Moab Rafting & Canoe Co. | Moab, UT

All Featured Content ©2010 Moab Rafting & Canoe Company, L.L.C. - 805 N. Main Street - Moab, UT 84532 - (435) 259-7722 - Site By RCDM
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San Juan River
Gear Rentals

Green River >>>

Colorado River >>>

San Juan River >>>

A self-guided
trip that is not
recommended
for everyone.

If grabbing the gunnels in
small waves is part of your
paddling skill, you should
do a Green River trip
instead.

Lets talk Shuttle...

Moab to Sand Island with gear rental, and a gear pick-up at Mexican Hat.
To San Juan River 1 to 6 Canoes............................................. $495.00
This is one suburban with or without trailer.

Moab to San Juan River with a gear rental, and a gear pick-up at Clay Hills.
To San Juan River 1 to 6 Canoe............................................. $695.00
This is one suburban with or without trailer.

All shuttle prices subject to change without notice. (Sorry!)

If you want to do your own shuttle, we work with:

Recapture Lodge - Bluff, UT. 435 672 2281

Valle’s - Mexican Hat, UT. 435 683 2226

We offer custom guided canoe trips (deluxe) with raft support on
the San Juan (with Moab Rafting)

Please call for rate and launch dates. One day trips available any day by special
arrangement. We will customize private trips for your family or group. Launch dates
available for custom trips from March through October. Let's talk canoes...

This lovely river

slowly makes its way out of the San Juan Mountains in southern

Colorado

and crosses the Four Corners region before flowing into Lake Powell.

She was the focus of settlement for the Anasazi Indians for hundreds of years. They

farmed along her banks and left abundant remains of their civilization in the form of

chips of stone and pottery, ancient homes and ceremonial rooms, and pictures carved

into the walls of the canyons or painted on the roofs of overhanging rock shelters. Some

of the finest rock art in the southwest can be seen just steps from the river's edge, on

sheer rock faces covered with ancient stories in stone.

Near the put-in at the town of Bluff, Utah, the river meanders lazily past groves of

cottonwood trees and braids across sandbars in a wide valley bounded by low

sandstone cliffs. Within a few short miles, the river begins to cut directly into the heart of

a great bulge in the layers of the earth's crust, the Monument Upwarp. As she carves

into layers of rock deeply buried elsewhere, she forms a limestone canyon whose walls climb 1,300 feet above the
river. The water still meanders in an immense looping pattern through these canyon walls, forming the "Goosenecks of
the San Juan", where the river flows approximately 12 miles only to achieve about 3 miles of distance overland.

The San Juan is a living classroom for the region's history, geology and archeology - here the learning is easy and fun!
Hikers, can climb to the tops of the canyon walls for a spectacular view, retrace the old Mormon wagon route up
"San Juan Hill", splash in clear plunge pools on a hot summer day, walk to the remains of a gold prospector's stone
cabin, and run their fingers over fossils millions of years old or observe pieces of ancient pottery that still bear the
potter's fingerprints. The river itself flows swiftly but does not form huge rapids. Although the river has a steeper average
gradient than the Colorado River in Grand Canyon, her Class I and II rapids are fun and bouncy and offer plenty of
challenges for the intermediate canoeist. The San Juan River is the favorite of many river runners in the southwest, one
that inspires love and loyalty and to which they eagerly return.

River runners

need to allow at least 3 days running the 26-mile stretch between

Bluff and Mexican Hat, and more still to take advantage of the variety of hiking.

The 57-mile

section of river between Mexican Hat and Clay Hills Crossing requires at

least

4 or

more days, and when combining both sections, it is best to allow for

least 5 or

more days.

Bluff to Mexican Hat

This 26-mile stretch of the San Juan River is rich in petroglyphs, pictographs,
ruins and artifacts as well as remnants of early pioneer settlers. One could
spend days exploring the first 8 miles of this trip. This section also contains the
bulk of the Class II rapids on the San Juan. The Sand Island put-in is several
miles south of the town of Bluff, Utah on Highway 191. Allow a minimum of 3
days to reach the take-out at Mexican Hat, which is also on Highway 191.

Mexican Hat to Clay Hills

The lower section of the San Juan can be run by itself or combined with the
Bluff to Mexican Hat section for a truly superb trip. The river meanders through
spectacular canyons, has several Class II rapids, and provides access to
Grand Gulch, Slickhorn Gulch, the Goosenecks, and many other great hiking
areas. The take-out at Clay Hills is located 21miles off Highway 263. this is a
very long dirt road. When on the Highway: 2 hour back to Bluff. 4 hours back
to Moab.