Rafting Dinosaur National Monument
One- to 5-Day Rafting Trips in Dinosaur National Monument
Dinosaur National Monument offers everything you could want in an ideal, fun-filled National Park vacation. Hike, raft, and explore where dinosaurs once roamed. Submerge yourself in a canyon surrounded by red rock cliffs. Explore side canyons and oases in a mini-Grand-Canyon-like setting. Explore Dinosaur’s ancient Native American rock art, including petroglyphs and pictographs. And learn about the canyon’s geologic history as you delve deeper into the canyons of the Yampa and Green Rivers.
O.A.R.S. Canyonlands, Inc. is an authorized concessioner of Dinosaur National Monument
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Adventures in Dinosaur
Yampa River Rafting
Location:
Colorado & Utah
Adventure Level:
Moderately Challenging
Minimum Age:
7 (10 – 12 during high water)
Green River Rafting through the Gates of Lodore
Location:
Utah & Colorado
Adventure Level:
Moderate
Minimum Age:
7 (10 – 12 during high water)
Utah Whitewater Rafting through Split Mountain Canyon
Location:
Utah
Adventure Level:
Easier to Moderate
Minimum Age:
6 (11 during high water)
John Wesley Powell Retrace
Location:
Utah & Colorado
Adventure Level:
Moderately Challenging
Minimum Age:
16
Dinosaur Whitewater Guide School
Location:
Utah
Adventure Level:
Challenging
Minimum Age:
18
Upper Green River Rowing Clinic
Location:
Utah
Adventure Level:
Moderately Challenging
Minimum Age:
18 (16 with parent/guardian also in the class)
We did a day trip on the Green River through Dinosaur National Monument. A quick stop at the petroglyphs on the way was a big highlight. Our guide was very knowledgeable and informative and answered questions effectively. Then we hit the water and it got even better. Lunch was tasty and we got to swim for a while before finishing the trip. Good rapids and beautiful scenery with several wildlife sightings made it a great day.
Doug, 2022 OARS Split Mountain Guest
Map
Where is Dinosaur National Monument located and why is it named ‘Dinosaur’?
Dinosaur National Monument straddles the Utah-Colorado border in the northwest corner of Colorado. Paleontologist Earl Douglass and his crew discovered dinosaur fossil beds in 1909, and they excavated thousands of fossils, shipping them to the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pennsylvania for study and display. The findings created a great deal of interest, sending all sorts of visitors to the area. Douglass wrote to President Woodrow Wilson requesting the area be protected (against professional fossil looters and homesteaders looking to make a quick buck). Wilson proclaimed the area as a national monument in 1915. The monument was expanded from its original 80 acres to over 210,000 acres in 1938 to protect the surrounding area’s spectacular scenery, geology, ecology, and rich cultural history.
Dinosaur National Monument is typically accessed by airports in Salt Lake City (3 hours), Park City (3 hours), and Vernal (20 minutes).
What rivers does OARS raft on in Dinosaur National Monument?
OARS operates multi-day rafting trips on the Green River and the Yampa River, as well as one-day whitewater rafting trips on the Split Mountain Canyon section of the Green River in Dinosaur National Monument.
What kinds of fossils were discovered in Dinosaur?
Ten different kinds of dinosaurs were discovered in what is now Dinosaur National Monument. Four of them were long-necked, long-tailed plant-eating sauropods, some of the largest land-dwelling creatures to have ever lived on Earth. More recent findings include a virtually complete skeleton of an entirely new kind of dinosaur—Allosaurus Jimmadsenii.
Is a Dinosaur National Monument rafting trip good for families?
An OARS whitewater rafting trip in Dinosaur National Monument on the Green or the Yampa River includes paddling through fun, splashy rapids, camping on big sandy beaches, enjoying hearty, healthy meals, and a night sky like you’ve never experienced before. The minimum age on a Split Mountain Canyon rafting trip is 6 and increases to 11 during spring high water (generally through mid- to late June). For multi-day Yampa River and Gates of Lodore trips, the minimum age is 7, except during high water when the minimum age increases to 12.
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