The Arkansas River might be the most boater-friendly in the state, with over 100 miles of quality whitewater from class II to class V, and enough mileage and rapids to keep any boater happy. The hardest stretch of the river for it's entire boatable run is found downstream of the town of Granite. Here the Arkansas makes a transition from a high alpine valley, through a moraine, and into the beginnings of the Rio Grande Rift, here labeled as the Upper Arkansas Valley, as well as through the boater towns of Buena Vista & Salida.