San Juan River Youth Trips
About This Trip
The San Juan River offers panoramic vistas and fast-moving white water rapids. This is a great 3, 4 or 5 day rafting trip for your youth group. With numerous warm-water rapids and polished limestone swimming pools, the San Juan River delivers an unforgettable experience.
This white water rafting trip takes us through unique Pueblo Indian dwellings, where we will view ruins and petroglyphs left by ancient civilizations. From the diverse animal and plant life to the extraordinary geological features, the San Juan River is always a favorite whitewater vacation for youth.
HIGHLIGHTS
- Explore slickrock and prehistoric Indian ruins
- Classic Southern Utah desert environment, warm water
- 83 miles of perfect rafting for children and inflatable kayaks
Trip Overview
Location: San Juan River
Type: Rafting
Length: 3 - 5 Days
Dates: May - June
Meet At: Bluff or Mexican Hat, UT
Rating: Beginner
Age Min: 5
Deposit: $300
Trip Price & Departure Dates
Up to 50% OFF
Please call for pricing 800-624-6323
3 Day Trip Dates
May 11,18
June 1,15
4 Day Trip Dates
May 6, 13, 20, 27
June 3, 10, 17
5 Day Trip Dates
May 11,18
June 1,15
Map
The first time I went down the San Juan was with a group of boatmen. It was hard to read the map because the scenery was so amazing . . . the water was moving so fast. It made us dizzy because our heads were busy snapping from one side of the river to the other to see the next scenic attraction.
-Dee Holladay, Holiday River’s 1975 Reconnaissance Trip
Itinerary
One of the advantages of a river trip is the flexibility of the daily itinerary. It can vary widely from one trip to the next based on group desires, Mother Nature, and courtesy for other groups on the river. This typical itinerary illustrates a four-day trip on the San Juan River. The three and four day itineraries vary based on the seasonal water flows in May and June. For specifics on your trip’s date and itinerary please ask your reservationist.
Day One: Begin your adventure in Blanding, Utah and spend a 45 minute breathtaking ride to Sand Island put-in. Spend the day encountering sign after sign of 5 distinct cultures of indigenous ancestor’s presence in the form of pictographs, petroglyphs and hand-carved steps in the canyon walls. Investigate elegantly designed Ancestral Puebloan ruins before descending through Comb Ridge.
Day Two: Pass through the settlement of Mexican Hat before traversing the famed Goosenecks of the San Juan. Take an optional hike to the 1894 prospector cabin of infamous gold prospector Walter Mendenhall. Rest easy this evening after hiking the Honaker Trail, a relic of the “1892 gold rush”. The reward for those who put forth this 1200-foot vertical effort is an unforgettable view of Monument Valley.
Day Three: This morning you will float through layered canyons, play in good clean mud and take in the depths of the serpentine canyon walls. Take a ride through Ross rapid and find camp in the paradox walls below.
Day Four: The morning will bring Government Rapid. The afternoon will give you a chance to meander up Slickhorn Gulch, one of the most celebrated side canyons along the Colorado river drainage. The trail will take you to a hidden grotto and swimming hole. We will make camp at one of the iconic side canyons nestled in this lower drainage.
Day Five: This final stretch could lead us to peer inside Oljeto Wash and its magical side canyon and continue across what remnants of “Lake” Powell to the take out at Clay Hills Crossing. You will transfer to a two-hour scenic van ride back to Blanding, Utah.
*Please note if you would like to charter a 3 Upper Canyon or 4 day Lower Canyon San Juan we can accommodate that as well!
As mentioned earlier, this is a sample itinerary and should not be thought of as the trip you will experience. It is intended to give an idea of what the trip will be like. It could also be exactly what you do. Keep an open mind, be flexible, go with the flow, and enjoy!
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