A Friendly word of caution re: San Miguel River flows

Please note that this year due to heavy snows and a late runoff the San Miguel is starting to increase in CFS and get bigger each day. This will not be the " lazy river" of the past few years. Take caution for yourself and be watchful of younger children that view the River as a refreshing place to play. The water is moving fast and the river is getting bigger and bigger as we get into these consistently warmer days.

Telluride Fire / Rescue as well as San Miguel Search and Rescue have had duel trainings to be on the same page with potential rescues. We hope that we do not have to put that into practice even once. We do recommend at a minimum a PFD for anyone who decides to tube, SUP, or otherwise Float the River. Helmet and shoes also recommended.

The water is very cold and can drain your energy quickly. Have fun but please be mindful of yourself and others that maybe because of drinking a bit too much or just don't have experience with bigger water flows find themselves in a situation that they cannot handle.

If you do see someone in trouble please call 911. It is important that you stay where you saw them in distress so a responder can get a good description of who is in distress and how many victims there may be. This will also help to determine from a time stamp and flow rate of river where their progress will most likely have them located so crews can be positioned to perform a rescue and be able to identify the person or persons reported so we know we have assisted the individual or group if that's the case and have a proper head count. Going in after them without proper equipment or skill set is not advised and will probably just add you to the number of people that need help so think before you commit yourself. It's moving a lot faster just under the surface than it looks.

Just a friendly reminder to be safe and have fun responsibly in the mighty San Miguel this year.