Royal Gorge Whitewater Festival

The Royal Gorge Whitewater Festival is held annually in Cañon City, where the Arkansas River flows, rages, and tumbles out of the world-famous Royal Gorge. The all-ages event is the premier whitewater and river festival of the Colorado summer, folding live music into a broader celebration of the river and the town in late July. For guests, it is one of the essential summer weekends in southern Colorado; for artists, the festival is a distinctive routing option tied to a bigger regional draw.