Actopan
From Wikipaddle
The Rio Actopan is born from an area West of the town of Actopan, where the river gushes out of the ground in waterfalls and multiple springs. This area is called Nace el Rio, and is also an ecological resort. Below Nace El Rio, the river flows through the town of Actopan and then on to another town called La Esperanza. It's a small and very clean river but has enough water to paddle until the end of May.
Descabezadero to Puente Actopan
Starting with a runnable waterfall into a large pool, the crystal clear water of the Actopan takes off around a corner and down a few difficult (class lll) rapids. Another waterfall drops in from the Right, and then the river continues down a couple more good rapids before it mellows a little. All the way to Actopan, the rapids continue to be consistently challenging until the Actopan bridge.
Puente Actopan to Puente del Carretera
After the river passes under the bridge in Actopan the river gets a little easier, but still consistently entertaining for Intermediate boaters. One BIG CAUTION: local farmers at times will string barbed wire across this part of the river to keep their livestock from wandering. It is a good idea to look around every bend and be ready to stop quickly or back-ferry to avoid a confrontation with a strand of barbed wire.
Puente del Carretera to La Esperanza
Below the Carretera Bridge, there are more entertaining, class ll-lll section rapids, but unfortunately MORE BARBED WIRE. The river can be run, but best to have an Advanced paddler to lead the way to scout the river and signal back to followers at a distance. It still is a very pretty river and worth the trouble to see. At the end of this section, you will see the dam machinery. Get out of the river on the Left before you get too close and stay well clear of the dam. A mistake could be fatal.
Below the dam there is a great surfing wave at the bottom of the spillway which is a great way to top off the day. Below the surfing wave is a nice pool if you have to roll up.
