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• Green River-Lodore Canyon
• Green River-Flaming Gorge
• Yampa River
• White River
• Weber River
• Bear River

About Lodore Canyon (Gates of Lodore)

Also referred to as the Gates of Lodore, Lodore Canyon is the definition of excitement and awe. Within 30 minutes of leaving the boat launch towering walls clasp you and the river. The experienced guides of Dinosaur Expeditions will shepard you safely and comfortably through the deep red canyon walls that grow higher and clamp tighter on the racing river, first traversed by Major John Wesley Powell in 1869. Today’s river runners through the Gates of Lodore ride a different river than Powell because Flaming Gorge Dam regulates the flow allowing for a longer river season. But boating is always a challenge and the canyon supremely spectacular in this stretch of river protected within Dinosaur National Monument.

Gates of Lodore rapids named by Powell: Disaster Falls, Hells Half Mile and Triplett Falls, provide thrills and are a challenge, even at lower water levels. The sound of the booming rapids will be interspersed with your squeals of delight. But a trip through Lodore Canyon is much more than running rapids. Easy hikes at Winnies Grotto Rippling Brook, Pot Creek, and Limestone expose hidden treasures or sweeping views. This is bighorn sheep territory and they often graze close to the edge of the river, watching as you drift by.

After 18 miles the hard walls give way to the grand Echo Park (See Yampa River), and easy rapids of Whirlpool Canyon. There a short hike up roaring Jones Hole Creek ends at a Fremont petroglyph panel and small waterfall on Ely Creek. Here a dip in the cool water refreshes you from the desert heat.

As the river leaves Whirlpool Canyon its sinuous course traverses Island Park providing you with sweeping vast panoramas. Split Mountain portal looms downstream, and the river again enters a steep-walled canyon with roaring rapids named Moonshine, SOB, Schoolboy and Ingalsby. Broad beaches here provide reflective lunch stops and a cooling dip in the river. Too quickly, it seems, the boat ramp comes into view and you reenter a world that has seemed remote and irrelevant for days.

• Adventures & Experiences Nearby:
• Visit the world famous Dinosaur Quarry in Dinosaur National Monument
• Drive or bike to the historic Josie Morris Ranch on the Cub Creek in Dinosaur National Monument
• Drive or bike to beautiful petroglyph panels in Rainbow Park and along the Cub Creek Tour Route
• Hike the Desert Voices and Sound of Silence Nature Trails in Dinosaur National Monument
• Drive or Bike to the Cliff Ridge Hang Gliding Launch Site on the Blue Mountain Escarpment
• Drive to the Harpers Corner Overlook to view the canyons you have traversed
• Visit the Utah Museum of Natural History in Vernal, Utah
• Drive to view petroglyph panels in scenic Dry Fork Canyon
• Eat a hearty River Runners meal at the Dinosaur Brew Haus

• Books to read:
• Dinosaur River Guide; Buzz Belknap & Loie Belknap Evans; Westwater Books
• Dinosaur’s Restless Rivers; Wallace R. Hansen; Dinosaur Nature Association
• This Is Dinosaur: Wallace Stegner; Roberts reinhart, Inc.
• The Great Unknown: John Cooley; Northland Publishing
• Raven’s Exile: Ellen Melody; Henry Holt & Company
• Cadillac Desert: Marc Reisner; Viking Press
• If We Had A Boat; Roy Webb; University of Utah Press