Embudo Creek, New Mexico, US

Near Rio Lucio to Hwy 75

Slots of Fun

Slots of Fun
Photo of Will Rawstron by Roy Hovland taken 05/16/04 @ 3.2 "Medium"

Gauge Information

River Description

Embudo means "funnel" in Spanish, and this river certainly lives up to its name! Shortly after it is formed (at the confluence of the Rio Pueblo and Rio Santa Barbara), it plunges into a narrow granite gorge which contains 5 miles of continuous Class V to V+. This is old-school creeking; not really any big vertical drops to run, but extremely continuous rapids with big hydraulics. High-water runs are hectic, and there will be extended sections without being able to eddy out. In general the rapids are very clean, smooth, water-polished granite drops. There are very few strainers and sieves, so the primary danger is flush drowning.

This is an isolated area with an Indian reservation near the put-in and a conservative Hispanic community near the takeout. They don't like boaters or outsiders, period. Harassment in the past has included throwing kayaks into the rapids while you're scouting, firing shots off in your direction, and vandalizing your car. This usually has been the result of out-of-state boaters driving through town at 60 mph with a stack of boats on the roof; Can you say "easy target?" It's best to drive slowly in this area, be respectful, and keep a low profile. If you do that, you probably will have no problems.

Check out pics of Rio Embudo (and many other Central Rockies classics) taken at Low and Medium water levels.

To get there:
Do not park at the highway bridge takeout (as described in Colorado Rivers and Creeks, II).
The "arroyo" takeout is the preferred takeout.
Check newmexicoh2o.com for details on the put-in/take-out; They are difficult to find.

The reaches of the Taos Box area are: