Luxury Colorado River Rafting through Utah's Canyonlands National Park and Cataract Canyon
AdventureWomen’s exclusive 2010 Colorado River Rafting trip is more extravagant than any whitewater rafting trip they have created in the past! AdventureWomen has dreamed up the perfect river rafting adventure that combines a day in colorful Canyonlands National Park and five days of top Utah rafting on the Colorado River, including the 28 rapids of the Colorado River’s infamous Cataract Canyon plus luxury riverside camping. Wrap up your Utah vacation on a spectacular air flight over Canyonlands National Park, retracing your path up Utah’s mighty Colorado River.
After a day exploring the wonders of Canyonlands National Park in Moab, Utah, you set off on your Colorado River rafting tour paddling through Cataract Canyon in true whitewater rafting style. For five days, experience the majesty and power of the Colorado River as you paddle Class III-IV rapids (perfect for beginners!) with professional guides by day - while wrapped in the comforts of your luxury camp complete with fine wines and gourmet cuisine in the evenings. This is truly “Camping In Style”, fully-catered and luxurious camping like you’ve never experienced before. Each day you pull up to a beautiful, private sandy beach and are welcomed with hors d’oeuvres and chilled drinks, while a real chef de cuisine prepares a fabulous dinner served on linen draped tables with spectacular river views. You sleep to the calming sounds of the Colorado River in oversized tents, complete with cots and comfy sleeping bags, tent tables, and night lights. All is set up each night and taken down in the morning by your camp staff.
A few hundred miles north of the Grand Canyon, the Colorado River runs free, cutting through the stunning red rocks of Cataract Canyon, the first canyon of the Colorado River in the heart of southeastern Utah’s Canyonlands National Park. With red cliff walls towering 2000 feet overhead and touching a flawless Western blue sky, experience Grand Canyon-style rapids while whitewater rafting through Utah’s spectacular Cataract Canyon.
AdventureWomen’s exciting Utah whitewater rafting adventure on the Colorado River takes you through the geological legacy of 300 million years of the earth’s history. Throughout this trip you enjoy what few people each year get to experience. Exciting Colorado River whitewater is accompanied by calm stretches of the river that wind through soul-stirring canyons and dazzling geologic formations. Ancient Native American ruins, fascinating petroglyphs, and magnificent waterfalls beckon your arrival. Hike side canyons in search of Anasazi ruins and cliff dwellings, and discover cool, hidden swimming holes, secret pools, and waterfalls.
Where the Colorado River and Utah’s Green River meet is in a majestic setting called “The Confluence”. Bolstered by the Green, the Colorado River doubles its force, and carves a deep 100-mile-long chasm through the heart of Canyonlands National Park and Cataract Canyon. Surrender your senses as some 28 rapids take giant steps downward in one of the river’s steepest stretches, rivaling the big water of the Grand Canyon.
Eat delicious meals prepared by a personal chef as you watch Cataract Canyon’s towering walls light up with the fiery colors of the setting sun. Lie under a star-filled sky as the sound of the Colorado River lulls you to sleep. And through it all, your expert professional river rafting guides pamper, educate, and entertain you.
In 2010, be one of the lucky few who gets to experience this incredible luxury whitewater rafting adventure in Utah through the spectacular natural wonderland of Cataract Canyon and Canyonlands National Park!
Main Attractions
Explore Utah’s amazing red rocks country and Canyonlands National Park on an all-day private guided tour.
Spend five days rafting on the world renowned Colorado River with professional river rafting guides paddling through one of the most exciting and beautiful canyons in the world – Cataract Canyon.
“Camp in style”, and experience a whitewater rafting trip steeped in luxury, wrapped in the comforts of a moving riverside resort, and enjoy gourmet cuisine prepared by a chef.
Hike into remote side canyons, swim in nearby waterfalls and pools, and learn about ancient Indian cultures and the geology of Cataract Canyon.
Fly on a spectacular airplane flight out of the canyon over Canyonlands National Park and the Colorado River.
Best Western Canyonlands Inn in Moab, Utah and large two-person tents with cots for river camping.
Dining
All meals except three pre- and post-raft trip dinners. On the raft trip, all meals are provided along with iced water, Gatorade, lemonade, and soda, plus coffee, an assortment of teas, hot chocolate, and juices in the morning.
About Liquor
Beer and wine are included with dinner on the rafting portion of the trip. Additional alcohol may be purchased in Moab prior to the trip.
Rates
$2,995.00per personCurrency Converter (Rates shown are in US Dollars. Rates and terms are subject to change.)
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Trip Itinerary
Day 1: Arrival in Moab, Utah Arrive for the start of your Colorado River luxury rafting trip in the red rock playground of spectacular Moab, Utah by 7:00pm and transfer to your hotel. Meet your AdventureWomen Associate, then dinner on your own with an early evening orientation and group introductions.
Day 2: Explore Canyonlands and Arches National Parks Explore Canyonlands and Arches National Parks, plus Dead Horse Point State Park on a full day hiking excursion near Moab. See where the Colorado River and Utah’s Green River carve the high desert into a labyrinth of red-rock canyons that are sheer ecstasy for the whitewater rafter, hiker, biker, and geologist. The vast landscape of Canyonlands NP offers hundred-mile vistas of rust-colored pinnacles, high mesas, sculpted buttes, sandstone spires, and sheer crimson cliffs. View where Thelma and Louise drove off the cliff, and where John Wayne Hollywood Westerns were filmed, forever searing this landscape into the mind of the public.
