a bit different – Class II rapids at a couple points. I was drenched for most of the trip, although the water just seemed to have it out for me. Mark was our guide and did a great job. He provided lunch half way through the trip. Then we continued again. In the afternoon, the winds picked up. Mark said they were the worst winds he’s seen since working there. It took 5 of us paddling non-stop to keep from going up river. We would have been satisfied with only a half day. But the AVA staff were great. They were very friendly. Overall, it was quite an adventure, just a little different than we expected.

Arkansas River 1/2 day trip was a total blast! Our guide Bryce was fun but also very professional. He kept everyone on task in order to safely get trough the various rapids.

2 things to consider –
Water bottles were not provided and we only had two small ones rolling around in our car for four people. Not enough water for a 3 1/2 hour trip. We would have packed more had we been informed.
We left dogs home in the condo budgeting in our drive time from Breckenridge but were not aware that the bus time to the river was 25 minutes and the bus ride back was 45 minutes. Again, this would have been helpful information.

Our group did the AVA zip lining adventure near Buena Vista with 7 runs. This was my first time zip lining so it was a new experience and I had a very good time. The staff, Crystal, Kaitlyn, Hank & Kyle were excellent. They were very friendly and helpful. The runs are good with some different twists to them. The scenery was nice but it was cloudy and overcast the day we went. I don’t have anything else to compare this to but I would recommend it. The staff at AVA is great.