Halstead First Mennonite Church Youth Outing

Quiet Waters Paddling welcomes the youth of The First Mennonite Church of Halstead, Kansas for an afternoon exploration of the Bosque!

Just a half-mile or so below the put-in in Bernalillo, the Rio passes the northern boundary of the Sandia pueblo on the east bank, then continues past densely forested cottonwood Bosque for several miles, with occasional views of several beautiful, riverfront homes on the west bank. A short, Class II rapid just north of Corrales defines the end of any development until the takeout approximately three hours further downstream.

As the Rio Grande proceeds south through Corrales, the river widens and slows considerably, braiding into multiple channels as it meanders through seemingly endless cottonwood Bosque. Although this trip is quite close to the sprawling development of greater Albuquerque, the participants will not see any of it, as the east bank is dominated by the Sandia Pueblo lands, while the west bank is entirely protected Bosque preserve until the return to civilization at the take-out at the Alameda bridge. The last couple of miles features a definite wetlands feel, with small channels 30 – 40 feet in width winding through numerous small islands.

Waterfowl are plentiful in this section, and the views and sense of solitude are nothing short of remarkable. This is a very mellow float trip with few sections of fast moving water. Approximately four hours of “river time”.