White Rim Trail & Cataract Canyon Bike & Raft Trips

If you’re not afraid of a sore muscle or two, the White Rim Trail and Cataract Canyon combo is the trip for you! Join us for one of Utah’s best active adventure trips. Start on the White Rim Trail and bike 65 miles around the Island in the Sky in Canyonlands National Park. This Moab-area multi-day ride has become the standard against which all other rides are judged. You’ll enjoy sweeping canyon-country views and fascinating geology. Take side hikes to slot canyons and archaeological sites. The White Rim Trail follows a white sandstone bench that gradually descends to the Green River, where your whitewater journey begins. Enjoy a well-earned rest with four more days of wilderness adventure in Cataract Canyon.

Cataract Canyon is in the heart of Canyonlands National Park. It’s remote, rugged, and best known for powerful rapids and dramatic scenery. Holiday’s oar-powered trips (no motors!) allow you to go at the pace of the river and create a rare connection with nature. Travel along the calm water of the Green River to its confluence with the Colorado River. You’ll see prehistoric ruins and rock art and splash through over 30 rapids. Experience Mile Long and the Big Drops, where the river drops 80 feet in less than four miles! Enjoy gourmet food on both the bike and raft portions. Let our fun, professional guides lead you on a stunning journey through Canyonlands. The White Rim Trail and Cataract Canyon bike-raft combo is a human-powered adventure you’ll never forget!

Green River, Utah: Things to Do and Places to Explore

Featured Review:

“Phenomenal everything! The best seven days of my life! Great food prepared by four great people who steered us like true pros down a wonderful river to see beautiful flora and fauna. What could be better? Cataract and the White Rim Trail is an adventure we consider repeating because of the awesome beauty and great mountain bike riding.” (Gail Fisher)

Holiday is an authorized concessioner of Canyonlands National Park.  Additionally, (& more importantly) southern Utah’s canyon country was home to Indigenous people and cultures long before today’s society existed. Out of respect for these people, Holiday acknowledges that Cataract Canyon and the stretches of the Green and Colorado Rivers that approach it are the traditional homelands of the Pueblos and the Núu-agha-tʉvʉ-pʉ̱ (Ute) people. Read more about our land acknowledgments here.
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Trip Overview

  • Type:

    Bike-Raft

  • Location:

    White Rim Trail & Green River - Canyonlands National Park

  • Length:

    7 Days: 3 Biking & 4 Rafting

  • Dates:

    May & August

  • Meet at:

    Green River, Utah @ 7:00 pm (night before the trip)

  • Difficulty:

    Intermediate, Advanced

  • Min. Age:

    12

  • Deposit:

    400

Highlights

  • Human-powered active adventure in Canyonlands National Park
  • Oar-rafts (no motors) provide a tranquil flat water experience and a thrilling whitewater ride
  • White Rim featured on KUED and The Salt Lake Tribune "Bucket List" program
  • The perfect balance of hard work and relaxation
  • Breathtaking views from the top and bottom of canyon country
Getting Here Before You Go Packing List FAQs

Rates & Dates

Itinerary

Canyonlands National Park is largely defined by its geography. The Green and Colorado rivers meet deep in the heart of the park, and outline its three districts. The Maze lies to the west of the Green River, the Needles District is east of the Colorado, and the Island in the Sky is the tall wedge of land that lies between them. The White Rim Trail circumnavigates the Island in the Sky. Cataract Canyon begins where the Green and Colorado rivers meet, and flows southwest until it meets the still water of Lake Powell.

Sample Itinerary

Pre-trip meeting:

Meet at Holiday’s headquarters in Green River, Utah, at 7:00 p.m. Mountain Time for a pre-trip orientation meeting. We’ll issue your waterproof bags and figure out packing logistics for both the biking and rafting portions. You can also purchase last minute items at our store (review our packing checklist for items you can buy at our Green River store). We’ll also conduct a pre-trip inspection of your bikes: please make sure that your bike is in solid operating condition. We recommend getting a complete service by a professional shop prior to the trip. Guests whose bikes fail our inspection will be asked to rent a Holiday bike for $220.00/person.

Day 1:

We’ll load up in our vans for the two-hour ride toward Moab and the top of the Shafer Trail. Built by uranium prospectors, the Shafer Trail’s switchbacks descend a massive cliff face for an exhilarating start to the bike ride. Check out an overlook of the Colorado River and walk out to the Musselman Arch. Look high up on the right for a view of Mesa Arch on the way to the first night’s campsite at Gooseberry Canyon. Take in the views as you set up your tent and slip into your camp shoes. Don’t fret, your guides will have a nourishing camp dinner ready for you to devour after a long day of riding. Just be sure to save room for dessert!

Day 2:

Today’s ride is mostly gentle, with a few small hills and plenty of fun, rolling terrain. Stop to stare out across the sandstone-capped pillars of Monument Basin, and then prepare for the first big uphill: Murphy’s Hogback. We’re rewarded with sweeping views and a long downhill on the other side.

