# Lower Canyons of the Rio Grande...



## afaust (Jun 14, 2010)

I used to run them every thanksgiving as a kid with my grandparents and uncles. All I remember is it was pretty and a lot of fun. I will pass on the number to one of my uncles and see if he can help you out.


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## catboatkeith (Jun 11, 2010)

Big Bend River Tours could give ya lots of beta


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## tony (Apr 19, 2004)

I did Boquillas canyon 3 years ago and was blown away. I wanted to do the lower canyons (below boquillas) but didnt have the time; it can take a week if I remember right. Here are some places to get started. 
The NPS site is pretty helpful
Big Bend National Park - Floating the Rio Grande (U.S. National Park Service)

I got my shuttle and rented a canoe from Desert sports
Mountain Biking, Rafting, Canoeing, Hiking in Big Bend, Texas | Desert Sports they were very helpful and the prices were reasonable. They came reccommended from a long time terlingua bum that I know. 

There are great guidebooks by Louis Albach here is the one for the lower canyons
Big Bend Book Store

If I remember the rapid ratings were geared twoards canoes so a class IV in this book is more like a class III or II+ on a colorado river. 
We went in the winter and had great weather. It is too hot to do in the summer. I remember standing naked on the beach on New years day was a really great feeling.

Lastly have a blast. PM me if you have any questions about the park permit or other logistics.


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## lackge (Nov 1, 2008)

Another excellent resource on the Lower Canyons is Marc McCord's website, Southwest Paddler. It has great descriptions, maps, and pictures.


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## Ikedub (May 30, 2008)

Check out this link: Lower Canyons of the Rio Grande 

I've heard it's a great trip. It's on my "sometime soon" list.


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## wildh2onriver (Jul 21, 2009)

I ran the lower canyons 5 years ago, a great trip and well worth the distance involved. We ran it in a super puma and I would not want to run it in anything larger at the low flows that we had. 

Pack light, watch out for human coyotes and drug runners (I saw a few right before the takeout), if you bring a gun--don't get caught with it on the Mexican side--you will go to a Mexican prison--unless of course you bring cash to bribe your way out. BTW, most of the camps are on the Mexican side.

Let me know if you need further beta.


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## TakemetotheRiver (Oct 4, 2007)

I am also considering a trip down there over Christmas. The USGS site only seems to have a flow gauge for Boquillas. Does anyone know of a good site for Mariscal or Santa Elena? The NPS link from SW Paddler isn't working. Thanks!


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## okieboater (Oct 19, 2004)

Here is where I go for Big Bend info, down load the pdf and it has a lot of good stuff, IE temps, river levels, other good stuff

Big Bend National Park - Daily Report (U.S. National Park Service)


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## okieboater (Oct 19, 2004)

I forgot to add that weather down there is subject to daily change as is water levels out of Mexico. Mexico supplies most of the Rio Grande Big Bend flow. US consumes most of the water way before it gets to Big Bend. Also Big Bend is more than just the Rio altho the Rio itself is about as neat as it gets. Drive up into the Chisos Mountains and you are in a different world. Be sure to keep your gas tank full and have a good spare tire. Was down there last year in December. Nice day on putin, that night a storm blew in around midnight with flash flooding then rain, sleet, snow temps in the single digits at night and we were in the tents all that day with wind gusts and driven sleet and snow making it impossible to do anything outside till late afternoon. Next day blue sky and warm but everything we had was iced up to the max and it was noonish before we could get loaded and back on the river. So, be prepared for most anything weather wise when spending any time in Big Bend. Awesome place to be!


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## cadster (May 1, 2005)

For Big Bend and the Lower Canyons you are boating the water coming from Mexico via the Conchos except for flash floods. You need 500 CFS to run the rapids in the Lower Canyons. This is Upper Madison at low flow:










The overall low gradient means the river can be boated lower if you don’t mind dragging at times and moving at your paddling speed. The flooding in 2009 did deepen the channel.


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## langtry (Dec 8, 2010)

*lower canyons*

Depending on what craft you're using, you can do the Lower Canyons as low as 75 CFS. right now the flow is around 200 CFS at La Linda, a little higher in Dryden. I run all the rapids in a small raft at levels above 150 CFS. Below 150, I can't get through the Madisons without climbing out of the boat in the steepest part of the drops, not recommended, especially since I then must lift the raft over rocks. My favorite time to make the run is christmas when the weather is cooler. People often race down to Dryden in five days but a longer trip is better, especially since the weather can change rapidly. I once saw an inch of snow at the put-in on April 4th but it can be above 80 degrees in December. I seldom take-out at Dryden because it's a logistical nightmare. Unfortunately, the better take-out, Langtry, is on private property. In a canoe you can go to the confluence with the Pecos, the best take-out since you can drive right to the water, but the river has no current from Langtry right now (23 miles). And that would make the total trip 160 miles. New government regulations prohibit camping on the Mexican side of the river. You're not even supposed to lunch on that side. Not sure if you'd ever find anyone out there to enforce the rules. The area does see smuggling but your odds of running across smugglers are low. I leave this Friday for a three week trip there (i think this is #37 on that stretch but I'd have to check the notes), but if you want to call before then and leave a message, I'll call you back. 956-523-0719


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## Preston H. (Jun 25, 2008)

Not sure I can add much to the great info above. I canoed that stretch in April of 2003 with two friends. We organized a shuttle with a guy on the American side at La Linda, right at the bridge, who ran a sort of guest ranch. Don't know if it's still there. If so, I highly recommend going. The guy had a ton of information on what was happening on the Mexican side, as he knew lots of people over there. Anyway, he brought our vehicle to Dryden on the day we were taking out. You don't want your vehicle just sitting around for days at a time. 

