AVA Colorado Rafting

431 Chicago Creek Rd, Idaho Springs, CO 80452, USA

Address:	431 Chicago Creek Rd, Idaho Springs, CO 80452, USA
Phone:	+1 970-423-7031
Site:	coloradorafting.net
Rating:	4.7
Working:	7AM–9PM 7AM–9PM 7AM–9PM 7AM–9PM 7AM–9PM 7AM–9PM 7AM–9PM

Location

Photos 100

Reviews 5

Amy Gipson

First, I would give AVA negative stars if Yelp allowed for it. AVA overbooked our white water rafting day for 8-8-2014. AVA did not admit that they overbooked their white water tours given the amount of tour guides staffed for the day. After our short safety meeting, the lead tour guide asked if any group was willing to be split up? Of course, no one jumped on that offer. Why would we? The lead tour guide said one of the boats may be a little overcrowded. A red flag should have gone up then when we were the unlucky boat they shoved NINE fully-grown adults. Nobody questioned AVA, because we thought AVA would have our best interest in mind. WRONG. It was completely unsafe the minute our raft hit the cold river. I have been white water rafting a handful of times with groups who have had a wide range of ability. I think its a great adventure, that obviously comes with risks. This float down the river was all wrong from the beginning; you could feel the boat spinning out of control on several occasions. The tour guide had to do extra work to keep our raft on the path. Our raft comes up on the first set of intense rapids (not even close to the halfway point), I believe AVA called the rapids "Dizzy Lizzy" Our raft nails a rock, which sent my 58-year-old mother flying. FLEW out of the raft. She didnt have a chance. Where was she sitting? In the very back by the tour guide. I wont go into the major details of watching my mom getting thrown against the rocks, trapped under our raft, and then tearfully asking the person who finally pulled her out of the water if my mom was even breathing. Good news: Mom makes it into another raft thanks to two strong gentlemen. The whole floating caravan pulls off, and AVA calls for a van to take our party back to the base camp. Our van driver hopped out of the van and asked us to "Hurry" Because she was supposed to be carrying a zip lining trip right this very minute, and picking up the injured was obviously not part of her schedule. Listen, this was not part of our schedule either. Van lady drops us off, and I get my mom in the womens locker room. By this point she is extremely cold, wet clothes, and nauseous from the rock beatings. Not ONE single living-breathing person at AVA checked on us. In fact, I had to BUY an over-priced shirt from their gift shop just to get my mom something warm and dry. Are you kidding me!? There was no manager present for my sister-in-law to talk to. No kind of hospitality. No worries, AVA. We couldnt get out of there fast enough, and Im not certain your hospitality (had it been offered) would have been welcomed at that point. How does it end? AVA offered half of our trip costs. After we asked for a full refund, because no one in our party even made it 1/3 of the way down the river. See ya never, AVA.

Deena H

We (family of four) booked our trip a week and a half in advance. The staff was friendly and helpful on the phone. Early booking allowed us time to complete the liability waivers in advance. I strongly recommend that you do this. It saves a lot of time so you can get started with your rafting experience. This was our first time rafting and we were in great hands. Ivan, our guide, was professional and really helped us to have the best experience possible. We all did our parts and stayed "in" the raft. The bbq lunch was wonderful and a great chance to dry off before taking off again. I recommend that you turn your water pullover inside out to dry it while you eat. I flipped ours to dry the insides and then turned them right side out to dry the outsides too. I definitely think this made putting it back on after lunch more enjoyable. -It was pretty chilly yet on June 19. We wore water shoes but wish we had worn water socks, as mentioned before, the water was really cold. At one point I couldnt tell if my foot was numb from the cold or from sticking it under the support on the raft to leverage myself. Looking back it was fun either way. The socks will be an addition the next time my family goes and yes, we will definitely do it again! Thank you AVA!

Jake Madole

Rafting is pretty fun in general. Our group of 10 payed in advance for a full day. Due to weather, it got pushed back a day and they could only offer us a half-day. Up to this point no issue. When on the bus to the rafting drop-off, they determined which people would be in each raft. My group was to be 5 and 5 per raft. We get there and they are a raft short and had to split of my party group into 3 groups. My friends flew from many states away, (Missouri/Florida) to raft with each other, only to find out we would not be together. Would have been better if they didnt tell us right before it would be 5 and 5. Anyway, I can get over that. What I cant get over is that we had to fight for only a partial refund. After many unanswered calls, voicemails, and emails, we finally recieved a portion of the refund. All in all, I feel personally robbed of money, and robbed of having a good time with my friends together. If you raft with these guys, I would advise to keep your group small to ensure you can at least be together, and also to check the weather to make sure theres no chance your date could be moved, and then miss out on a full refund. Hunter was a cool guide though.

Ariana Scurti

Rafting: My family and I had fantastic time on our AVA rafting trip. Our guide, Caleb, went above and beyond in making the adventure unforgettable. He was an absolute professional and made sure we were safe, happy, and enjoying ourselves the whole time! We would love to go back and raft with Caleb and certainly would recommend this trip to a friend. Via Ferrata: Sunshine and Emily were excellent guides on the Via Ferrata trip. They were incredibly patient and made sure we were safe at all times. My family and I had a fantastic time. We had the opportunity to climb, repel downwards, and zipline on this trip which created a completely unique experience. We would love to do this again and would recommend it to anyone who likes adventure!

Gregory Lewis

The Lewis Group were very well taken care of today..... My sister and her husband were in town to visit so we booked a 2 hour rafting trip with AVA. The entire experience exceeded our expectations. Caleb was our rafter leader and did an amazing job negotiating through very turbulent waters. He spent a large amount of time to discuss and demonstrate safety and the correct ways for paddling the boat and listening for commands. We never had any tip overs or lose anyone in the water like other rafts. He was cool, fun and the entire experience is one we will have to do again. Thank you so much for the safe and fun trip down the river. Next time lets do more rapids........ Thanks from Greg, Jayne , Melissa and Kevin.