WHITEWATER RAFTING

Wild Westwater Canyon

This particular stretch of the Colorado River is wild and free flowing, resulting in a variety of water levels through the rafting season as the snows melt and run off from the Colorado Rockies. Each water level produces different whitewater challenges. The narrow canyon of billion-year old black schist contrast to the red rock cliffs proceeding and following the whitewater section. Indian pictographs, and other relics of human and natural history are some of the hiking highlights. There’s one day of exciting rapids, with the other day or two spent playing on and in the river. Two, three and four days available. (The three and four-day trips allow for more hiking and a better sense of a comfortable “wilderness” experience.)

Trip Details

Days 1-2: 2-Day Trip
Day 1: Meet at the river office at 7:30am Mountain Daylight Time. Drive to the river, load your gear on the raft and head downstream. Time is set aside for walks to places that are part of the western legends. Guide prepares a fresh buffet lunch. Camp is on a remote beach, where the evening always begins with hors d'oeuvres. There's time to hike, swim or sit by the river watching the sun slide down behind the cliff walls.

Day 2: After a hearty breakfast, repack the rafts and continue through the canyons. The red sandstone cliffs change to shiny black granite walls as the Colorado River plunges into Black Granite Gorge. Here are the incredible rapids you have been waiting for: Little Hummer, Funnel Falls, Last Chance Rapid, and, of course, the infamous Skull Rapid. Lunch is a fresh buffet on the riverbank. After a few more rapids, there is a section of slower water. You can relax and have time to re-live and compare runs through the rapids before you reach the take–out. The waiting van will return you to Moab around 6:00pm-6:30pm.