Made it home from rafting in Utah and it was awesome! And it's more doable than you might think
We spent last week in Utah rafting with OARS on the Green River through Dinosaur National Monument. It was beautiful, the camping was fun, and I was surprised how easy of a travel experience it was.
We’re back from our rafting trip through Dinosaur National Monument and it was Ahhh-mazing. Today I just wanted to share a little about our trip because last week when I said that Elliott (11) and I were doing a multiday rafting trip I immediately got emails asking for details and asking if I was crazy. Well, we lived and loved it. I know spending a week camping on the river in Utah might not sound like something you would ever consider, but I was surprised by so much of the experience, so just in case you ever had it in the back of your mind, maybe you’ll be inspired!
Thank you for tuning in as we continue to share our travel stories and tips. We’re in our twelfth year of blogging about travel with kids and as an LGBTQ family and it’s been such a privilege to get to have people read our stories. Anyways, thank you for reading and being encouraging over the years.
Rafting through Dinosaur National Monument
Have you heard of Dinosaur National Monument before? If not, no worries. This is a part of the National Park Service and it occupies a huge portion of northeastern Utah and into Colorado. You can access Dinosaur National Monument by car in a few places, and there are some really cool dinosaur fossils, petroglyphs and pictographs, and epic views, but getting to raft on the Green River through its canyons is absolutely remarkable. If you’re into geology or paleontology, this is THE place to geek out on geologic time and the visible layers of Earth’s crust.
Check out this OARS trip here!
The actual rafting experience was both jaw dropping and epically fun. When we started out our 4-day rafting trip with OARS, Elliott was really nervous about the rafting and rapids we were going to encounter, but by one hour into it he was absolutely having the time of his life. The Gates of Lodore (the canyon where we began) were something out of a dragon story, with cliffs and rock formations begging for a creature to land and breathe fire down on us. The Green River was beautifully… green. In places the water was green tinted with red rocks below and other spots it almost was turquoise.
Each night our camp was in a different spot with beautiful cliffs and wilderness all around. Our first night we set up camp while a small herd of bighorn sheep with lambs drank in the river across from us. The next night we got into camp early and had a whole afternoon of swimming and playing beach games before going for an evening hike. Our third night was in a beautiful spot with a swimming pond, a stream and the coolest hike through a valley to a waterfall. Each day was something different. OARS has the rafting/camping combo figured out!
The Landscapes and Wildlife
We’ve done lots of road trips through Utah and been to all of the Utah National Parks, but I had never considered that Dinosaur National Monument was going to be anything more than a series of fossil deposits and science exhibits (which I’m super into, so don’t take that the wrong way). Before we set our on our 4 day rafting trip with OARS, Elliott and I spent two days in Vernal, UT checking out all of the dinosaur stuff we could, hiking and enjoying canyons, so we thought we basically had the lay of the land and knew what was in store. Nope.
The landscapes when you approach Dinosaur National Monument from the river are astounding. Deep red sandstone cliffs and alabaster limestone formations are continually changing all around you as you move with the Green River. Whether it’s the legendary view as you start into the Gates of Lodore of the painted, layered hills in that final stretch through NE Utah, there’s always something to make you gasp.
Because we’ve been to Utah so many times and thanks to our days before our rafting trip, we were expecting to see very little wildlife on the river. We’d only been seeing pronghorn (antelope) for days, so when we got into our rafts and had bighorn sheep, deer and eagles, that was a wonderful surprise. Visually and as far as nature goes, our Gates of Lodore rafting trip surpassed all expectations.
Hitting the Rapids with Kids
You can always tell what outdoor experiences other people have had by the questions they ask and the way they phrase them. When I said that we were rafting the canyons in Utah, the pearls were clutched. The eyes got big. “With a kid? That’s so dangerous.” You know, everything in life is dangerous, but when you’re doing a big adventure that has money and insurance and restrictions tied up in it, you can feel pretty confident that it’s a safe operation that’s tried and true. We knew what we were getting into with rafting Hell’s Half Mile and Triplet Falls. And here we are: happy memories and great stories.
Really though, when you go out with a rafting company like OARS they are very good about making sure everyone knows what they’re getting into and even on the river, you can do short hikes with the guides to scout the rapids and see what lies ahead. At no point in our four days of rafting was I concerned for Elliott’s or my safety. Being on the river with trained professionals is an awesome experience and is a great way to expand your outdoor horizons.
PS: Elliott’s (and my) favorite rapid on the 44 mile section of the Green River that we did is called Schoolboy. It’s a really fun Class III alongside a cliff with both boulder rapids and waves coming from the roll wall. It was a blast to hit and it was a great soaker!
Camping on the Green River
I had forgotten how nice it is to sleep next to running water; that sound really does put you out, especially after a long day on the river. After our daily whitewater rafting adventures, the OARS team would guide us ashore to our camp for the night. We weren’t just camping in a random place one of the guides knew, but in carefully managed Park Service sites. There were no firepits or bathrooms, but just woods with small clearings for tents. The guide team was so good about setting up camp each day, with a kitchen, two “bathrooms”, a camp circle and three handwashing stations. They’re such a well-oiled machine.
We got to pick where our tent would go each night, and Elliott and I really favored the heavily forested sites. My favorite spot we put our tent had a small path directly to the river and you could sit in the tent and watch the water. It was pretty magical.
Since there were seven kids on our rafting trip (we were on the family friendly trip) they all hung out and played games and swam each day. Even though all of us had only met a day before, the vibes at camp were always like a family reunion but without all the drama. I’m not hugely social, but our camping buddies were really great to chat with and I felt welcome with no history between us. It’s such a good group of people who book OARS rafting trips.
Other OARS trips we’d like to do
So OARS, our host for our Gates of Lodore multiday rafting trip, do all sorts of single day and multi-day trips. While I don’t know that I could convince the rest of the family to do it, I would love to do one of the big Alaska rafting trips that last 12+ days. I think it would be amazing. We are looking at one of the Salmon River, Rogue River or Grand Canyon trips for next year with all four of us, so we’ll see what shakes out.
If you’re interested in the different options for multi-day rafting trips, there are lots of options and you can sort them by trip length, intensity and minimum age requirement. Having rafted on many rivers, I can say that not every river is great with young kids, and there are some rivers that make me nervous as an experienced adult, but there are so many wonderful, beautiful places to explore, I know there’s something for everyone.
Here are some OARS destinations and itineraries to check out:
Alaska adventures - 12+ days
Snake River through Hells Canyon - 4 or 5 days
San Juan River in Southern Utah - 6 days
Rogue River in Oregon - 3, 4 or 5 days
Salmon River in Idaho - 4, 5 or 6 days
PS: we do have an affiliate relationship with OARS so if you choose to book something a small commission is given to us at no cost to you. We had an amazing experience with OARS, so even without our affiliate relationship we’d be telling you to check them out!
That’s all for this week. Next week I’ll have more to share about our recent trip through the Florida Keys and I may share all the details of our upcoming Alaska adventure next month. Summer is flying by and we’re loving it all, so if there’s any questions you have about either the things we’ve got planned or have done before, send them my way. Thank you for reading and staying in touch, and have an awesome week!