A Message from Founders Dee & Sue Holladay

The canyons we float and ride through have been here long before Holiday River Expeditions, but in our humblest way we are celebrating our 44th year of river running, hiking and just being in the presence of such grand places and people. It’s been interesting to observe the changes in ourselves, our company, our industry, and our environment.

Back in the 60’s, on our early rafting trips the attraction was basically a floating party – a sign of the times. Even though our guides were willing to share their knowledge of the canyons with our guests, the fact was we really didn’t know that much and neither did science. Environment was beginning to hum as a buzz word, but science was just beginning to understand the importance and interrelation of ecosystems and bio-diversity. What we did know was that solitude and being in nature felt good and seemed right. We began to change the way we did things so we wouldn’t impact the places we liked to go.

Over the years, Holiday guests have also realized how precious our wild places are. Our Guests now come to the river and the trails for other reasons and that is family togetherness, escaping suburbia, or understanding our place in the bigger picture. Land management agencies and outfitters are being more proactive about managing our impact in these wild places.

Sue and I, our guides and staff, and you – our guests have a common bond that has strengthened Holiday as an entity. We are all humbled by nature’s power, strengthened by its energy, challenged by its integrity and grounded by its loftiness.

We got into the outfitting business as a way to do what we loved. Thanks to great places, our very special guests and employees we have been able to do what many people only dream of. Our lives as river and trail outfitters and friends to wild places have been fulfilling. With increased attention to our nation’s wild places, we hope that we will always be able to share and revel in the beauty of the West.

River Healing and the Strength of Spirit

I had the incredible opportunity to be a guide for a touching trip that Holiday helps sponsor every year called Burn Camp. In partnership with the University of Utah Burn Center, Holiday River Expeditions escorts a group of teenagers that have experienced severe burns to their bodies on a 6- day trip down Desolation Canyon.
The Green River is a force. It is powerful beyond imagination. I thought I understood the might of the Green River after my first trip down the river with Holiday Expeditions. In many canyons throughout Utah, like Lodore and Grey Canyons, it is easy to visually see how the constant flow of river has affected the landscape. Scrapes and shrubs on various horizontal heights in many places give clues to the rivers daunting and impressive past. While the Green River may deviate in an occasional bend or meander it only flows in one direction, down towards the ocean. I am sure we have all had points in our lives when we felt that our lives were going in a similar direction, minus the magnificent ending in the Gulf of Mexico.
For 6 days I got to watch and listen to the kids that participated in Burn Camp become engulfed in the non-visible, nearly spiritual force of the river. Each one of their lives had undoubtedly been challenging as a result of their burns. I would not doubt that they thought that their everyday scenarios, such as going to school and attending to their wounds, would ever change direction to something slightly less physically and mentally draining. But for those 6 days every single one of those kids, within the confines of the endless blue sky that seemingly shoots out of the canyon openings, opened themselves up. They experienced their burns with each other and seemingly came to the realization that they weren’t alone. Instead of watching the river from the safety of the boat, they jumped on in and felt HOW FREEZING IT WAS!! (…and wanted back in immediately!!!) Instead of listening to their group leaders wishes to not get wet, they all secretly conspired together and attacked communally to get them DRENCHED instead of wet. They got together in group every night and shared their stories; laughing unanimously at the humorous parts. In rapids they held onto each other in excitement all while having the biggest smiles I have ever had the pleasure of seeing.
They, with the canyons, animals, and plants, let the river take control for those 6 days of their lives and the outcome was truly magical.
By Noel Gugliotta



"If there is magic on this earth,
then surely it is contained in water."

- Loren Eiseley
The Immense Journey, 1957

Inspiring Youth Groups with River Adventure

“Wilderness is not a luxury but a necessity of the human spirit.” Edward Abbey, champion of the American Southwest, conveyed this and many other thoughts through his evocative writing. This quote embodies the heart and soul of Holiday River Expeditions. Every time I hear the words of Abbey, or just walk across the boatyard at the Holiday base, I am reminded of this simple, inherent truth, the vitality and rejuvenation offered by a day on the river, and how it all started for me: with a simple youth group trip.

