About Santa Fe

Since 1980, New Mexico's top river outfitter. Serving all of northern New Mexico and headquartered on the Rio Grande river between Santa Fe and Taos, we offer family-friendly trips from the mildest to the wildest, in spectacular settings.

Our Trips
New Wave Rafting Company offers half-day, full-day and multi-day rafting and funyaking trips on the Rio Grande and Rio Chama rivers, for all ages and skill levels, every day of the week, from mid-April through the end of August.

Our Rivers
“Wild and Scenic” describes the Rio Grande and Rio Chama rivers of northern New Mexico. The Rio Grande thunders in the depths of a precipitous gorge, with wild rapids boxed in by sheer cliffs, while the Rio Chama flows more sedately through a canyon of multi-hued sandstone cliffs and stands of tall Ponderosa pine.

You Participate by Paddling
Your guide teaches you how and coordinates the crew's efforts. With New Wave YOU are an essential part of the rafting action.

Our Guides are the Greatest
Good-humored, responsible, dedicated to the outdoor life. They have received the best training on the river and SAFETY is their top priority.

Equipment Counts
We use larger self-bailing rafts on the harder/high water runs. They are safer and drier. For late summer we pull out our sport fleet-smaller boats and funyaks that make threading the low water rock gardens big fun! New Wave provides you with the best boat for the job.

Great Food
Robust meals, including our lavish all-you-can-eat lunch buffet, are standard operating procedure.

Protective Gear
We want you to be comfortable. On the Taos Box, we offer you wet suits, booties, rain gear and even gloves! Raingear (tops and bottoms) is also provided on all other trips.

Action Photo Sequences
Pictures are taken on all Rio Grande trips by the photographers of Southern Exposure. When you've had a great time, it's great to have photos to remember it by. To view your Southern Exposure action sequence (click here).

You're Special
We wouldn't be on the river without you. We appreciate our guests and love our work. We don't take you for granted.