M.A.T.'s Home Rivers
Colorado
Brown's Canyon - Arkansas River
This is the classic III-IV run in Colorado. Beautiful scenery and multiple play opportunities for kayakers characterize this section in mountainous west-central Colorado. Good water levels are usually mid-May to early August with 2-day trips in the canyon or longer trips possible by continuing through Big Horn Sheep Canyon. No permits are currently required for the Arkansas river, though a small use fee is required at access points.
Upper Colorado River
A great section of river for beginners and families. Great scenery and generally mild class II-III rapids on this north-western Colorado river. Good water from May through September most years with 2-5 day trips possible. No permits with public and private river access.
Utah
Ruby Horse Thief - Colorado river
Awesome desert stretch with large sandstone walls. Good side hikes and mostly flat water. This section starts in western Colorado and ends in Utah, making a 2-3 day trip that can be extended to 4 days if you run...
Westwater Canyon
A classic III-IV desert run.
I like to describe Westwater as a canyon within a canyon. Shiny black schist towers inside the surrounding sandstone walls creating this unique canyon landscape. Most of the rapids are in close succession, with play boating for kayakers at lower flows. A permit is required from the Bureau of Land Management (click here for fees and information) and the season lasts from Spring through Fall.
San Juan River
Sandy Island to Clay Hills.
This section of the San Juan courses through south-eastern Utah and offers beautiful scenery along with some really awesome side hikes, Indian ruins and petroglyphs, and mostly steady current with rapids up to class III.
A season running from Spring through Fall is normal and a permit is required (from the BLM), with some of the side hikes on Indian lands and also requiring permits (from the Navajo Parks and Recreation Dept.).
A 2-3 day trip form Sandy Island to Mexican Hat, or a 7-day trip to Clay Hills Crossing are possible.
Dolores River
This Colorado-Utah gem starts out as a small mountain stream in the vicinity of Cortez and winds its way through Ponderosa and High Country till it eventually becomes a desert river and joins the Colorado near Dewey Bridge, Utah.
The name "Dolores" means "river of sorrow, river of woe" making it the most misnamed place on the planet. The Dolores is one of the most beautiful rivers I have ever rafted, and one of the coolest places I've ever been. The Dolores only runs in the Spring--during good snow pack years from mid-April through May if you're lucky--and definitely a place to go if you get the chance. Many different trip lengths are possible from 2 days to over a week. A permit is required for the last section--from Gateway to Dewey Bridge. Click here for Lower Dolores permit information (PDF format).
To set up a raft trip on one of these rivers,
or another local river, call M.A.T. today:
(970) 531-7059
Open to travelling to different rivers.
If you prefer to raft with a commercial company instead of taking a private raft trip, M.A.T. recommends Raven Adventure Trips.