Whitewater Rafting Trips

River rafting trips through the Colorado Plateau offer an unimaginable experience. The rivers of the West are ribbons of green cutting through unforgiving rock, ushering in life everywhere they touch. A journey of epic proportions begins the moment your boat pushes off shore and takes you and your loved ones into a world unseen by most humans: a world of true wilderness. Explore waterfalls, ancient ruins, and outlaw hideouts with the best-trained interpreters in the business to help bring these places to life. Enjoy three delicious meals a day made by your guides on a sandy beach in the middle of nowhere. Bond with your family or friends during one of our many rafting and camping trips, gather around a crackling campfire under the stars, or hike to the top of a butte. These river rafting excursions reset your heart’s compass back to its true north by disrupting the routine of your daily life. Whitewater rafting trips truly don’t get any better than this. Below you’ll find a list of river rafting trips that we offer. The list is long—feel free to call our office for advice on choosing the perfect trip for the experience you are looking for!

2–3 Day Westwater Canyon

COLORADO–UTAH: Floating the Colorado River through Westwater Canyon is a perfect introduction to a multi-day rafting trip. Choose a two- or three-day trip for a weekend getaway. Calm water early in the trip provides a playground for stand-up paddle boards and inflatable kayaks; enter an ancient black rock canyon on day three for Class II–IV whitewater excitement! Meet for this trip at our headquarters in Green River, Utah.

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4 Day Lodore Canyon

COLORADO–UTAH: Lodore Canyon is the jewel of the Green River: narrow red walls encase lush vegetation, secret waterfalls, white sandy beaches, and archaeological sites. Navigate legendary rapids such as Disaster Falls and Hell’s Half Mile, and sleep under the stars of an International Dark Sky Park. Hiking is a highlight of this trip. Begin in northwestern Colorado and cross into Utah on day three. Meet at our Vernal, Utah, headquarters.

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4–5 Day Yampa River

COLORADO–UTAH: The Yampa is WILD. The last un-dammed river in the Colorado River system, the Yampa remains the standard bearer for an authentic wilderness experience. Natural flood cycles contribute to a robust ecosystem and provide some of the best early season white water rafting in the Intermountain West. The Yampa River begins in Colorado and flows into Utah’s Green River in the heart of Dinosaur National Monument. Meet for this trip at our headquarters in Vernal, Utah.

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3–5 Day San Juan River

UTAH: The San Juan River is one of the fastest-moving rivers in the United States, dropping an average of eight feet per mile. Sandstone and limestone walls frame the narrow canyon as the river snakes through the countless goosenecks for which it is famous. The river forms much of the northern border of the present day Navajo Nation; archaeological artifacts, rock art, and other sacred sites testify to the presence of human beings in the river corridor and the greater Four Corners area for thousands of years. Experience the San Juan River in one of three ways: see the upper canyon in three days, the lower canyon in four days, or the whole thing in five. Longer trips are available for custom private charter groups for maximum exploring! San Juan trips meet in either Blanding or Bluff, Utah.

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5–6 Day Desolation Canyon

UTAH: The Tavaputs Plateau and the Green River through Desolation Canyon are among the most remote areas of the continental United States, but a river rafting trip reveals a landscape that is anything but desolate. Teeming with wildlife, Desolation Canyon is also a riparian oasis with groves of cottonwood trees shading white, sandy beaches. With playful, intermediate whitewater, Desolation Canyon is a perfect place to try out inflatable kayaking; it’s where we hold our whitewater kayaking workshop in late summer. Meet for this trip at our headquarters in the town of Green River, Utah, where you’ll board a small plane for the flight to the put in: an added airborne adventure before the river adventure!

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5–6 Day Cataract Canyon

UTAH: The legendary Colorado River flows through Utah’s Canyonlands National Park via the infamous Cataract Canyon. Our motor-less rafts offer a relaxing way to visit stunning side canyons, grottos, waterfalls, and Ancestral Puebloan ruins that are otherwise inaccessible. Hiking is a highlight of this trip, as is the opportunity to use a stand-up paddle board or inflatable kayak for the first few days of the trip. This river rafting vacation provides the most vivid contrast between serene tranquility and all-out adventure. Spend your first few days soaking in the supreme peace and quiet of the river, then square up for 30+ big ones! The Big Drops and the rest of the whitewater rapids of this notorious Colorado River canyon never disappoint! Meet us for this trip at our headquarters in the town of Green River, Utah.

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3 Day Cataract Canyon

UTAH: Our three-day, two-night Cataract Canyon trip is the express version of our longer five- to six-day trip. This excursion gives you the fun and exhilaration of Cataract’s Class IV whitewater in a shorter time frame. Holiday uses the services of a Moab jet boat company to zip you downriver where our river guides will meet you and carry you the rest of the way with our 18-foot oar rafts. This three-day whitewater rafting trip includes riding the thrilling Big Drop Rapids—Little Niagara and Satan’s Gut. It’s an unforgettable experience. Meet for this trip at our headquarters in the town of Green River, Utah.

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2–3 Day Fisher Towers

UTAH: This friendly section of the Colorado River features fun Class I and II rapids and a unique combination of red rock and mountain scenery. Float past the Fisher Towers, elaborate mudstone towers framed against the igneous peaks of the La Sal Mountains. Scan the river banks for old movie sets, and practice paddling an inflatable kayak in Rocky Rapid or Cloudburst Rapid. Great for youth groups or families with young children. Trips can meet either in Moab, Utah, or in the town of Green River, Utah.

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5–6 Day Main Salmon River

IDAHO: The Main Salmon River is The River of No Return! Despite the ominous name, this premier whitewater rafting trip is a great choice for the active family or adventure seeker. The Main Salmon River trip offers great whitewater in late June, July, and August. Sleep out on big, sandy, beach campsites and visit historic homesteads that once belonged to the likes of Polly Bemis and Buckskin Bill. Camping, hiking, wildlife viewing, paddle rafts, and stand-up paddleboards just add to the experience. Meet for this trip in Salmon, Idaho.

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5–6 Middle Fork of the Salmon River

IDAHO: The Middle Fork of the Salmon River in Idaho is one of the foremost whitewater river rafting trips in the U.S. The Middle Fork trip is 100 miles of Wild and Scenic, free-flowing river magic, smack in the middle of the largest wilderness area in the contiguous United States. It has natural hot springs, blue ribbon trout fishing, and too many rapids to count! The Middle Fork of the Salmon is unspoiled, remote, and roadless, a sure bet if you want to get away from it all. This Idaho adventure sells out fast so you must plan ahead. Choose a trip in late June, July, and August for the best whitewater, or a trip in September for steelhead trout fishing. Guests meet for this trip in the town of Stanley, Idaho.

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5–9 Day Grand Canyon

ARIZONA: Travel over a mile into the surface of the earth, into the most famous river canyon of them all, Grand Canyon. The Colorado River crosses into Arizona and begins its descent through some of the most mind-boggling geology and spectacular scenery on earth. Experience the magic of Redwall Cavern, or one of the dozens of springs and waterfalls that turn side canyons into oases of cattails and watercress. Feel the power of nearly 150 rapids, including those of the inner gorge, and the most famous, Crystal and Lava Falls. We offer non-motorized trips through the Grand Canyon. Choose from a 5–6 day ride through the upper canyon or an 8–9 day lower canyon. You need to plan almost a year in advance to secure space on this bucket list trip.

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