Day 3: Start of the Exciting Raft Trip on the Colorado River through Cataract Canyon Begin your exciting Class III-IV rafting trip on the Colorado River through Cataract Canyon, a 5 day/4 night luxury whitewater rafting adventure in Utah through Canyonlands National Park, ideal for beginners to more experienced rafters. Float into Meander Canyon and watch for petroglyphs high above on majestic canyon walls. Gradually adjust to the relaxed pace, stopping for a short hike and lunch. Begin to orient your senses to a place far away from the urban environments that you are used to, as you journey deeper into the canyons.
Following each day of river rafting, camp on the Colorado River’s pristine sandy beaches. The supply raft arrives each evening before you and by the time you drop your paddle and head to camp, the camp staff has created a river lounge, restaurant, and tent bungalows to welcome you. A professional river chef kicks off the evening’s gourmet feast, and you enjoy hors d’oeuvres and drinks on the riverbank in comfy camp chairs, later dining at sunset on linen clad tables. Fall asleep in soft sleeping bags on cots, with the whisper of the river and the brilliant star-studded sky your wilderness home for the next five days. Can it get any better than this!!??
Days 4-5: Float, Hike, Explore Ancient Indian Ruins Camp staff takes down your tents and packs up your gear, then you put-in riverside and float, occasionally stopping to hike and explore ancient Indian ruins before reaching the Confluence of the Colorado River, where Utah’s Green River and the Colorado River meet. Opportunities are provided for extraordinary exploration and side hikes: the Native American ruins at Lathrup, believed to be a solstice calendar; Indian Creek Canyon, where fascinating Anasazi ruins and a beautiful waterfall await; and the Goose Neck, or Loop, where the river takes a four-mile bend onto itself and you to see both sides from 1,000 feet above.
Reach the Colorado River’s Confluence, where the rapids of Cataract Canyon begin and the Colorado River doubles in size and force. Run a few smaller rapids that hint at the whitewater to come, then stop for the evening at another spectacular beachside camp, where a gourmet dinner awaits.
Day 6: Rafting the Big Ones Fun and excitement today with the challenge of rafting the big ones! Encounter the famous rapids of Cataract Canyon, with names like Capsize, Mile Long, Brown Betty, North Sea, Little Niagara, Satan’s Gut, and Ben Hurt. The rush of adrenaline with each new rapid is balanced by the knowledge of your guides’ experience and focus on your safety. Continuing downstream, you are in for more excitement as you enter the legendary Big Drops, the steepest descent on the Colorado River.
Complete this most exciting day on another beautiful sandy campsite and celebrate with well-deserved hors d’oevres and cold drinks before your last gourmet dinner. There’s much to recount after the rapids you’ve run today! Anything goes for a traditional “dress-up” night, a great way to celebrate the near completion of your mighty Colorado River river rafting adventure.
Day 7: Float into Lake Powell and Return by Scenic Flight Back to Moab Continue your float down the Colorado’s flows through serene vistas and arrive at the end of Cataract Canyon, where the Colorado River finishes its journey at Lake Powell. View 2,000-foot cliffs and explore some lost side canyons that no longer lay under the waters of Lake Powell, the controversial reservoir formed by the building of Glen Canyon Dam in 1980.
Arrive at the take out point, say so long to your guides, and board airplanes for a private scenic flight back to Moab. Glide over Canyonlands National Park and the river you just rafted, tracing your path backwards through Cataract Canyon from high above the beautiful river and landscape. Viewed from a new perspective, it is the perfect end to the perfect Utah rafting vacation.
Spend the night back in Moab, Utah’s adventure mecca and celebrate your last night together at one of Moab’s many restaurants.
Day 8: Departure Say goodbye to new friends, and depart the magnificence of the memorable desert landscape for all points home.
This Package Includes
First, second, and last night’s accommodations in twin-bedded, double occupancy rooms at the beautiful Best Western Canyonlands Inn in Moab, Utah. Breakfast is included each morning at the hotel.
First day fully-guided exploration of Canyonlands and Arches National Parks.
Transfer shuttle from your hotel to raft starting point.
5-day/4-night luxury, catered-camping raft trip on the Colorado River through Cataract Canyon. 3 sumptuous gourmet meals a day, hors d'oeuvres, beer & wine with dinner, personal chef, all rafting and safety equipment, including life jackets and dry bags.
Professionally-trained and licensed guides, all with Emergency Medical Response and CPR certification, through Sheri Griffith Expeditions, a premier whitewater rafting outfitter and one of the oldest in the industry.
Large tents, cots, night stands, fresh sleeping bags, pillow, a sheet, chairs, towels, and washcloths. Camp attendants set up and take down tents.
Iced water, Gatorade, lemonade, and soda, plus coffee, an assortment of teas, hot chocolate, and juices in the morning.
Specially designed J-rig rafts and oarboats, built for maximum efficiency, safety, and comfort.
A scenic airplane flight out of the canyon from Lake Powell, over Canyonlands National Park and the river, back to Moab.
One AdventureWomen Associate trip escort.
Notes
What Clients Say About AdventureWomen “I don't think a day has gone by yet that I have not thought of everyone and our grand adventure. My son-in-law was taking an urban survival course in Arizona. I'm certain that he didn't have half the fun and excitement that I had out west!”
COMPLIMENTARY VISITOR GUIDES
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