At the age of 17 I happened upon a unique opportunity to do a youth rafting trip in the Grand Canyon. I loved every minute of it… from rapids, to wildlife, to relaxing lunches in the sun, and returned each of the following two summers. At 20 I began working for Holiday River Expeditions in the gorgeous south Utah desert and haven’t wanted to be anywhere else since. It’s been an incredible experience to come full circle and go on several youth trips myself, now as a guide, whether it be a daily trip on the Green River with Boy Scouts or a Church group on the playful Colorado River Daily, or a multi-day trip with families or high schoolers through spectacular Desolation Canyon. It has been a unique privilege to pass on this special experience, and to be able to work for a well-established outfitter, operating since 1966 with an outstanding record of safety and customer service, not to mention high-caliber guides.

Not everyone who goes on a youth rafting adventure is overwhelmed with wanderlust and becomes a rafting bum, but in my humble opinion everyone should at least experience a day on the river. It’s so much more than a time and place, it’s a mindset. Who knows? It could change the course of your life forever. At the very least, you’ll be left with spectacular memories…
by Joe Ballent ~ Holiday River Expeditions Guide

Holiday River has a New Logo

Holiday has a new logo. At the core of our expeditions on the rivers and trails of the West is the interaction between the human spirit and the natural world. A connection between us and the wild places we take our rafts and mountain bikes is already there. To find it Holiday River’s guides first take care of their guest’s safety and comfort. That opens the door to relaxing, exploring and just spending time in stunningly beautiful places. On our trips by lending a helping hand Holiday expeditions reunite the human spirit with the natural world.

Our Commitment to Real Change

Recently ResponsibleTravel.com, a leading world wide travel agent, made the decision to abandon their Carbon offset program sighting the importance of making real changes rather than purchasing offsets. Years ago Holiday Expeditions opted not to follow the popular “offset” trend, but rather to champion the individual and the company’s creativity and willingness to change. True change can only happen through the act of reducing and reusing in your day to day practices.

Our rafting and biking trip guests get to see and experience the examples of our efforts to make real change when they meet us at our headquarters in Green River and Vernal, UT. This summer we installed a new rain gutter system to increase efforts to capture rain water for grey water use. We already had one grey water system in place but saw this as yet one more opportunity to conserve and cut back on traditional, local water consumption. Overall water use was cut by 8% in a year that we actually did more business. Water wise native landscaping, making our own ice efficiently, more infrequent van washing and new front load water saving washing machines are also included in our everyday efforts. The challenge is on going but we feel we’re up to it and making real changes one step at a time.

Ramblings of a Colorado River Guide

By Joe Ballent

It’s raining on Tavaputs again.

The sleepy plateau is majestically cloaked in clouds, rain, and shadow, a stark contrast to the burning orb beating down like, as Ed Abbey would say, a white scream. I rub the sleep out of my eyes and the sand out of my hair, ready for another sunny day in Green River, Utah. A quick trip through the kitchen and across the boatyard grants me another breathtaking view of the high desert, and I find myself reflecting on past summers, this gorgeous country, the great people I work with, and what it really means to be out here.

It is May of 2008, and I walk out of the Salt Lake airport to meet the Holiday Driver known only as Bossi. Bossi is a man shrouded in mystery, and bears a reputation to be feared. In a voice that can only be heard, not described, Bossi introduces himself to me as a ‘fifth year rookie,’ and we begin our drive through a full-blown blizzard to arrive in Green River. My first experience as a Holiday employee is having blocks of bacon thrown at me by our boss and ‘summer dad,’ Tim Gaylord. So begins a journey of epic proportions.

