Summer Season 2025 Memorial Day to Labor Day
Family Friendly Rafting in Farmington, NM. Join Desert River Guides on a trip down the Animas or the San Juan River!
What to Wear
Gear Up to Get Wet
Warm Weather 70+
- Hat (Ball cap sun hat or whatever you prefer)
- Sunglasses
- (with strap if expensive or prescription)
- Sun Shirt or other non-cotton T-shirt
- Swim Shorts or other quick dry bottom
- Sandals or old shoes that attach to feet
- Flip Flops fall off if you swim
Cool Weather >70
- All of the above but add or bring along the following:
- Mid-weight wool or fleece jacket
- Waterproof rain jacket
- Wool or synthetic pants
- Wool or synthetic socks
- No cotton on the river, if it gets wet it gets cold!
About Desert River Guides
Our Story
Established in May 2021, Desert River Guides provides family friendly rafting trips on the beautiful Animas and San Juan Rivers in Northwest New Mexico. Owners Ryan and Cody Dudgeon grew up in San Juan County. They met in the spring of 2003 and eventually moved to Durango, Colorado where they both enjoyed the outdoor recreation opportunities available. In 2007 Cody joined a guide school and fell in love with rafting. That spring Ryan graduated with her bachelor's degree in Archaeology from Fort Lewis College. Then it was time for the next adventure. The couple decided to move to Missoula, Montana where rafting went from a past time to a career. The incredible rivers of Montana and Idaho gave them the experience and confidence to eventually open an outfitting company when they moved back to Farmington. In 2020, with some encouragement from friends and family the couple began planning the opening of Desert River Guides to share their love and passion for rivers with the community and beyond. Please join them on an awesome raft trip on the Animas or San Juan Rivers.
What We Do
Desert River Guides offers a variety of trips on both rivers, with 1-hour joy rides, 2-hour adventures or longer full-day trips that come with lunch on the side of the river, we have something that will fit into anyone’s time and budget. We can also do custom trips and accommodate most special requests. We have done everything from evening floats with appetizers and a sunset takeout, to custom dinners at the park put-in and corporate events. We also do collaborations with 3 Rivers Brewing and Wines of the San Juan. Let us know what you would like to do and we will do our best to make it happen.
Whether you’re a local or a visitor, Desert River Guides offers a variety of trips, from short in-town floats to full-day adventures complete with lunch. For upcoming events and collaborations, check us out on Facebook and Instagram.
A Brief River History
The Animas and San Juan rivers, winding through the northwestern corner of the state, have long been lifelines for the people, cultures, and ecosystems of the region. The 2 rivers combined carry nearly 40% of the surface water in the state of New Mexico. The Animas River originates in the San Juan Mountains near Silverton, Colorado, flowing southward through beautiful canyons through Durango and into New Mexico, where it joins the larger San Juan River near Farmington. The San Juan river originates in the mountains above Pagosa Springs Colorado, eventually flowing through the Navajo Dam south of the Colorado border through sandstone bluffs and valleys to where the Animas river flows into it. After the confluence, The San Juan in turn, travels westward, eventually merging with the Colorado River at Lake Powell in Utah.
The story of the Animas and San Juan Rivers begins deep in geological time. The San Juan Mountains, where both rivers originate, are remnants of one of the largest volcanic fields in North America. Around 75 million years ago what is now the southwestern region of Colorado and Northwestern New Mexico were a part of the seafloor that covered much of what is now the southwestern United States. About 70 million years ago, a massive uplift of the seafloor began to push the basin into what are now the San Juan and surrounding mountain ranges forming a rugged landscape of high peaks and deep valleys. Over millions of years, erosion from wind, ice, and flowing water sculpted the mountains, carving out the valleys and canyons that guide these rivers today. The mineral-rich deposits left behind by these ancient eruptions later fueled mining booms in the 19th and 20th centuries, particularly in towns like Silverton and Durango.
As the Animas and San Juan Rivers cut through this dynamic landscape, they reveal layers of the Earth's history. In New Mexico, the San Juan River carves through ancient sandstone and shale formations, some dating back to the time when this region was covered by the vast inland sea. Fossils of marine creatures, dinosaurs, and petrified forests can still be found along the riverbanks, offering a glimpse into prehistoric life. Today, these rivers continue their slow but persistent work, shaping the land and providing water, life, and adventure to all who visit their banks.
The human story of these rivers begins long before modern maps. For centuries, the Ancestral Puebloans relied on the San Juan for irrigation and sustenance. Evidence of their sophisticated canal systems can still be found in places like Chaco Canyon and Aztec Ruins. Later, the Navajo, Ute, and other Indigenous groups made use of the rivers, incorporating them into their cultural and spiritual traditions.
With the arrival of Spanish explorers in the 16th century, the rivers took on new significance as routes for trade and settlement. By the 19th century, American expansion brought trappers, miners, and eventually large-scale irrigation projects, forever changing the landscape. Farmington was founded by Americans who had moved west in search of good farmland and trading opportunities. Originally surveyed in 1876 the city was placed on the peninsula between the confluence of the 2 rivers. Difficulty with trade in the spring as a result of high water led the founders of the city to reconsider and in the 1890s the downtown was moved north across the Animas to where it is today. The city was then able to grow and was incorporated in 1902. Agriculture in Farmington helped to feed the mining booms in the San Juan mountains in the early 1900s, and in particular, played a crucial role in the mining boom of Silverton, Colorado. However, that mining legacy also left environmental scars, as seen in events like the 2015 Gold King Mine spill, which sent toxic waste downstream.
Today, the Animas and San Juan Rivers remain vital to the region, supporting agriculture, recreation, and wildlife. Conservation efforts continue to balance economic needs with environmental protection, ensuring these rivers flow for generations to come.