Kayaking Rio Grande

[naturlvr]

We are bringing our kayaks with us this year to to BB. We plan on staying 5 days at BBRSP and then 4 at cottonwood and 7 at BB. We plan on doing the boomerang trip in santa elana caynon but are looking for a few other day trips to do. You are the experts..what would you recemend? we don't want to go broke paying shuttles, but want to experience the beauty of floating the river.

[bjbriggs]

Your should do Mariscal Canyon it neat....

[naturlvr]

Your should do Mariscal Canyon it neat....

how long of a float and any idea of shuttle costs

[bjbriggs]

Your should do Mariscal Canyon it neat....

how long of a float and any idea of shuttle costs

It would be a 1 day float from Tally to Solis, the shuttle cost are expensive if you don't use your vehicle and you would need a 4-wheel drive. Get someone to let you off than wait to pick you up... You would have to call the people who do river shuttles.

[txhiker]

Here is the cheap option:

Reserve a night at Solis 3 or 4, wake up pre dawn or the night before (better) and stash the kayaks at Talley 3 or 4. Drive back to Solis and hike the 10.3 miles to the kayaks using cross canyon trail and mariscal canyon rim trail. Then just float back to your camp. This works if you are fast hikers only of course and when you go, the later the date, the more sunlight and also the higher the temp of course. You also need a high clearance vehicle. You also need to be ok stashing the kayaks for a day/overnight. If you go in early March you'll have almost 12 hours or light. It will take you about 5-6 hours at a fast pace to hike to the kayaks and you'll have another 6 to float back to your site.

I've never done this but I was speaking to a woman while soaking at the hot springs and was I mentioning that next time I was going to bring my canoe and she suggested I do this trip, so it is on my to do list for next time. 

David

[naturlvr]

We have a 4 wheel drive jeep....Talley to Sollis sounds like a good float, any other we should try and do?

[aggiehiker]

Colorado Canyon just upriver from the park is beautiful. If you can get a shuttle at Stillwell's, you can do Temple Canyon from La Linda to a take-out on the Black Gap Wilderness area. But, if it's hunting season, it will be closed. You can launch from the Hot Springs and paddle down to the entrance of Boquillas and paddle back. There may be a few gravel bars to walk over, but it's a good paddle and you get to experience the canyon.

[DJ]

Here is the cheap option:

Reserve a night at Solis 3 or 4, wake up pre dawn or the night before (better) and stash the kayaks at Talley 3 or 4. Drive back to Solis and hike the 10.3 miles to the kayaks using cross canyon trail and mariscal canyon rim trail. Then just float back to your camp. This works if you are fast hikers only of course and when you go, the later the date, the more sunlight and also the higher the temp of course. You also need a high clearance vehicle. You also need to be ok stashing the kayaks for a day/overnight. If you go in early March you'll have almost 12 hours or light. It will take you about 5-6 hours at a fast pace to hike to the kayaks and you'll have another 6 to float back to your site.

I've never done this but I was speaking to a woman while soaking at the hot springs and was I mentioning that next time I was going to bring my canoe and she suggested I do this trip, so it is on my to do list for next time.  

David

I just made a trip similar to this but made it a two day trip instead of one day. A one day trip is doable. I hiked Cross Canyon/Mariscal Rim trails from Solis to Talley in 6 hours. I floated Mariscal Canyon in 5 hours. As long as you have 11 hours of daylight, this trip would work, but everything would have to work perfect. Or, like me, you can break the trip into two days which gives you some time to relax and enjoy. I posted a trip report a few days ago if you want to see some details and pictures.

I think the Mariscal Rim Trial would be brutal in the hotter months so this trip should be late fall/winter/early spring.

For the record, Solis 3 & 4 no longer exist...washed away in the 2008 floods. I stayed at Solis 2 which is 1.1 miles from the river.

DJ

[Schooler]

Mariscal is a great canyon and I like the idea about hiking the shuttle however I would NOT leave my gear anywhere.  Things can get stolen anywhere, by anyone of any nationality. I live in the ghost town, I don't even have a lock on my house door, but when I go into the park I lock my truck doors.  If it were me, I would not risk my boating gear to save some bucks on the shuttle.

The canyons:
Colorado canyon is in the state park, easy access, cheapest and easiest shuttle, could be a 1 day trip or go all the way to lajitas for another day,  right now the water is too low for rafts so you wont see any commercial traffic and CC has the most rapids!

Santa Elena is incredibly impressive, cold this time of year, especially if you are walking in the water upstream, the most commercial but the best overnight.

Boquillas canyon is long, open, beautiful, you probably wont see anyone out there, but it is a loooooong shuttle back to town and at least a 3 day trip.

Mariscal canyon is THE BIG BEND, it is the most remote, you will most likely not see another soul there but again it is a loooooong shuttle on a dirt road and a short canyon.  (Not that there is anything wrong with this canyon but this is the one that people usually do after they have done everything else just because it is a pain in the butt for the shuttle)

Temple canyon: save it for later, you have so much to see so much closer!

If you are going to pay for a shuttle, anything in the state park will be the cheapest because the road pretty much follows the river.  2 hours at most (out and back) The outfitters charge $50/hr for their shuttle which is pretty steep.  You can find a local who will do it for cheaper by asking around at the porch or at a bar the night before.  If you don't find anyone, just hitchhike.  1 person stays with the gear and the other grabs the car.  You could start about 20 miles upstream of lajitas and float all the way there and make it a 2 day.  With this trip you would have about 8 miles of canyon (colorado canyon) and the rest is open desert.

Option 2: Santa Elena 2 day.  The total shuttle (drop off and pick up) is a solid 3 hours but this is a great 2 day, 21 mile trip in the national park.  My advice again is to find a local to run the shuttle for you.

[Al]

Schooler, excellent post! One minor correction.  Boquillas Canyon is two days of canoeing/kayaking with an overnight stay near "Rabbit Ears" BUT a much more enjoyable trip over three or four days which allows for day hikes into the del Carmens or just hanging by the river in a beautiful and remote area.

Al

[Al]

I'd love to know if this "sand bar" is still just beyond Rabbit Ears after the floods a couple of years ago:



Al

[Al]

You can hike up from the sand bar and get a decent el Pico shot from an unusual angle:



Al

[Schooler]

I'd love to know if this "sand bar" is still just beyond Rabbit Ears after the floods a couple of years ago:



Al

It is.  However, that is on the Mexican side which is now off limits.  The most wonderful side canyon behind it is also off limits.  (This is Boquillas Canyon btw for any one wondering)

[Al]

So they have changed the rules yet again?  Must be fairly recent. If you can't camp on the Mexican side then I'll wait until they change back yet again.

Al

[homerboy2u]

It is.  However, that is on the Mexican side which is now off limits.  The most wonderful side canyon behind it is also off limits.

 By who?...Who is enforcing the off limits rule, on the Mexican side?.