White Water Rafting in Utah

With Moab, Utah as your hub, a surprisingly wide variety of white water rafting possibilities present themselves.

First Time Intro to Utah Rafting & Package Samplers

If you are looking for an introduction to whitewater rafting, the half-day and full-day options on the Colorado River, often referred to as the "Fisher Towers" section, or "Castle Valley" are excellent choices. You can even include an overnight rafting experience on this section of river with our "Southwest Sampler" vacation package- which serves as a great introduction to camping for one of the three nights.

The Perfect Family Rafting Trip

The 5-day Desolation Canyon trip on the Green River is also an excellent introduction to white water rafting. Green River Utah white water rafting is especially popular among families with younger children and teens. The journey begins with a scenic flight over the remote cliffs of eastern Utah, and then spend the next five days floating back toward Moab where more play awaits.

Rafting Through Canyonlands National Park

Perhaps the most popular of all of Moab raft trips is the 4-day Cataract Canyon Classic. One-hundred miles of Colorado River through Canyonlands National Park - with time to explore petroglyphs, stunning scenery, and some of North America's wildest rapids this trip is becoming more well known every year. This is the very best white water rafting in Utah's National Parks. Your visit to Moab can easily include a visit to nearby Arches National Park.

Shorter But Thrilling Trips

The 2-Day Cataract Express trip offers an overnight camping experience to 100 miles of Colorado River through Canyonlands National Park.

If you are pressed for time, but want a great Utah white water rafting thrill, the Westwater Canyon one-day trip is one of the West's best whitewater romps.

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Learn More about Moab, Utah

Park City is the poster child for northern Utah's snow and mountain terrain as Moab is for southern Utah's stunning red-rock majesty. Why not combine both landscapes into your vacation itinerary? A flight to Salt Lake International drops you just an hour from Park City's lofty alpine air where you can explore ski-town shops laced with loads of mining history. Recreational opportunities abound nearby in the summer months, but to be frank, the nearby choices for river rafting may leave you feeling less Olympic about your adventure. The Weber River offers a few class I-II rapids, and the Provo River will provide nothing more than Class II whitewater. Mountain scenery here is classic Rocky Mountain majesty, but you might enjoy a Fly Fishing excursion here, or a day at the world-class Spas more than the rafting in northern Utah.

Our recommendation? Do Park City for a few days, then make the scenic 4 hour drive south to Moab for a few days of world-class white water rafting adventure. There are many options available to you from one-day, half-day or up to five days. Check off two of Utah's five National Parks while in Moab.

Vernal, Utah is about two-and-a-half hours from Park City and holds a few options such as the Gates of Lodore on the Green River, and a few day-trip options below Flaming Gorge Reservoir.

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There is a river that runs through Zion National Park, but it's more for hiking and less for rafting. Rafting the Virgin River is something you might be able to do two weeks out of the year, and even then, not within Zion National Park. Your time in Zion National Park and this part of southern Utah is much better spent hiking the Virgin River Narrows, or overlooking nearby Bryce Canyon National Park. Kanab, Utah and St. George, Utah are roughly an hour to the east and west of Zion and the gateway town of Springdale, respectively. There are no other rafting options in these otherwise charming southern Utah towns.

About two and a half hours north of Zion, in Marysvale, Utah the Sevier river runs flush enough to provide class II-III rapids for a 2 hour jaunt.

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