We took 9 days, which is really slow. That gave us plenty of time to check out abandoned homesteads, hot springs, and the terraced limestone hillsides (which are full of peyote, by the way). One of us was carrying when we were on the Mexican side, which was almost the entire time. Oh, and there were decent catfish in the deep pools. 

We laid over at one of the best hot springs, which was also a stopover for illegals. We spent an evening with a coyote purportedly named Jesus and the 10 guys he was leading through the desert. I can't do it justice with a short account; it was a memorable night. We ate together, sharing the fish I had caught, and we played the instruments we had brought with us. I'll never forget the constant requests for Elvis tunes, or the one guy who said in Spanish after we showed him Minute Rice in a bag, "my wife will never believe me when I tell her about this."

Anyways, I am sure things along the border there are different than they were 7 years ago. Get the skinny before you launch, and have a great time.


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## lncoop (Sep 10, 2010)

Preston H. said:


> Not sure I can add much to the great info above. I canoed that stretch in April of 2003 with two friends. We organized a shuttle with a guy on the American side at La Linda, right at the bridge, who ran a sort of guest ranch. Don't know if it's still there. If so, I highly recommend going. The guy had a ton of information on what was happening on the Mexican side, as he knew lots of people over there. Anyway, he brought our vehicle to Dryden on the day we were taking out. You don't want your vehicle just sitting around for days at a time.
> 
> We took 9 days, which is really slow. That gave us plenty of time to check out abandoned homesteads, hot springs, and the terraced limestone hillsides (which are full of peyote, by the way). One of us was carrying when we were on the Mexican side, which was almost the entire time. Oh, and there were decent catfish in the deep pools.
> 
> ...


If you have time and are so inclined I'd love to hear the long account. Sounds like an excellent story.


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## twmartin (Apr 3, 2007)

I did the trip in a canoe in 1997 with a friend who is commercial outfitter out of Maine. In a raft you could die of boredom and have serious portages around the larger rapids which the my buddy said never had enough flow to paddle in a canoe, let alone a raft. 

I was looking around the NPS Big Bend website the other day and there are now VERY serious Border Patrol restrictions on landing river right in Mexico. There are some questions whether the Border Patrol has the legal authority to limit the right of travel guaranteed in the Treay of Gualalupe Hidalgo. Your lawyer can address those after your bail hearing.

I would agree totally with the comments above that the best campsites are in Mexico and that anything other than a small raft woould be too big; that you do NOT want to leave your very stealable and choppable car anywhere near a takeout, pay a shuttle service to come and get you.

There was an article many many years ago in Canoe Magazine (probably before it was Canoe and Kayak, I am that old) about a trio of guys on the Rio Grande getting shot at from the Mexican side so you may want to being a weapon. However, I believe the NPS restricts them and they have management authority and the Mexican government is already really really pissed off at the US over firearms issues

Lastly, if you go in a canoe, bring a bent shaft paddle for the flatwater sections as they are long and bring a pole. Poling can be the best and most comfortable way to get across shallow water and standing up can be a nice break from sitting all day. To make an aluminum pole you can probably find directions online somewhere or get them from harry Rock who is the Chair of the ACA Poling Committee. I met him at the National Poling Championships years ago and he was a pretty nice guy.

I would not bring an OC playboat as the rapids don't require them and the flatwater stretches are too long.

Martin Brown of Sunrise International in Maine is a great guy and has been personally leading trips through the lower canyons for close to thirty years. Mike Patterson runs Wilds of Maine and he might be a good source of info. I think Sunrise will sell you a Logistics package for $70 or so bucks that could help if you are new to plannig trips. If you are an old salt at planning trips it would be a waste of money.

Have fun.


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## wildh2onriver (Jul 21, 2009)

The Lower Canyons are not part of the Parks system, so you can bring a firearm--just don't get caught in Mexico with it.

At lower flows the current disappears, so you will do a lot of rowing. The rapids are rock gardens--but doable in super pumas--with no portages at the level I ran it.


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## Paddle_like_Hell (Nov 2, 2010)

Hey Joe, this is Kyle. We met a while back at Tear Drop Falls (http://vimeo.com/14951262). Some of the Texas Crew and I spent Thanksgiving in Santa Elena Canyon. My first trip to Big Bend but I would highly recommend it. Feel free to call me if you don't get the beta you're looking for here. 

fiveone2-four6one-8three8six


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