San Juan River Rafting & Family Vacation in Utah - 6 Days
San Juan River Rafting & Utah Family Vacation - Overview
Rafting the San Juan River in southeastern Utah offers the ultimate in fun on a southwest outdoor family vacation offering paddling on easy Class II rapids, side hikes up nearby canyons and learning about local archeology, geology and plant and wildlife.
The San Juan River in southeastern Utah is a place of surreal beauty and vibrancy, hundreds of millions of years in the making. A calm, congenial river, paddling the San Juan is combines a relaxing float trip livened up by fun Class II rapids. Kids and adults love the terrific hiking opportunities nearby and Utah's warm weather and water. A bottomless archeological treasure chest, this area in southeastern Utah encases numerous remnants of ancient civilizations. Lined with vivid pictographs, ancient art, cave dwellings and ruins including the Moki Stairs, carved by the region’s Native American tribes over 800 years ago, the San Juan River basin is an enormous natural museum locked within a labyrinth of dramatic red rock canyons. Twisting and turning through one of the most convoluted canyons in the Colorado Plateau, the Goosenecks of the San Juan zigzag over seven miles in an airline distance of just two miles. End your day relaxing in warm pools and beach camping under the desert stars.
San Juan River Rafting - 6 Day Itinerary at a Glance
San Juan Archaeology Adventure
For those with a love of ancient history and the relics that
remain, we are excited to offer an interpretive archaeology adventure
facilitated by a special guest archaeologist.
We’ll explore the bottomless treasure chest of the San Juan
River basin which encases numerous remnants of ancient civilizations
– most prominently, the Prehistoric Puebloan culture.
Discover granaries, cliff dwellings, kivas, watchtowers, and panels of
unique rock art left behind by the American Indians who abandoned this
area around 1300 A.D.
- Gather at Recapture Lodge in Bluff, Utah and meet your guides for a scenic drive to Sand Island
- Hike at Butler Wash to view petroglyphs and Moki Stairs carved into the cliffs 800 years ago
- Spend some time getting to know the river in a raft or a playful inflatable kayak
- Camp on pristine sand beaches with riverside feasting beneath the stars
- Campfires, music, stories and jokes, swimming, Frisbee or a nature walk
- Hike to River House, one of the most impressive Native American cliff dwellings found on any river in North America
- Travel over the famous Mormon Trail and cross the Comb Ridge monocline
- Hike to the Mule Ear diatreme before our whitewater descent of Four-Foot Rapid, Eight-Foot and Ledge Rapids
- Enjoy views of Monument Valley, float past Mexican Hat and enter the Mendenhall Loop
- Pass exquisite works of water and rock like the Tabernacle and Second Narrows
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