Green Through Desolation and Gray Canyons
Location: Eastern Utah (about 160 miles southeast of Salt Lake City; about 220 miles west of Denver).
Length of trips: 84 miles in four to six days.
Season: April through October but busiest between mid-May and mid-August. The water flow usually peaks between late May and mid-June. River traffic is fairly heavy from mid-May through July and again in October.
Weather: In May and early June daytime temperatures average in the 70s (F), with nighttime temperatures dropping into the 50s. From late June through August the daytime temperatures range from 80° to 100°, with nighttime temperatures in the 60s. An occasional light shower can cool things off quickly. In September and early October the temperature drops into the 60s and 70s during the day, the 40s at night.
Lodging: Spacious campsites on broad, sandy beaches. Huge cottonwood trees shade many campsites.
Boats: Kayaks, motorized rafts, oar boats, paddle rafts.
Rapids: More than 60 Class I, II, and III rapids. The water is silty and cool during the spring runoff but warms up to 70° in summer.
Special features:
- An excellent canyon-country float through one of the most desolate desert wilderness areas in the country.
- Cuts through two remote and beautiful canyons vividly described in the journals of geologist-explorer John Wesley Powell.
- At Rock Creek, Desolation Canyon is deeper than the Grand Canyon at Bright Angel Trail.
- Gray Canyon was the favorite hideout of Butch Cassidy around the turn of the century.
- Excellent side-canyon hikes to caves, abandoned homesteaders cabins, and Anasazi granaries, petroglyphs, and ruins.
- Great swimming in July and August.
- Abundant wildlife, including bighorn sheep, mule deer, bears, beavers, cougars, leopard lizards, Rocky Mountain toads, chukars, mallards, golden eagles, and Canada geese.
- Wilderness solitude.
- Relaxed pace makes the Green one of the best rivers in the Southwest to learn basic boating skills in rafts and kayaks.
- Relatively easy rapids make it popular with the physically challenged who are comfortable in and around the water. Also a great trip for children (check with your outfitter about age limits), as well as seniors in good physical condition.
Nearby excursions:
- Canyonlands National Park.
- Arches National Park.
- Capitol Reef National Park.
- Dinosaur National Monument.
- John Wesley Powell River History Museum in Green River.
- Lake Powell.
- Glen Canyon National Recreation Area.
For a list of outfitters:
- Canyonlands National Park, 2282 South West Resources Boulevard, Moab, Utah 84532; +1 801 259 7164, fax +1 801 259 8628. Try to book at least four to six months in advance. Most outfitters begin their booking season in January. The busiest booking season is between February and May.
- Bureau of Land Management, Price River Resource Area, 125 South 600 West, Price, Utah 84501; +1 801 636 3622, fax +1 801 636 3657. Try to book at least four to six months in advance. Most outfitters begin their booking season in January. The busiest booking season is between February and May.
For more information:
- Grand County Travel Council, P.O. Box 550, Moab, Utah 84532; +1 801 259 1370 or 800 635 6622, fax +1 801 259 1376.
- Utah Travel Council, Council Hall/Capitol Hill, Salt Lake City, Utah 84114; +1 801 538 1030 or +1 800 200 1160, fax +1 801 538 1399. Ask for the Raft Utah guide and the vacation kit.
- Canyonlands National Park story in NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC TRAVELER, Autumn 1988.
- Arches National Park story in NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC TRAVELER, November/December 1992. To order a copy, please click here.
|