Westwater Canyon, Utah – Sandwiched between Colorado’s quiet western border and the bustle of Moab, Westwater Canyon of the Colorado River qualifies as one of the truly classic intermediate whitewater rafting runs in the West.
Spectacular scenery, quality side hikes and playful whitewater combine to create an idyllic canyon cruise with enough variety to keep most any boater entertained.
“This really is a little mini-classic, something that a lot of groups can pull together on their own and do,” Billy Matteson, co-owner of Timberline Tours rafting company in Vail, said during a recent run through the remote, 17-mile canyon. “It’s got a little bit of everything. And you certainly can’t beat the scenery.”
Westwater’s picturesque desert geology serves as some of the finest in canyon country – smooth red sandstone oozing with desert varnish atop jagged black gneiss similar to the famous Vishnu Schist of the Grand Canyon. But beyond the landscape, it’s the whitewater of the inner gorge that attracts river enthusiasts from throughout the region.
Steep walls constricting the channel and ebony boulders dotting the riverbed create waves of rapids as the ancient black rock formations come and go, climaxing where the inner walls rise highest (about 200 feet) at Skull Rapid, the most technical rapid on the run.
Most river guides rate Skull as a class IV (advanced, where class VI is considered extreme), although a quick scout and relative competence on the oars typically allow safe passage at most river flows.
Despite upstream dams, Westwater sees a fairly natural runoff pattern with an average annual peak of about 16,000 cubic feet per second (cfs) typically occurring in June. Already this year, spring snowmelt has brought the river up to levels as high as 12,000 cfs, forming the large waves and hydraulics typical of higher flows through the canyon. As the river recedes to a more standard flow of 3,000 cfs, rapids become more technical.
Many kayakers prefer the lower flows of the late summer months (Westwater’s most popular season), when the drops are more defined and playful. At just about any level, however, the excitement peaks at Skull, where boaters encounter a variety of obstacles, including a house rock that forms a nasty hydraulic and an unsettling whirlpool eddy known as the Room of Doom. Most other rapids are considered non-technical class III (intermediate) with a big-water feel.
“It’s really a low-water canyon,” Matteson said. “At 2,000 cfs … you can spend two days in here having fun in a kayak. When it gets big, most of the rapids are washed out and pretty straightforward – except Skull.”
Several commercial outfitters offer tours through the canyon, although private groups with appropriate equipment and a required permit through the Bureau of Land Management’s Moab office (435-259-7012) make up a significant percentage of users. BLM permits are typically easier to come by in the early (April) and late season (mid-October).
A five-hour drive from Denver, Westwater can be run in a single day, although many parties prefer to linger longer to explore canyons or take in the scenery.
Other attractions within the canyon include an abandoned miner’s cabin, built in the early 1900s by gold prospectors, and the “Outlaw Cave,” where legend has it two bank robbers holed up during the same era.
Camping is available at the put-in and take-out, and longer trips are possible by combining the float through the class II Horsethief and Ruby canyons upstream, or the scenic drift from Rose Ranch to Moab.
