Timberline Tours

Specialties

Timberline Tours is the Vail-area’s largest and most experienced outfitter. We offer guided whitewater rafting adventures, SUP trips, and jeep tours to Vail, Colorado visitors, locals, families, and corporate groups. With the best equipment and a team that’s famous worldwide for its extraordinary skills and service, Timberline Tours consistently sets the standard for safety and fun on the water and in the mountains.

With Timberline Tours, you’ll benefit from the knowledge and experience we have as one of the oldest whitewater rafting and jeep tour outfitters in Colorado. We’ve pioneered many of the rivers we run, and we’re the Vail area’s adventure experts. Our senior staff averages more than 15 years guiding on rivers around the world.

Timberline Tours owns and operates three boathouses in Colorado, and they’re each conveniently located near our whitewater rafting adventures throughout the region. You’ll pass through our beautiful headquarters boathouse in Eagle on the way to your whitewater rafting trip on the Colorado River, while our Minturn boathouse will put you right in the seat of adventure on the Eagle River. Our rustic boathouse in Granite is a stone’s throw away from the Arkansas River and its classic Colorado whitewater rafting adventures including The Numbers and Brown’s Canyon.

History

Established in 1971.

Originally a backcountry ski guide service based in Vail, Colorado, Timberline Tours now offers guided whitewater rafting adventures, jeep tours, and stand-​up paddleboard (SUP) trips for visitors to the Vail area and beyond. Timberline Tours has expanded to include a staff of more than 50 whitewater rafting and jeep tour guides and administrative staff. Whitew

Timberline Tours is proud of its rich whitewater racing history, with several previous guides racing on the U.S. Women’s and Men’s Whitewater Raft Teams. Whitewater rafting competitions usually involve several events throughout the summer season with a national event held every year, either in the spring or fall, to determine the U.S. Team for the following season. The training, experience, and inspiration of the Timberline guides who competed internationally as members of the U.S. Raft Team has added to the expertise of current Timberline Tours guides and fostered a proud legacy that will be remembered for years to come.

Meet the Business Owner

Greg K.

Business Owner

Timberline Tours owner Greg Kelchner founded Timberline Tours in 1971 under the name Timberline Ski and Mountaineering as a guide service for the town of Vail, Colorado. His other exciting accomplishments include directing the outdoor education program at Colorado Mountain College from its beginnings and opening the first mountaineering and backpacking store in Vail in 1973. Greg was also the first permitted guide to lead overnight cross-​country ski tours in Yellowstone National Park. As Vail has grown over the years, so has Timberline Tours and Greg’s impact as a commercial rafting expert and an industry spokesman.