Day 3:

Today we head north for the river, with a possible side hike over the intimidating Black Crack for views of Turks Head and the river we’ll soon be floating. In early season trips, we’ll bike up and over Hardscrabble Hill to meet the rafts at the Labyrinth campsite or Taylor Canyon. Later in the season, the rafts will pick us up at Beaver Bottom before we reach Hardscrabble. Say goodbye to your bike as you jump onto a raft for the next part of this adventure! (Don’t worry, your bike will be waiting for you back in Green River).

Day 4:

The river’s smooth current transports our rafts to stops at Valentine Bottom or Turks Head to see prehistoric ruins and petroglyphs. Enjoy your well-earned rest on a raft, or try out a stand-up paddle board or inflatable kayak. Camp on a beach or tucked into the mouth of a side canyon.

Day 5:

Listen to your guide read aloud from John Wesley Powell’s journal, and appreciate how little the landscape approaching the confluence of the Green and Colorado Rivers has changed since Powell’s days. Buckle on your personal flotation device, because the rapids are just ahead! The water between the confluence and the rapids slows and pools as the river prepares for its imminent descent.

Day 6:

Depending on where we camp, we may have the option of an early morning hike into the Doll House, a region of free-standing sandstone pillars and bizarre rock formations high above the river. Back at the beach, we’ll load up and get ready for whitewater. Brown Betty, North Seas, Capsize, and Ben Hurt will whet our appetites for the really big ones: The Big Drops, featuring Little Niagara and Satan’s Gut.

Day 7:

Enjoy one more sumptuous breakfast by the river before climbing aboard for a few last rapids, then settle in for the ride through the northern tip of Lake Powell. When the reservoir is high, the river current disappears, and we get a motorized assist from “Seldom Seen,” our little motorized dinghy. When the reservoir is low, however, we ride the river current all the way through the end of the canyon and out into the open near the Hite Crossing Bridge. After loading our boats and gear onto our trailers, we’ll drive you the two hours back to Green River where we started seven days ago. Our expected time of arrival back at headquarters is 5:00–6:00 p.m.

A bike/raft combo trip is the ultimate Canyonlands wilderness adventure, and like any wilderness experience, each trip’s itinerary will vary widely based on weather, campsite assignments or availability, the interests and abilities of the group, and other unpredictable elements.

This sample itinerary illustrates a bike trip through the Island in the Sky District and raft trip through Cataract Canyon via the Green River’s Stillwater Canyon. Because of changes in the river’s flow the White Rim/Cataract trip varies slightly depending on the time of year. May trips usually meet up with the rafts in mid- to late-afternoon of the third day out and can anticipate higher water through the rapids. September trips will meet up with the rafts prior to lunch on the third day.

White Rim Holman Springs Slot Canyon Bike Raft Combo Hike

The total bicycling mileage for the bike/raft combo trip is approximately 65 miles; most of that distance is mellow double-track with a hard, rocky surface or graded gravel. In some sections you will encounter loose rock and sand, and there are two significant climbs followed by steep downhills, but these more challenging parts are relatively short and easy to walk if you are not comfortable.

Riders who have never ridden off-road before or who are not in good athletic shape will likely find this trip challenging. Even those riders with more experience will find the trip most enjoyable if they spend some time biking on a regular basis before the trip.

Reviews

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Holiday River Expeditions
Average rating:  
 13 reviews
 by Matt Redden

All the guides were extremely knowledgeable and helpful throughout the combo trip. Even when met with adversity, they met and exceeded all expectations.

I had a blast on the combo trip. Will definitely be coming back again!

 by Martha Gluck

The trip started with a well organized pre-meeting the evening prior to the trip. The guides were efficient and got everyone fitted to their bikes and passed out dry bags with instructions on how to pack them so we could be ready to go the next morning. We biked the White Rim Trail for 3 days. We had record-breaking heat and Josh and Rachael did an excellent job of monitoring everyone, giving plenty of reminders to drink and eat, and getting us all an early start to do the majority of the riding as early as possible. Our reward was meeting the boats for the trip down Cataract Canyon. The scenery was phenomenal. Nick, Sienna, Brayden, Jack, and Rachael were a well-oiled machine - they were very competent and knowledgeable and had a lot of fun, which was fun for the guests. The food was amazing, and the hiking was beautiful. The guides were thoughtful and made sure each guest was well cared for. I would definitely do another trip with Holiday!

 by Chris Wilson

Guides for both legs of the combo were terrific, especially the bike portion! Rachel and Jack had a WIDE range of abilities and handled that with patience and respect!

Jack is a gem and it was great having his expertise, knowledge, and passion for consistency on both legs!!

 by Zachary Holbrook

My son and I had a great time! The guides were great and the pace of the trip was perfect. I loved disconnecting from “life” and reconnecting with nature.

 by Gerald Turpin

This was my third trip with Holiday and am such a fan of the total experience - the food, the support, the activities, etc. The guides are always amazing but I HAVE to make a specific call out about Brin Finnigan. He is a really, really special resource. His knowledge of the history of the area, the science behind the environment, and the current, historical, and future policy implications makes everything seem so much more real. I walked away with such a deeper appreciation of the area. It's a pity that he's only a PT guide, but you need to keep him as long as you can! He's a really valuable asset to your organization!!

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