a vehicle to pass. Your chances are best along the CANYON COUNTRY White Rim Road east of the river. MINIMUM IMPACT PRACTICES CALM WATER Along the Colorado a seldom-used road leaves the 1. Tread lightly when traveling and leave no trace river at Lockhart Canyon (mile 26.5). At Lathrop of your camping. FLOAT TRIPS Canyon (mile 23.5) a four-wheel drive road receives Drive and ride only on roads and trails where such frequent use. The main campground is one-fourth travel is allowed: hike only on established trails, on the Green and mile from the river. on rock, or in washes. Camp at designated sites or, Colorado Rivers Below the Confluence two trails lead to four-wheel where allowed, at previously-used sites. Avoid plac- ing tents on top of vegetation and use a camp stove drive roads from just above the first rapid. Located instead of making a campfire. Unless signs indicate at river mile 213 (below the confluence, river miles otherwise, leave gates open or closed as you find are measured upstream from Lees Ferry) on the east them. side of the river is the Lower Red Lake Canyon 2. Help keep Canyon country clean. Trail. Four miles from the river plus an elevation Pack out your trash and recycle it, clean up after gain of 900 feet, the trail meets a four-wheel drive less thoughtful visitors, and dispose of human waste road. Another nine miles of hiking brings you to the properly. Needles District campground. At best this is a six 3. Protect and conserve scarce desert water sources. hour hike from the river to the campground with a Camp at least 300 feet from isolated water sources to light pack. The hike could easily take eight hours allow for wildlife access. Where possible, carry your with a heavy pack. own drinking water. Leave potholes undisturbed and wash well away from pools and springs. Directly across the river at mile 213 is the Span- ish Bottom or Doll House Trail. The lightly used 4. Allow space for wildlife. Doll House primitive campground, accessible only When encountering wildlife, maintain your distance and remain quiet. Teach children not to chase or pick by foot, horseback, or four-wheel drive vehicles, is up animals. Keep pets under control. at the end of this mile-long trail that climbs 1,200 feet. 5. Leave historic sites, Native American rock art ruins and artifacts untouched for the future. Do not attempt to hike away from the river for help Admire rock art from a distance and never touch it. unless you have adequate water and accurate maps. Stay out of ruins, leave artifacts in place, and report Be certain you know where you are going and ex- violations. plain your plan and route to others in your group. AGENCY ADDRESSES EQUIPMENT Canyonlands National Park Bureau of Land Management 2282 S. W. Resource Blvd Price Office Life jackets (required) Moab, UT 84532 125 S. 600 W. - P.O. Box 7004 Fire pan (required) 435-719-2313 (confirmation) Price, UT 84502 Toilet (required) 435-259-4351 (reservations) 435-636-3622 “Enjoy -- don’t destroy” Spare paddle (required) Green River State Park Clean up around your camp. 450 S. Green River Blvd. Fire extinguisher (required for motorized boats) Green River UT 84525 First aid kit (strongly recommended) 435-564-3633 Visitor Center: Boat repair kit Moab Information Center Published by: Moab Area Travel Council Center & Main, Moab, Utah 84532 Signal mirror or device In cooperation with: National Park Service Water or purification system Canyonlands National Park 435-259-8825 Guidebooks and maps Bureau of Land Management Toll Free: 1-800-635-MOAB Sun screen, sunglasses, and sun hat Moab District www.discovermoab.com GREEN RIVER INTRODUCTION LIFE JACKETS This brochure provides basic information about float- From the town of Green River to the Confluence, the ing the calm water portions of the Green and Colo- Life jackets, one per person, must be carried in Green River flows calmly through Labyrinth and Still- rado Rivers in southeastern Utah. These river areas your boat. It is recommended that life jackets be water Canyons. Sandbars are numerous by late sum- are suitable for use with canoes, kayaks and rafts. worn at all times. Life jackets must be worn be- mer. Boaters should be aware of two areas which are Please help preserve these beautiful rivers so that ev- low the Confluence. especially rocky at low water: Millard Canyon (Mile eryone will be able to enjoy their primitive character 33.5) and Horse Canyon (mile 14.5). for years to come. CAMPFIRES The Bureau of Land Management administers the Bring charcoal or a stove for cooking. Although HIKING shoreline of Labyrinth Canyon from Ruby Ranch to driftwood can be collected for fires, it