The River Terrace Inn – Local Flair for Grand Adventure

March 11, 2014

By Joe Ballent

Every journey has a starting point, and the river is no exception. Once you’ve found your way to the beautiful and desolate southern Utah desert, you may need a place to stay before or after your whitewater trip with Holiday River Expeditions. Some may drive in from neighboring Grand Junction, Colorado, while others seek accommodations in the town of Green River itself. A staff-recommended location is the locally known and respected River Terrace Inn. It’s hard to beat for convenience and proximity. The Inn is located directly across the street from the Holiday’s warehouse, where you’ll meet your guides, get your gear, and prepare to journey down the river.

In addition to boasting river-front property along a tranquil and scenic section of our town’s namesake, the River Terrace Inn is closely tied to the local economy thanks to local ownership. None of what you spend on a delicious dinner at the Inn’s restaurant circulates back to a corporate giant. It stays behind to feed this small, hidden community that supports and facilitates whitewater adventure.

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Did we mention the food is delicious? And your room comes with an extensive and inclusive breakfast (though you may still be full from your last expertly cooked meal on the river).

This gem of the deep desert reflects an obvious pride in ownership that functions on a personalized, individual level. Which will help make your connection with the desert a more intimate one. Such pride is also readily apparent in Holiday’s workings, and unfortunately rare in circles of big business. Part of the reward of your river trip is an escape from the franchised; an embrace of the unique.

Even if you find that you overpacked for your river trip, fear not; The River Terrace Inn features oversized rooms that beg you to sprawl, roll, snooze, and generally spread out. If you still have antsy river legs and need to move about, try exploring the Inn’s beautiful gardens, or hopping on the nearby I-70 to head next door to Moab. A quick and scenic 45-minute drive pays off with shopping, petroglyphs, stunning sandstone vistas, and more.

A whole-hearted endorsement still can’t substitute for your own gut instinct. We encourage you to check out the River Terrace Inn yourselves, even if it’s just for dinner next to a sleepy section of the river. You may find yourself as drawn as we are to this locally owned and cherished oasis in our vast desert, where adventure awaits you at every bend of the river.

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Joe Ballent found the river- or it found him –when he was only 16. He began guiding with Holiday in 2008 and has enjoyed the unique privilege of getting involved with Holiday’s youth trips, including the University of Utah Hospital Burn Camp program. His writing has been featured on various outdoor online communities including mountaintechs.com and backcountrybeacon.com. Joe works with troubled teens full-time but manages to find trouble around the country and world in his freetime. He is an outdoorsman by trade, a romantic by choice, a guitarist in a band, and an outlaw in Europe.