WinterWonderGrass Has Created a Bluegrass Whitewater Journey

There have been drive-in concerts, concerts on trucks, and concerts off balconies. Now, there's a white-water music festival.

By Jon Solomon

June 16, 2020

Courtesy of Adrift Dinosaur

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Music lovers are going out of their way to make sure concerts happen in this era of social distancing. There have been drive-in concerts, concerts on trucks and concerts off balconies. Now there's a whitewater music festival.

While this year's WinterWonderGrass happened in Steamboat Springs a few weeks before many of the country's live-music venues were shut down over COVID-19, the bluegrass festival organizers had to postpone other events in California and Vermont until early 2021.

With those events canceled, WinterWonderGrass teamed up with Adrift Dinosaur, a forty-year-old rafting company, for RiverWonderGrass, a four-day, 44-mile journey that goes from the Gates of Lodore, located on the northern tip of Dinosaur National Monument in Colorado, through the canyon to Split Mountain, Utah.

RiverWonderGrass's maiden voyage takes place August 28 with members of the Steamboat Springs band Buffalo Commons.

“I have long dreamed of sharing the mystical and rejuvenating powers of an overnight river trip, and I'm happy to announce that that time is now," says WinterWonderGrass founder Scott Stoughton. "Float and paddle the majestic Gates of Lodore through Dinosaur National Monument and completely unravel. These trips offer an opportunity to shed the stresses, removing the phones, social media, and media bombardment of our daily lives and return us to what is real. The transformation starts with the first paddle stroke and evolves day after day. This is a journey that will return you more spiritually and emotionally satiated, physically alive, and mentally clear. See you on the river!”

The trip can accommodate up to twenty people, with spots starting at $1,100 per person. It includes all meals, equipment, guides, music and experiences. For more information or to book the trip, email [email protected].

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