Taos Box

Upper Gorge, Rio Grande Wild and Scenic River · Class III–V · NM

Season

Open year-round, though winter conditions can be severe

Character

A 15-mile, six-to-eight-hour run through a deep basalt gorge in northern New Mexico, with Class III to V whitewater.

Watch for

The BLM says the Taos Box requires expert boating skills and prior familiarization with the area. Commercial trips must use a permitted outfitter.

Gauge

USGS 08276500
Rio Grande below Taos Junction Bridge near Taos
No reading in the Oct 22, 2026 snapshot.
A gauge at the lower end of the gorge. Flows are unpredictable, so check with the BLM too.

Permit

No permit

No permit for private boaters. Day-use and camping fees may apply at the recreation areas.

Official page

Fees and rules

By launching, private boaters agree to the terms of a Recreational Use Permit and must carry the required equipment, including a US Coast Guard-approved life jacket under the New Mexico BOAT Act. Commercial trips must go through a BLM-permitted outfitter. Some launch and access sites charge day-use fees, and parking and camping fees apply at the Wild Rivers and Orilla Verde Recreation Areas. The Ute Mountain section needs an advance reservation through the Taos Field Office River Program (575-758-4768), with one launch per day.

Source: BLM Rio Grande Wild and Scenic River page. The page lists two different phone numbers for the Taos office (575-758-4766 and 575-758-4768).

Snowpack

Rio Grande (Colorado and northern New Mexico)Early seasonSnowmelt + dams

Snow water equivalent 2.0 in. Early season — median too low for a meaningful %.

Snowmelt and dams: Rio Grande Reservoir and San Luis Valley irrigation diversions. Snowmelt drives the spring peak, but reservoir releases and diversions change flows, especially from midsummer on. Rio Grande Reservoir, high in the San Juans, stores runoff above Wagon Wheel Gap. Below Del Norte, San Luis Valley canals take most of the river in spring and summer. Under the 1938 Rio Grande Compact Colorado owes roughly a quarter of the year's flow to New Mexico but need not send it during rafting season, so the Taos Box can run very low in summer even after a good winter.

• Rio Grande Reservoir: 66% full (33,702 of 51,000 acre-feet, Nov 2). End of October: 331% of median.
• Platoro Reservoir: 55% full (32,815 of 60,000 acre-feet, Nov 2). End of October: 180% of median.

Bureau of Reclamation storage via NRCS, provisional. Median is for the end of that month.

Outlook indicator, not a flow forecast. Spring temperatures, rain, soil moisture, dust on snow and reservoir releases also matter. NRCS SNOTEL data as of Nov 2, 2026 (provisional).

See basin snowpack

Draft details for paddlers to review and edit. Community voting on runnable ranges is coming.