is not al- Desert soils are extremely fragile. Minimize your im- the northern boundary of Canyonlands National Park ways readily available, especially during high pact by thinking about where you walk. If you hear and most of the shoreline of the Colorado River below water. Dry vegetation can burn very quickly, so your feet are making crunching noises while you are Moab down to the boundary of the park. Canyonlands please be careful with your fires. walking in the desert, more than likely you are walk- National Park administers the Colorado River from ing on crytobiotic soil crusts (cryptogams). Crytobi- south of Shafer Canyon to the head of Lake Powell, In the past fire rings of blackened rock and ash otic soils are nature’s way of retarding erosion. These and the Green River from five miles below Mineral piles made some camps unsightly. Fire pans are brown or black plants are crushed when stepped on Bottom to the Confluence, where the two rivers meet. required. A fire pan can be any metal container and often take years to recover. Please try to walk on rocks, in washes, or on established trails marked by River mileage points are measured from the Conflu- capable of containing your fire. An oil drain pan rock cairns. ence (Mile 0) upstream on both rivers. or garbage can lid works fine. Clean up is easi- est if you let your fire burn down to coals, then Travel on these rivers requires advance planning. The shovel the coal and ash into a bucket of water. Cairned trails can be found in the more frequently vis- land is primitive and there are no facilities. Tempera- The coals will cool quickly and those that float ited areas, such as Lathrop ruins and the Loop Trail on tures of 100 degrees Fahrenheit are common in June, can be placed in a plastic bag and carried out. The the Colorado; Bowknot Bend, Fort Bottom and Water Canyon on the Green; and Lower Red Lake and the July, and August. Afternoon thunderstorms are com- water and residue that settles to the bottom of the Doll’s House trails below the Confluence. mon during July and August. bucket should be deposited in the main channel of the river. PREHISTORIC AND COLORADO RIVER The disposal of ash in the river’s back water may HISTORIC VALUES For the first 62 miles downstream from Moab, the have a detrimental effect on young squaw-fish, an Colorado is a broad, placid river. The Slide, a mod- There are numerous prehistoric Indian sites along both endangered species. On long trips you can reduce rivers. Do not enter structures or touch rock art. Most erate rapid, is located one and a half miles upriver the amount of charcoal you carry out by burning are extremely fragile and all are irreplaceable. Climb- from the Confluence. Inexperienced canoeists may the coals in the next night’s fire. ing into a ruin can dislodge the mud mortar and loosen want to portage the Slide. The section between the rocks leading to eventual destruction of the site. You Confluence and Spanish Bottom can have dangerous may also find structures and inscriptions left by histor- whirlpools and eddies during high water while the GARBAGE ic river runners and explorers, These should be treated rapids of Cataract Canyon which begin four miles All garbage and trash must be carried out on all as carefully as the prehistoric Indian site. Refrain from below the Confluence can be among the most haz- portions of these rivers. Check your camp be- adding your name to these historic panels or canyon ardous in the country. Take-outs at the Confluence fore leaving and make sure it’s clean. Even small walls. Visitor register boxes are located the River Reg- are recommended. If you float below the Conflu- scraps of food left behind will attract ants, flies, ister and Bow-knot Bend in Labyrinth Canyon to re- ence, use extreme caution; you could end up in the and mice. Burn paper waste in your fire pan to cord your visit. Your help and cooperation are needed in order to preserve these prehistoric and historic sites class IV+ whitewater of Cataract Canyon (3 miles reduce bulk on longer trips. down stream). for future visitors. The drive to Mineral Bottom includes about 20 PERMITS miles of dirt road and a short stretch of switchbacks, DRINKING WATER Individuals planning overnight river travel above the which drop approximately 900 vertical feet in a mile Once you have traveled past Moab on the Colorado Confluence within Canyonlands National Park must and a half. This road may become impassable or just or past the town of Green River on the Green, there obtain a backcountry permit whether floating only plain terrifying when wet. The only take-outs below are few sources of drinking water.