It is a pitch black night, probably in June, and I am driving back from Moab with Leland around midnight. A relentless lightning storm is tearing apart the sky like paper, illuminating the landscape with each brilliant flash. Jagged spears of light and energy sparkle and crack the night violently, only to disappear in a flash of a second, and I find myself thinking maybe the natives had it right all along; somewhere up there in the strata, the Thunderbirds are beating otherworldly demons back down into the depths of the desert, their triumphant cries manifested in bone-shaking thunder that rattles the ground with each echoing boom.

It is June, it is July, it doesn’t matter. It is river time, and the current rocks my boat gently down stream to camp, which is more of a mindset than a place. Boatmen and guests alike trade stories, laughs, and horseshoes. Utter serenity envelopes me as I drift to sleep under the blanket of the milky way, a perfect solitude interrupted only momentarily by the brilliant flash of a shooting star.

It is afternoon later in the summer and our trip returns. A grin sneaks across my face as my friend Kyle, Holiday’s hardest-working and best-looking guide, emerges from the shuttle. I know all kinds of adventures await us, be it camping, freelining, rock climbing, biking to the radio tower, burning quesadillas, warehouse pull-ups, or just tormenting Tim. We work relentlessly, a well-oiled machine, to unpack the trip, compost organic waste, and park boats and trailers. Later we go to Ray’s Tavern, where I discuss life with Noel to the beat of my favorite jukebox tunes. Night finds everyone back at the bunkhouse, swapping trip stories and enjoying each other’s company. Brian plucks the guitar masterfully, a gentle tune the backdrop to a blazing sunset.

It is late and time for bed. Have to be ready for that pack and trip tomorrow; as I lay down, laughter and singing waft through the bunkhouse like a lullaby. I think about how lucky I am to have this spectacular desert as my home, and the chance to share the canyon rivers with others. In the distance thunder rumbles gently. Drifting off to sleep, I smile.

It’s raining on Tavaputs again.

Early Spring on the Colorado River

By John Wood, Holiday River Guide

I have recently returned from five days ‘off-grid’ on one of our Colorado River Cataract trips. It was the first trip of the season with a small intimate group eager to expose themselves to all this remote canyon in the heart of Canyonlands National Park has to offer. It has been quite a while since I have made the journey down this fabled canyon in high water. My memories were there but tarnished by time and the approaching hallmark of turning fifty.

Most of us change a little every time we expose ourselves to a powerful natural place. This change was evident on the faces and in the conversations of all that were on this trip. As a group we discussed everything from art history to global warming and the inescapable reality that it is all connected. The river reminded us that the decisions we make in our kitchens and backyards can impact the riparian zones we were all floating past.

One of my favorite parts about an early spring trip is that there are fewer groups on the river. In FIVE days we were only passed once by a competing outfit that was out doing a ONE day version of our trip. As I hailed them over to coordinate camping plans the vacant look in their eyes was telling. They sat six feet above the water on a large motorized pontoon and I could only imagine the ringing in their ears from hours of a full-throttled engine. While they had all invested sizable treasure by scrimping on time they missed the experience.

The journey is one of contrasts with the early days spent floating through the eons of time that shaped the river canyons of Canyonlands, but always in the back of your mind are the rapids. In high water there is nothing like them in this country. It’s not just the SIZE of them but rather the sections that are continuous with large rhythmic breaking waves that are not predictable. As a guide it becomes harder to sleep through the night the closer you get to the BIG rapid day.

On Thursday we as a group had to find safe passage through the North Seas, Mile Long, and Big Drop rapids. The Colorado River filled our boats at least four times and sent us through multiple wash and rinse cycles. Our rafts took the hits and our oars made the pulls while we all hollered and laughed our way through the whitewater. The next day we all returned to our real lives and the daunting task of figuring out how to live in a way that leaves behind a clear future… a task with no one answer. On our trip by taking the time to ‘disconnect’ from the frenetic pace of our daily lives we had all taken a necessary first step.