A unique inn at the Gateway to the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument and Southern Utah's Canyon Country
115 West Main St./PO Box 575, Escalante, Utah 84726 * Toll-Free 1-866-455-0041 * Fax +1 (435) 826-4388 * Email info@VagabondBnB.com

Floating the Escalante River

The Escalante River is a very popular, scenic and unique river to run.

As the GSENM's former webpage says: "It is very important that you understand that this is not a normal river to run, it is unique. Please read the following warnings and make sure you know what you are getting into."

The floatable section of the Escalante River starts at the Highway 12 river crossing/Escalante River Trailhead, and ends at Lake Powell. The river is rated at Class 3, with lots of fast moving water, miles of rock navigation, and outstanding scenery. Low-water conditions will result in a lot of "push-pull-carry". It is a 70+ mile voyage that takes at least 7 days.

Basic information

For general information on the Escalante River and its drainage, the Utah Rivers website has some great information (including background info, history, wildlife, geology, etc.)

The Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument's (GSENMs) webpage used to have a lot of great basic information on floating the Escalante River. However, this website is currently indefinitely off-line due to a lawsuit. Call the Grand Staircase-Escalante Visitor's Center in Escalante (435)-826-5499 for the most up to date information.

We have also summarized the basic information here:

When?

The typical river running season for the Esalante River is around mid-May to mid-June. This year (2004) there is good snowpack, but it is melting quickly. The water flowrate can have a significant impact on the amount of time and difficulty getting down the river. Call the Grand-Staircase-Escalante Visitor's Center in Escalante, phone: (435)-826-5499, for the most up to date information.

Water Levels

The optimal water flow rate for running the Escalante River is 50 CFS or greater. Lower flow rates will result in increased "push-pull-carry", and will increase the time required to run the river.

Current and historical water flow and level data can be found from at:

• CURRENT flow rate and river gauge for the ESCALANTE RIVER (NWISWeb)
• USGS main NWISWeb (Water Resources) website for Utah: http://waterdata.usgs.gov/ut/nwis/nwis (Real-Time and historical data for all rivers, streams, springs, lakes, wells, groundwater, water quality, etc. in Utah)
• USGS' NWISWeb Data for the Entire US: http://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis (Online water-resources data for approximately 1.5 million sites in all 50 States)
• River Watches & Warnings from the National Weather Service's Colorado Basin River Forecast Center (CBRFC)http://www.cbrfc.noaa.gov/ (Note: select the Salt Lake City/SLC collumn of data to get appropriate info)

Weather

• Weather Data for Escalante & Southern Utah (NOAA)
• NOAA weather for Utah
• NOAA Weather for Arizona
• National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) home (US Government's main weather forcasting home)

Boats

The Monument has this to say about boats: "The recommended craft for running the Escalante River is an inflatable kayak. This river is rated class III and is very busy with many miles of rocks to negotiate around in fast water. Conditions also change with the amount of water that is flowing. If you run it in low water you will spend time pulling, pushing and towing your boat. Rafts are too wide for the narrow channels. Hard shell kayaks are harder to carry out if you choose to do the hike out Crack-in-the-Wall. You must have a good quality boat or it may fall apart."

Start/Put-In

• Highway 12 river crossing/Escalante River Trailhead
• Approximately 15 miles East of Escalante on Highway 12
• Online Map of Highway 12 Put-In
• Note: this is a popular hiking trailhead with limited parking (and parking is not allowed along highway 12). It may be necessary to arrange a shuttle from town.
• Shuttle Service available from: Escalante Outback Adventures, www.escalante-utah.com, 435-826-4967. "Hiking Tours and Shuttle Service for the Canyons of the Escalante."

Take-Outs

1. Coyote Gulch
• This is probably the most common take-out, and involves a strenous, approximately 4-mile hike with 1000' in elevation gain from the river to the road. This route includes climbing a 600' sand dune and negotiating Crack-in-the-Wall. Two trips are ususally required to get all your gear.
• The take-out is not well marked, so it is critical that you have this marked on a topo map before heading out, and you understand how to read/interpret this! Otherwise, you may have more of an adventure than you initially set out upon.
• The Coyote Gulch Trailhead is at the end of the 40 Mile Ridge Road, via Hole-in-the-Rock road (approximately 43 miles). The last 2 miles require 4WD due to deep sand
• Shuttle Service available from: Escalante Outback Adventures, www.escalante-utah.com, 435-826-4967. "Hiking Tours and Shuttle Service for the Canyons of the Escalante."
2. Lake Powell
• Alternately, you can float all the way down to Lake Powell.
• Shuttle Service from the Escalante Arm of Lake Powell to the Bullfrog Marina can be arranged from Capt. John Coulter at the Bulfrog Marina, 435-684-3062 or coulter-jon@aramark.com
3. Emergency
• Emergency take-outs are few and far between... Communications are sparse, and cell phones don't work in the canyons...
• As the Monument's webpage says, "... there's still solitude to be found, adventure with the sense of danger, and the wonder of a raw, unfinished and awesomely beautiful world."
• So be careful, make sure you're informed, go prepared, and inform someone of your route.
• The Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument recommends that all visitors stop by the Interagency Visitor's Center in Escalante before setting out to get the latest conditions, and keep them informed.

Permits

• Overnight permits are required for any overnight stays in the Monument, and can be obtained free of charge at the Grand-Staircase-Escalante Visitor's Center in Escalante, phone: (435)-826-5499

Camping

The Monument has this to say about camping: "Due to the high interest of both river runners and backpackers, camping at side canyons can get very crowded. We encourage river runners to camp on the brushy terraces between side canyons when possible. You may have to pull your boats up onto, or tie boats off (very securely in case of rising water levels/wind etc) to the tamarisk or willows and then scramble/hike up onto the riverbank to reach a campsite."

Camping our small log cabin "bunkhouses" are also available pre/post trip at Escalante Outfitters. Click here for more info.

Maps

• Online Map of the Escalante River
• Topos: Escalante Outfitters Stocks all Topo Maps of the Escalante River. See our maps page
• Computer-Topo & 3-D Mapping Software: Escalante Outfitters recommends & stocks Maptech's Terrain Navigator computer topo mapping software.

Additional Information

• Floating the Escalante River: or Pushing, Pulling, Towing or Portaging Your Boat Down the Escalante River This is a great booklet with information on the Escalante River, river descriptions and camping sites, etc. This is available for free from the GSENM's Escalante Office. Escalante Outfitters also tries to keep copies onhand.

• River Runners' Guide to Utah and Adjacent Areas by Gary Nichols: A comprehensive guide to Utah's major and minor rivers with color photos and maps, 168 pages $10.46 (University of Utah Press; 1986 - 2nd ed.)

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