Rafting Trips on the Yampa River
The Yampa River, flowing through the heart of Dinosaur National Monument is one of the prettiest canyons in the West. Rafting trips put in at Deerlodge Park in northwestern Colorado. From there, the Yampa River carves its way west for 46 spectacular miles, eventually joining the Green River at Echo Park. Yampa river trips continue another 26 miles on the Green River into Utah and end at the Split Mountain take-out, near the famous Dinosaur Quarry. On its way, the Yampa threads through some of the most dramatic geology in America, with scenery on a par with the Grand Canyon of the Colorado. The Yampa canyon walls are vertical or beyond vertical, in places completely overhanging the river. Rafting parties spend their days craning their necks to take in the wondrous vertical landscape, and striking features such as Tiger Wall, The Grand Overhang, and Cleopatra's Couch. Between canyon stretches, the Yampa slides gently through a number of wider pastoral valleys known as 'parks'.Typical Yampa trip length is 4 to 6 days, and permits are difficult to obtain, harder to get than the Middle Fork of the Salmon. The Yampa rafting season is relatively short. Trips on the Yampa are therefore a precious opportunity. Rapids are generally less challenging, with the exception of thunderous Warm Springs rapid, where the river was dammed by a landslide in the 1960's. The Yampa is also blessed with interesting side-hikes to caves, relics, and rock art of the Native American Fremont culture who inhabited the area over a thousand years ago.
<<< Select a campsite
Learn about taking rafting trips like these at Multi-Day White Water Rafting Trips - An Introduction To view the Google Maps satellite photo of Deerlodge Park click here. Zoom up or down, and drag the photo to follow the river.