Trip to Colorado and Utah

fanrgs wrote:
Field mapping in the Moab-Arches-Canyonlands area in June while living in a tent (with no shower for a week) was bad enough, but August is worse!

Rah Mines??? Or somewhere else? ;)

The best snowpack this spring is in the northern mountains of Colorado. Therefore, the best and, possibly, longest runoff period will be on the upper Colorado and Arkansas Rivers. So, the Browns Canyon portion of the Arkansas (Buena Vista-Salida) may still have ok rafting in August. The San Juans have had very poor snow, so the Animas, La Plata, Navajo, San Miguel, Dolores, and San Juan Rivers will likely be very low except just below Navajo and McPhee Dams.

Depending on whether you have been rafting in Colorado before, the type of rafting you want to do (Class II or Class IV?), and the importance of getting to southern Utah, you might try a trip through Ruby-Horsethief or Westwater Canyons near Grand Junction. It is on the Colorado River, so may still have water in August. But check HERE for information on available raft trips and again before you leave just in case there is no water in the river.

Those who keep saying August is HOT in Moab know whereof they speak. Field mapping in the Moab-Arches-Canyonlands area in June while living in a tent (with no shower for a week) was bad enough, but August is worse! Always carry plenty of water, especially if you have kids with you, as some of the public campgrounds ration the amount of water they can provide (water has to be trucked into some campgrounds).

I lived in CO (Estes Park) for 8 years and have traveled CO & UT extensively in our 5er.

I was going to add my 2¢ worth but no need to - you have gotten very, very good info!

Be safe - have fun.

One of to the best places in Utah is Fish Lake. It is at about 8000ft elev. and is not too hot. You will have thunder storms that time of year. We have been there in Aug and it has been in the 40's up to the 90's. As for horse back riding, there is an equestrian only campground there also. It is tucked back it the trees and each site has corrals, hitching posts and plenty of room for the largest rigs. It also has a group site and rest rooms. It is maintained by the Utah Back Country Horsemen's Association. Very nice.

The lake even has boat rentals, pontoons the works. I have been going there for 45 years ( First went there with my parents when I was 3) and the people are as nice as they come.

FISHLAKE.COM and WWW.FISHLAKERESORTS.com

As for Colorado, the Durango and Silverton area is great. In Durango ride the train, go to Silverton, there are lots of back woods trails to explore. Go see Mesa Verde Nat Park and camp there. Visit the cliff dwelling / Indian Ruins.

Good times

Rafting may not be good here in Utah this year - we didn't get much snow this year. August is usually the hottest month, but higher elevations are just fine.

And yes, southern Utah is very hot and very dry. I find dry heat more tolerable than humid heat though...

If you want a real awesome long day on horseback, check out Sombero stables in Estes Park. My daughter & I did the Continental divide ride worth the $. Yes it is a long ride on horseback and what they say on their website is true, but so worth it.

Southern Utah in August is scorching hot! Remember this is a desert and the national parks are for the most part a portion of the desert landscape. Temperatures in Moab and near Zion regularly go into the range between 100 and 110 or higher. Please don't think I'm dissin' the area, it's beautiful and things you will see no where else. The timing is something you might consider. As was mentioned before May and June will be the melt months and the highest, fastest water there. Regardless of your timing, it is a wonderful part of our country.

4runnerguy wrote:
IMHO, in order of preference for August Rafting:

Arkansas River - Buena Vista, Salida, Royal Gorge. This long stretch of river has a wide variety of difficulty, so you can vary where you take your trip based on river levels.

Glenwood Canyon - we went last August and it was a relatively slow trip, but amazing scenery,

Poudre River - Fort Collins Higher snowpacks in the northern part of the state this year may mean longer rafting season into August.

Durango - Might be iffy by August, as much of the snow has fallen in the northern part of the state this winter. Last year, when we were there in June, the river was so low, that even those in inner tubes had to pull themselves over the rocks in places, although summer rains helped a bit later in the summer.

Colorado River around Moab - Beautiful float. This would rank much higher if you were going at a cooler time. I guess the good news is that the water will keep you cool during the raft trip, but the rest of your time out of the water around Moab will be HOT.

Not rafting, but an August hiking trip up the Zion Narrows will be cool, wading up the Virgin "River" in an amazing setting.

For horse back riding, try the east side of Rocky Mountain NP above Estes Park in Moraine Park.

Poudre is generally very reliable early in the season, not so much in late July/August. Also, there was damage in the lower part of the canyon in some of the popular rafting areas, from the flooding last September. There's some reconstruction going on, they're trying to put the river back into it's original channel wherever possible. There's a few feeder gulches, such as Young Gulch and Hewlett Gulch, that also sustained severe fire damage, as well as the flood damage and those areas will probably be closed off and on during the summer season as they recuperate from the double whammy.

Flaming Gorge, Utah.

For rafting you can opt for the 7 Mile float on the Green River from the dam to the Little Hole takeout, or the 25 float with a takeout at Browns Hole. Very scenic, with mild to moderate whitewater and some of the best trout fishing in the west.

Rent horses at Red Canyon Lodge on the rim above the reservoir. There's a nice little Forest Service campground on Greens Lake adjacent to the lodge.

Great options!! Thanks for responding!! Will use them in my planning.