Elk Mountain Expeditions

fly fishing for the first x!!! what a great ride down the river/​Matt is ez going, gave clear direction/​made it fun/​a real pro — def check EME out!!!

My family and I signed up for the morning tour on the inflatable kayaks in late August 2015. We had great guides! They were very knowledgable, helpful, and added comedy to our trip. We were also fortunate to have the guides to ourselves that morning. Elk Mountain Expeditions picked us up close to our lodging, drove us to the river, and provided everything we needed to stay warm and comfortable on the water: wetsuits, river booties, splash jackets, personal floatation devices and helmets. After they provided beverages and yummy snacks. I will definitely recommend them to family and friends and hopefully visit them in Aspen again next Summer.

Visiting Aspen with a party of 21. The Whole Elk Mountain crew was unbelievable! From the Pick up to the rafting experience to the laid back lunch was seamless and fun. The whole crew was perfectly professional and down to earth. Great experience for anyone visiting the area.

My brother and I had a fabulous time. The guys were super fun, friendly, kept us safe and showed us some adventure on the river! I would absolutely go again with Elk Mountain!

Awesome company. All the guides were very professional and informative. We had Delpho as our guide and he was amazing. The rafting was very organized and everything ran smoothly. We had such an awesome experience with them we’re thinking of doing a class 4 with them when we go back to Aspen. I would definitely recommend them.

We had a fantastic time! Delfo was our guide and his knowledge, experience, and witty remarks were top notch. This group puts a quality over quantity trip together and as the customer I appreciated that. I would highly recommend Elk Mountain Expeditions to anyone planning a trip to Aspen.

I have never done white water rafting before and was apprehensive doing class III rapids. Carrie from the EME assured me on the phone and by email that it would be no issue. And the truth was, it was really a breeze. In fact, I wondered if ‘Delfo’ our guide had taken us on a ‘safer’ ride on the rapids and he assured me that it was not so! The EME team picked us from Snowmass Viceroy in their bus/​van and drove us to the starting point on middle Roaring Fork river. They provided us with wetsuits, water shoes and helmets. We paddled to the lower Fork through Basalt and the EME van was ready to pick us with snacks, water and soft drinks at hand. About 90 mins on the rapids, I am told (time flies!). Delfo provided the river and other info as we paddled along. He did most of the work (we had 3 adults and 3 children on the raft) and we paddled when we came to a rapid and when he guided us with instructions. The other team member who drove the bus took the pictures from vantage points from the shore. I only wish they had a long zoom camera, for other than the shore picture the rest were all long shots which did not capture a closeup of the team in action. They linked the pictures to photobucket and sent the link to us within a day. Overall– good communication, friendly staff, small family /​friends owned business… only wish for better pictures :) !

This review is long overdue:
I have been rafting with many different companies throughout my life, and I can honestly say that Elk Mountain is by far the most well organized and professional outfit I have ever had the pleasure of rafting with. Lang, Kevin, Connor and the entire crew are very experienced, knowledgeable, and they all have an excellent sense of humor.
This last June, we had a large group with varying levels of experience and comfort, and the guides made us feel right at home. They got everyone outfitted with the right equipment (no loose fitting vests or wet suits here), conducted a thorough safety talk, and before we knew it, we were on the river paddling away. Our guide, Kevin, was always in control of the boat, minding the changing weather and river patterns, and he was an excellent tour guide to boot.
We had a blast! The water was very high so there were a ton of waves and big splashes to be had by all. After a few hours on the river, we pulled out and were immediately greeted by a bus full of dry towels, fresh cookies and cold beer. That’s some good clean family fun right thar, tell you huwhut!
Overall, it was an incredible experience and I would certainly travel with these guys again. If you are in the Aspen area and looking for a great rafting experience, look up Elk Mountain Expeditions! Thanks again guys!

We had an amazing trip on the Arkansas River with the Elk Mountain guides. We started the morning with a beautiful drive over Independence Pass, where our guides pointed out interesting sights along the way. We very much enjoyed the rafting adventure. Our wetsuits and gear were like new and kept us warm, and our guide, Casey, did a great job navigating the river. We had an opportunity to swim on a quiet part of the river, and overall the rafting trip was very enjoyable. After rafting, our guides prepared a wonderful picnic for us, and then we had a pleasant drive back to Aspen. I would highly recommend this group for your rafting adventure. We will use them again if we return to Aspen!

Thank you to James our guide, and to the crew for the most fun and memorable rafting trip ever! Can’t wait to come back to Aspen and do it again. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and felt extremely safe the entire time. Professional team from the moment we booked, through to the displayed pictures of our raft trip on the bus ride back. Highly recommend Elk Mountain Expeditions for a good time and great adventure!

We went on slaughterhouse and had an incredible time. The guides were amazing and had a blast thank you!

Amazing guides and an amazing trip! Our whole party (of 8) loved it and would go back with this group in a heartbeat. Look no further, you found your thrill in Aspen.

Excellent group of gentlemen– we had two kids (6&8) with us and we were safe and secure the whole time.

My Grandson Andrew C, 11 yrs, says:
«It was fun! Conor taught me how to cast and fish and he never got mad like a lot of people would. I like fishing and I caught a big brown trout. In the boat he was a really good rower and no one got wet except me nod I liked it. The water was high and we went really fast. It was a fun day!»

We had a big group go out on the Roaring Fork and these guys were fantastic! Three important things: 1. Easy to get to/​from 2. Safe 3. Fun
The guys picked up our group in the mini bus and took us straight to the drop in point on the river. After a thorough safety instructions talk from one of the guides Kevin, we all got in the wet suits, water socks, and life vests provided by EME and it was on to the fun stuff. Our guide Casey was super knowledgeable and we had a blast on the river, always felt totally safe and secure while charging some rapids! Spent a little over an hour on the river and then to top it all off, there was soda, water, beer, and cookies waiting for us on the bus ride home (how can you not love that?). These guys also had a photographer out there and you can see the pictures uploaded on the bus ride back to your house/​hotel which I thought was a cool touch.
Overall it was a great experience and these guys really went above and beyond. Will definitely be coming back for another go around next time I’m out there.

June rafting trip during what appeared to be the high-​water moment in June. Excellent pre-​trip safety talk, and outstanding trip on the river. We went about 7 miles in just over an hour, with plenty of excitement and adrenaline flowing – but I felt entirely safe and in control the whole time. The staff is friendly and funny and accessible.

This was my first opportunity to go white water rafting. We had a mixed group of individuals experience and James did a great job of getting us all safely through the trip and making it extremely enjoyable.
Would highly recommend them to any friends or family where they in the area. Will be sure to use them again in the future

My friends and I did the intermediate river raft with Wade as our guide, he was above and beyond our expectations a 5 star adventure. Lots of knowledge from the staff calls for a safer and exciting trip. !!!

Great guides. Owner/​principle takes great care. We had a great experience on slaughterhouse falls last Sumer when the water was still pretty rough. I had rafted before and this was the most thorough introduction and safety coaching I have ever had.

Our family of 6 (ages 74 to 12) ran the Upper Roaring Fork with 4 of us in a raft with James and 2 in the «duckies» with Langley. They are very professional, capable and lots of fun. We’ve gone rafting with other outfitters and Elk Mountain Expeditions has the best equipment and are very safety oriented, plus lots of exciting experiences. You can’t do better!