Riverside Cruisin': Mixed Group Tour

Pricing

Solo - $110 Small Group (2-3) - $80/person Large Group (4-6) - $75/person

Duration

2-3 hours

About

In a town full of gnarly adventurists, some of us just want a cruisy pedal next to the river with a stop for ice cream. Is that too much to ask for? Not in our book! This tour is made for easy pedaling and taking in the sights. We will start South of town on the paved Animas River Trail and make our way upstream to the Northern end of the trail at Oxbow Park & Preserve. Oxbow is a beautiful little spot to enjoy some snacks, take in the beauty, and soak our feet in the river before we head back down. We’ve got gravity on our side as we pedal our way back down, flowing with the river back to where we started; stopping for some of Durango’s premier organic ice cream (vegan options available) downtown before we finish our ride back to the starting point! This is our easiest biking tour, and recommended to anyone looking for a cruisy ride or who may be newer to biking. All of our guides are longtime bicyclists, who can help adjust your bike to be more comfortable or fix a flat tire on the fly. They are trained in wilderness medicine (WFR certified) and have your safety as their number one priority from start to finish, with the size of your smile as a close second!

Additional Tour Details

The Animas River Trail is an iconic Durango experience. You will find locals of all ages and abilities utilizing sections of this trail to get some movement in and enjoy the sights and sounds of the river. It’s a relatively flat, paved trail, no big hills, but it does have a slight incline most the way when headed North, and a slight decline most the way back South. It gets a little bumpy and rough in spots, but overall it is a nice paved trail. If booking as a Private tour, this tour becomes customizable as well. We can start further North or South on the trail to make it a longer or shorter ride. The usual ride is about 10 miles in total; 5 miles upstream and 5 miles back downstream with a stop at a wonderful, local organic ice cream shop (delicious vegan options available). We can turn around before the park as well, if your group is feeling those calf muscles! It’s totally up to you! Feel free to bring your own bike if you have it with you, otherwise we partner with 2nd Avenue Sports for all of our rental needs at a very reasonable price (not included in the tour price, see additional bike rental rates above). They will have the right bike adjusted to your height and weight ahead of time, and Meraki will pick up the bikes and helmets before the tour. Please do not hesitate to call or email us with any questions before booking this tour. We are happy to answer all of your questions and make sure you end up on the best tour that fits your group’s desires and abilities!

Location

Animas River Trail in Durango, with a stop downtown for ice cream at Cream Bean Berry. Paved multi-use trail, with some bumpy sections, but overall good quality trail. The trail is around 6,500ft in elevation, which for many traveling from out of town is great for acclimatization compared to the high elevation trails around 10,000ft! This makes for a great adventure day earlier on in your trip before you go exploring in the big mountains nearby.

What’s Included

• Use of our Osprey Daylite Plus backpacks (20L volume)
• Snacks: Guides will provide a variety of snacks for guests to pack into their daypacks at the trailhead if they would like.
• Transportation to and from your lodging (within 5 miles of Durango’s city center) or an established meeting location
• Pick-up and drop-off of your rental bike and helmet from 2nd Ave Sports.
• An ice cream of your choosing from Cream Bean Berry
• A medically trained and well-experienced biking guide, aware of local dangers and how to mitigate them, who is excited to share their passion for the outdoors with you; as well as their favorite places to eat in town!

What's Not Included

• The cost to rent a bike; which is an additional $25-40.
• Rain jacket and a variety of layers
• Appropriate footwear
• Lodging
• Personalized Snacks
• Trip and Medical Insurance
• Water bottles/water badders (ability to carry 1 liter is required)
• Guide Gratuity

Transportation/Pick-Up Locations

Meraki guides are happy to pick you up from your place of lodging, as long as it is within 5 miles of Durango’s city center. If you are staying farther outside of town we will establish a spot to meet and transport you from there, or we can meet at the. If you are booking a “Mixed Group Tour”, please recognize your guide will be making multiple stops to pick up and drop off guests. Please be on time with your set pick up time to avoid delaying the entire tour. Guides will drop off guests in the order that makes the most sense to them.

FAQs

• Do I need to have good physical fitness to do this tour? You do not need to be in ‘good physical fitness’ to do this tour. This tour is highly modifiable and your guide will do their best to create an experience that matches your level of fitness and desires. For this reason and others, it is very important that you fill out the health profile section of the Registration Form with complete accuracy. Not doing so may put yourself, others in the group, and/or the guide at risk of serious injury or even death. Please provide all pertinent health information and let us design a tour that fits you well. You just need to have enough physical fitness to carry a light backpack and bike for the duration of the tour, with multiple breaks along the way.

• Is there a minimum age required to do this tour? There is not a minimum age to do this tour. If you are planning to bring your little ones who may bike much slower and need more breaks than your average adult, please book a private tour and your guide will be happy to move at the pace of your family’s needs. If you are not booking a private tour, we ask that all guests are at least 5 years old and are able to bike for the entire duration of the tour. Please reach out to us if you have any questions or concerns about the appropriateness of bringing your child. Any guest under the age of 18 needs to be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian.

• How does tipping work with these tours? Guides put a lot of work into preparing your tour, running it safely, and doing their best to make your smile large and send you home with great memories; and then clean and store gear. Gratuity is not expected, but it is greatly appreciated. If you thought your guide did a great job keeping you safe, teaching you about the area and accommodating your needs, gratuities usually range between 15-20% of the tour price.

What to Bring

• Rain Jacket (even if the weather calls for pure sunshine, that isn’t always accurate and it can change quickly here)
• A variety of clothing layers to adjust to speed of movement and varying weather conditions that will likely occur. Athletic clothing is preferred.
• A hat to protect from the intense Colorado sun
• Sunglasses
• Long sleeve sunshirt (not required, but definitely recommended for this environment)
• Sunscreen
• Your all-time favorite trail snacks
• 1-2 liters of water. (We will have a large water jug in the vehicle to top up water bottles at the trailhead.)
• Appropriate footwear: Flip-flops are really the only footwear we do not recommend on this tour. Anything else will do just fine for this cruisy town ride.