America’s Oldest Whitewater Festival.

June 15-18, 2023: www.fibark.com

This is the only time of year our guides ask to take time off from ART to celebrate and enjoy the festivities at Fibark. Fibark “First in Boating the Arkansas” is a 4 day festival that has been going on since 1949.  The festival focuses on whitewater boat races and paddlers from around the nation and world come to compete.

Some participants have called it an “invention to death” but you can experience everything they do with the professionals at ART and still enjoy the celebrations at the end of the day in Salida, CO.

There is a lot more to do than boating! Check out the bike races, dog lunging, parades, disc golf, live music and more! Some of our staff participates in the races and parades in Salida.

FIBArk’s signature event, the Classic Downriver Race is the longest, oldest, most prestigious and perhaps the toughest race in North America! It can be viewed from ART’s beach in Cotopaxi too. We usually see all of the participants paddling down at their midway point and they already look fully exhausted as they enter the most challenging water downstream and it is a blast to root them on!