Cataract Canyon Stargazing Rafting Trip

Sample Itinerary

Pre-trip meeting: Please plan to arrive at our Green River, Utah headquarters at 7:00 p.m. Mountain Time the night before your trip. We’ll give you your waterproof bags and take care of preliminary business, making it easier to get on the river the next morning. This is a good time to purchase any last minute items at our on-site store (see our packing checklist for a list of items we carry). We also recommend that you drop off any personal beverages (beer, specialty soda, wine, etc.) at this time, so that we can keep them cold before packing them into our coolers.

Day 1:

Please arrive at the pre-arranged meeting time promptly with your bags packed and ready to go. We’ll load up into our vans for the 90-minute ride to the Mineral Bottom boat ramp on the Green River. The last two miles of the road descend steep switchbacks to the river. We’ll ask passengers to walk down the hill. It’s a great way to stretch your legs and get in a morning stroll, and it’s better for our vans to be lighter. Anyone not capable of walking may stay in the van. Once we’re all down, it’s river time! It’s a gentle float below the massive tabletop mesas and buttes of Stillwater Canyon. We’ll stop and hike at Fort Bottom, where we can visit an old prospector’s cabin, or climb the hill to an Ancestral Puebloan lookout tower.

Day 2:

Refresh yourself with a swim along the sandy-bottomed river, or start a playful water fight. The river is quiet here. It’s also perfect for practicing your balance on a stand-up paddleboard. We may stop for a hike to a rock art panel, or perhaps check out the abandoned meander at Anderson Bottom. We’ll make camp on a massive sandbar island and enjoy the singularly rare experience of simply watching night fall.

Day 3:

Today we’ll do some hiking around Turks Head, a dramatic rock outcrop with rich cultural artifacts. Check out rock art and granaries (ancient food storage structures), then hop back in the river for some more swimming or paddling. Look up high on the canyon walls for reptilian footprints preserved in the sandstone. Watch downstream to see who spots the confluence with the Colorado River first. Some cultures believe this is the center of the universe.

Day 4:

Float silently as we push off into the current this morning. Feel your senses come alive without the distraction of conversation. Watch the red and white spires of The Doll House come into view, high above on the right-hand cliff. Hike a side canyon,  try your hand at paddling the inflatable kayak through rapids 1-4, or 6-10. Camp near rapid 10 and enjoy the white noise of the rapid as you fall asleep, dreaming of rapid day tomorrow!

Day 5:

It’s time for rapids! Watch as your guides take extra care rigging their boats this morning. Splash through Baseball Diamond, Upset, and Ben Hurt before arriving at the biggest of them all: the Big Drops. Thirty feet of elevation loss in three-quarters of a mile – cheering is encouraged as you’re in for a big ride! Once we pass through the Big Drops, we’re officially in Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. But, this doesn’t mean the rapids are finished yet. We’ll run a few more rapids before pulling over for one final night sleeping by the river. Explore a side canyon reemerging from higher reservoir levels and enjoy steak for dinner as we celebrate our time passing through these canyons.

Day 6:

Relish one last cup of coffee on the beach before pushing off. The transition between river and reservoir means that the lower rapids are constantly changing. When the reservoir is low, the river channel carries on swiftly and we’ll row to the take out. When the reservoir is higher, the current is buried and we’ll get a motorized assist down the reservoir from our small “Seldom Seen” motorboat. Take in the last views of the unbelievably tall, smooth walls of the lower canyon before we float under the Hite Narrows Bridge and to the boat ramp. It’s a spectacular two-hour drive back to Green River for a return time of 5:00–6:00 p.m.

Please keep in mind that this is a sample itinerary and not an exact description of your trip. The intent is to give a general idea of what your trip may entail. Rest assured, if you’re not doing these things, it’s because you’re doing other amazing things! It’s why our motto is “Go With the Flow”!