7 to 26 days from $2099
View Dates & Prices
Overview
Highlights
- Follow in the footsteps of John Wesley Powell
- Discover the backstory of this remarkable journey with the help of our knowledgeable river guides
- Explore the remote and beautiful river canyons of Colorado & Utah
- Hike up side canyons and explore historic sites
- Experience the Green and Colorado Rivers by raft or dory
In 1869 John Wesley Powell set out with a crew of 10 to explore the uncharted Green and Colorado Rivers from Green River Station, WY to the “impassable” Grand Canyon. Our retrace trip follows a portion of Powell’s original exploration on the Green and Colorado Rivers through Flaming Gorge and Lodore, Desolation, Gray, Labyrinth and Stillwater Canyons on the Green River and through Cataract Canyon below the confluence with the Colorado River to take-out at Hite Crossing on Lake Powell, just upstream from Grand Canyon.
While we offer this trip as a complete 26-day experience from Flaming Gorge through to Hite Crossing on Lake Powell, you can opt to partake in either the upper or lower sections as well. Thanks to our unique collection of permits on the Green and Colorado Rivers, OARS is the only commercial outfitter that can make this retrace trip a reality.
Photos & Video
Itinerary & Map
Itinerary & Map
- Meet at 7:00 PM the evening before your trip at the OARS Warehouse in Vernal, Utah, for a pre-trip meeting
- Scenic drive from Vernal to our put-in below the Flaming Gorge Dam, where the boats and the rest of the OARS crew await
- Spend time in Brown's Park at the world-famous Jarvie Ranch--an old outlaw hangout
- Enter Dinosaur National Monument through the Gates of Lodore
- Feast on delicious meals, relax on sandy beaches
- Charge rapids like Winnies, Disaster Falls, Triplet, and Hells Half Mile
- Float past Echo Park and the confluence with the Yampa River
- Run four major rapids through Split Mountain Canyon
- Return to Vernal for the conclusion of the upper section and then transfer to Sand Wash for the beginning of the lower canyon
- Stop to see thousand-year-old ruins and intriguing petroglyphs left by the Fremont Indians
- Hike to the abandoned ranch where Butch Cassidy’s Wild Bunch stayed
- Travel through Desolation & Gray Canyons and run 50+ Class II-III rapids
- Hike up to the River Post Office or discover the secrets hidden in Three Canyon, Bull Hollow, Anderson Bottom or Two Mile Canyon
- Travel through Labyrinth and Stillwater Canyons in Canyonlands amidst Ancestral Pueblo ruins, seasonal waterfalls and jaw-dropping vistas
- Raft the legendary rapids of Cataract Canyon like Mile Long, Capsize and the Big Drops
- Cataract Canyon ends as we reach the old location of Cass Hite's Ferry that was flooded by Lake Powell
- Return flight to Vernal for the conclusion of your trip
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Destination River -
Meeting Parking
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Rapid
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Point of interest
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Camp
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Put-In
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Take Out
Dates & Prices
Prices
2020
Spring
UPPER SECTION:
FLAMING GORGE TO SPLIT MOUNTAIN
7 Days: $2099
LOWER SECTION:
SAND WASH TO HITE
16 Days: $4299
Fall
UPPER SECTION:
FLAMING GORGE TO SPLIT MOUNTAIN
8 Days: $2249
LOWER SECTION:
SAND WASH TO HITE
18 Days: $4699
FULL TRIP:
FLAMING GORGE TO HITE
26 Days: $6999*
PREMIER PRICING: Be one of the first four to book a 2020 departure before March 31, 2020 to save $200 on the upper, $300 on the lower or $400 on the full canyon per person!
Deposit: $800 to $1000
Additional Cost: $15 Dinosaur National Monument entrance fee (upper), $25 BLM fee (lower)
*Full 26-day trip based on double occupancy. Single supplement $50
Departure Dates
2020
Spring
UPPER SECTION
FLAMING GORGE TO SPLIT MOUNTAIN
7 Days: May 21
LOWER SECTION
SAND WASH TO HITE
16 Days: June 14
Fall
UPPER SECTION
FLAMING GORGE TO SPLIT MOUNTAIN
8 Days: September 7
LOWER SECTION
SAND WASH TO HITE
18 Days: September 15
FULL TRIP
FLAMING GORGE TO HITE
26 Days: September 7
O.A.R.S. Canyonlands, Inc.is an authorized concessioner of Canyonlands National Park and Dinosaur National Monument.
OARS is proud to donate 1% of sales from this trip to the National Park Foundation to help protect our parks and get more kids outside!
Reviews
Press & Blog
Press & Blog
Blog Posts
Press & Articles
Before You Go
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