From Moab: Cataract Canyon 4-Day Guided Tour by Raft and Van – Canyonlands National Park, Utah

EXPERIENCE

This canyon run is awesome in its scenic beauty, remoteness, and whitewater.

You are about to start a grand expedition into a seldom visited red rock wilderness. Pack your dry bags and keep your cameras near as we shuttle by van from Moab to Mineral Bottom, the put in for our journey. As we push off heading downstream, enjoy the steep canyon walls and solitude of Stillwater Canyon. After a day of exploring, we set up a small, comfortable camp. Relax by the river s edge, while boatmen become the campfire cooks of a delicious dinner. Dessert is served as the fire casts its shadows on the canyon walls. We fall asleep under a canopy of stars to the rivers sound.

Formed where ancient stream beds flowed, lines of shale separate the sandstone and limestone layers of the canyon. Search for marine fossils as we make another Green River camp. Campfire stories of explorers, outlaws and ancient Native American tribes lead us into a star filled evening.

The Confluence of the two great southwestern rivers lies just below two big bends of the Green River. The White Rim Sandstone is 1200 overhead and large angular blocks have rolled down the talus slopes. Sediments from the Green and Colorado rivers swirl as the two rivers merge.

Just below Spanish Bottom is the famed whitewater of Cataract Canyon. Guides go over safety instructions before the much anticipated first wave of Brown Betty. Thirty rapids, ranging in difficulty up to class V, roll through the canyon. Legendary rapids like the Big Drops, Mile Long, and Hell to Pay challenge river runners.

We make our final camp along the banks of the Colorado River charged by the whitewater thrill of Cataract Canyon. In the morning we begin our dash across Lake Powell. We stop along the way to explore one of the most spectacular side canyons before arriving at Hite Marina.

Here many of our guests opt to take the scenic flight back over Canyonlands to Moab, describing their 45-minute journey as the “icing on the cake”. Prices and timetables for the return options are listed below.

HIGHLIGHTS

Enjoy the steep canyon walls and solitude of Stillwater Canyon
Fall asleep under a canopy of stars to the rivers sound.
Savor the first wave of Brown Betty.

Discover more exciting & fun things to do in Canyonlands National Park