Animas — 09. Purple Cliffs to State Line

The Purple Cliffs (aka Dallebeta Park) to the New Mexico State Line section of the Lower Animas River is a class I and II Section. It is easy read and run at all levels. At higher flows there are a few distinct features that could flip a raft. About 2.5 miles into the run the river makes a sharp turn to the right. Here the private property owners have embeded fish ladders to the bottom of the river that can form somewhat rententive holes at high flows. The run is straight down the middle. Aproximatley 14 miles down the river there is a low head dam. It can be recognized by a pumphouse on the river right bank parralell to the hydrolic. The dam is capable of flipping a fully loaded raft at high flows. Run through the tounge on river left. Keep in mind the river bank is entirely private property until the **New Mexico State line**, aproximatley **20 miles** from Purple Cliffs. The stretch can be done in 6-7 hours at flows greater than 4,000 cfs. Some comercial outfitters have permits which allows for partial runs of this section. If interested in viewing this river section prior to boating it privatley, or if you're not up for a full 6-18 hour day on the river, I suggest reaching out to Mild to Wild Rafting [here](https://mild2wildrafting.com/colorado-rafting/durango-rafting.html)