The Animas
The river starts in the San Juans, comes through Durango, and keeps going until it joins the San Juan. The Spanish name, Rio de las Animas, means the River of Souls. The whole run is about 125 miles. In town you can be on it a few minutes after breakfast.
The stretch people learn on is the lower river, including the town run: class II and III, with long calm pieces between the waves. Smelter, Santa Rita, and Sawmill are the named rapids on that piece. Late May and June ride higher because of snowmelt. July and August settle down, which is the easier window for a first trip. The upper river, toward Silverton, is class IV and V. That day is for people who already know how to swim a rapid.
Santa Rita, along the river in town, is a built whitewater park: a slalom course that holds a wave even when the river drops. It is for people who already paddle. Walk the bank and look at the line before you drop in. Kayaks and stand-up boards surf that wave. Beginners belong on the flat water above it, or on a guided raft.
Put-ins
These are the city accesses on the Animas, from Oxbow at the north end of town down to Dallabetta. The recreation center is the tubing launch. Schneider Park at 9th Street is the usual take-out.
- 1Oxbow Park. North end of town. Parking, a changing room, and a ramp for small boats.
- 233rd Street. A put-in with little parking.
- 329th Street at Memorial Park. The busy summer launch, with a beach and restrooms.
- 4Recreation Center. The tubing put-in. Parking is free for tubers, and there is a pump for tubes.
- 59th Street at Schneider Park. The usual tubing take-out.
- 6Santa Rita Park. The whitewater park. Walk the bank before you drop in.
- 7Cundiff Park. South of the whitewater park.
- 8High Bridge. The access at the U.S. 160 crossing.
- 9Dallabetta Park. The south end of the in-town accesses.
Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors.
On the river
Guided rafts cover both halves of the Animas. If you would rather steer yourself, shops on Camino del Rio rent rafts, kayaks, and boards. A common tube day starts at the recreation center, which will fill a tube, and ends at Schneider Park. Memorial Park, at 29th Street, is the other beach people launch from. Tubing is the plan when the river is under about 800 cubic feet per second. Higher than that, take a raft.
Fishing is open all year with a Colorado license. The trout are cutthroat, rainbow, brown, and brook, and some of the easiest access is right in town. Swimming happens off the river beaches too. Those beaches are not guarded. The current does not stop because the day is hot. Wear a life jacket on a board, a boat, or a tube, and a helmet if you are going through rapids. The water stays cold well into summer.
Lake Nighthorse
The Bureau of Reclamation built the reservoir as part of the Animas-La Plata project. The city runs the recreation on it. At full pool the water covers about 1,500 acres, inside a larger shore of about 5,500. It is the close flatwater: paddleboards, kayaks, a guarded swim beach in summer, and powerboats and pontoons once the motorized season opens.
For 2026 the peak window is June 1 through September 7, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Spring and fall shorten that, and some of those weeks are weekends only. The gate shuts for wildlife on November 16. Motorized boats begin May 15. Every one of them is inspected so mussels and other hitchhikers stay out of the lake. Fishing uses the same state license as the river, from age 16 up. County Road 210 is under construction during the 2026 season, so leave a little extra time on the drive in.
The pin is the entrance, where Lake Nighthorse Road meets the shore off County Road 210. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Farther water
Vallecito Lake is the calm one northeast of town, up the Florida valley. People paddle, swim, and rent a boat there, and Vallecito Creek above the lake is a short hike to a fly rod. Lemon Reservoir, on the way, holds trout and salmon and has a swim beach of its own.
If the day is a ski boat, Navajo Reservoir to the south and McPhee Reservoir west toward Dolores are the bigger motorized lakes. Both ask for the same kind of boat inspection Nighthorse does.
Who puts you on the water
- Lake Nighthorse1795 County Road 210 · (970) 375-7335The city runs the recreation area, about two miles from downtown. Roughly 1,500 acres when it is full. Swim beach, boat ramp, and fishing with a Colorado license. Motorboats start May 15 and get inspected on the way in. In peak summer the gate is 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. The lake closes for wildlife in mid-November.
- 4 Corners Riversports360 S Camino Del Rio #100 · (970) 259-3893Rentals on the riverbank in town, and a tent at Lake Nighthorse for paddleboards, kayaks, and a party board. They also rent rafts if you want the town run without a guide. The lake tent is (970) 946-6410.
- Mountain Waters Rafting303 W College Drive · (970) 259-4191Guided trips on the Animas since 1981. Family floats on the lower river, and harder water upstream for people who already paddle. Small boats, including inflatable kayaks.
- Durango Rivertrippers360 S Camino Del Rio #200 · (970) 259-0289Lower and upper Animas trips out of the same office since 1983, plus rivers farther out when the Animas is not the plan. Rafting can be paired with a jeep day.
- Mild to Wild50 Animas View Drive · (970) 247-4789A milder lower-Animas float and a wilder upper-river day, both leaving from their Durango yard. The season on the Animas generally runs May into October.
- Southwest FoilsDurango · (970) 759-6031E-foil lessons and rentals. The boards lift off the water, so this is the lake version of the day, not a river rapid.