San Juan Gear Checklist
A San Juan River permit is a private float through red rock canyon, and the Bureau of Land Management checks your kit at the ramp. The agency list is long and specific: a metal fire pan, a washable toilet system, a repair kit, a pump and spare oars. Hikers who wrote about their trips add the layer that matters most on this river, which is rain and wind protection, because spring and early summer trips turned cold, wet and windy. In midsummer the problem flips to heat. Every drop of drinking water comes with you.
What shapes your gear on San Juan River
- Segments
- Recreation.gov sorts trips into three common runs. The upper run from Sand Island ends at Mexican Hat after roughly 27 miles, taking two to three days. The middle run, Mexican Hat to Clay Hills, is roughly 57 miles over four or five days. Doing both from Sand Island to Clay Hills covers roughly 84 miles in six or seven days.
- Group size
- The permit allows at most 25 people of all ages, and the group must launch, travel and camp together. Pets are banned between Sand Island and Clay Hills.
From Bureau of Land Management, Monticello Field Office and Recreation.gov (Bears Ears National Monument, BLM)
- Reserved campsites
- Trips that end at Clay Hills camp at nine designated sites below Government Rapid, near river mile 64. You list your choices when you book, and a trip with no reserved campsite loses its permit.
From Recreation.gov (Bears Ears National Monument, BLM) and Bureau of Land Management, Monticello Field Office
- Left bank belongs to the Navajo Nation
- From Montezuma Creek to Trimble Camp the left bank is Navajo land. Camping, hiking and visiting archaeological sites there takes a separate Navajo Nation permit, and there is a year-round camping closure on river left for bighorn lambing.
- Flow and crowds
- May and June are the busiest months because of higher flows. One writer was told the BLM recommends about 500 cfs for the upper float. A club trip in early May ran at about 2,300 cfs and covered 23 miles in a day.
From Recreation.gov (Bears Ears National Monument, BLM), Road Trip Ryan and Wasatch Mountain Club
- Weather swings
- Two groups on the upper section in May met rain, hail and cold headwinds. A guided summer group a few weeks later sat near 100 degrees for four days. Pack for the month you float, not for the desert in general.
From Wasatch Mountain Club, Adventr and Spoke and Blossom
- Water and phone
- Recreation.gov says to bring all your drinking water, at least one gallon per person per day, because no source on the river is reliable and the silt makes filtering hard. It also says cell service is spotty and recommends a satellite phone.
What the agency requires on San Juan River
A durable metal fire pan
The pan must be at least 12 inches wide with a lip of at least 1.5 inches. It travels on every trip except one-day trips between April 1 and October 31, even if you cook on a stove. All fires go in it, and wood for fires is limited to driftwood found on the banks and beaches.
A washable, leak-proof toilet system
The system must let you carry solid human waste out, be sized for the group and the number of days, and be reachable during the day. Waste goes in a hard-sided, animal-proof container with a locking lid. Dumping it in vault toilets at BLM sites is prohibited.
Life jackets, sized and approved
Each person needs a properly sized whitewater-type life jacket. Anyone 13 or older must wear one on the water until below Slickhorn Rapid, and children under 13 wear one the whole river. Inflatable jackets are not allowed.
Boat repair and rescue gear
The list includes a first aid kit sized for the group, a repair kit and an air pump. Each raft, dory and canoe needs an extra oar or paddle, plus a bail bucket or bilge pump unless the boat self-bails. Boats 16 feet or longer also need a throw bag or rescue rope of at least 40 feet and a horn or whistle.
A packed-out kitchen
Charcoal, fire ash, garbage and solid human waste leave the river corridor with you, and side canyon streams and springs stay free of soap.
What hikers carry on San Juan River
Rain jacket and pants
A May group on the upper section was hit by rain and hail minutes after launch and was soaked before the jacket was on. Another club spent a rainy day in wet suits and foul weather gear covering 23 miles and thanked their insulation the night before. An outfitter says to bring waterproof pieces, not a poncho, because a poncho will not fit under the life jacket.
From Adventr, Wasatch Mountain Club and OARS
Warm layers for camp, in place of cotton
The same cold May trips ended with a campfire to warm up and hot drinks at Mexican Hat. The outfitter packing page says to bring a dry set of long underwear, a fleece and a warm hat for camp, and to avoid cotton on the water.
From Adventr, Wasatch Mountain Club and OARS
A shelter over the kitchen
On a wet lower-river trip the party cooked and ate dinner under a small shelter rigged over the kitchen area during a storm. Another group had torrential rain for two hours and waited it out in their tents.
From Backcountry Post and Wasatch Mountain Club
Tents with rainflys that are ready to go on fast
One writer left the fly off on a clear night and then raced a front the next morning, only to finish packing a damp tent. The whole group floated that day in rain with thunder rolling down the canyon.
From Backcountry Post
Shade, sun cover and a plan to stay cool in summer
A guided group floated four days near 100 degrees and cooled off with water fights, hikes in their life jackets and chairs set in the shallows. The outfitter packing page recommends long sleeves, a wide hat, lip balm and sunglasses with a strap.
From Spoke and Blossom and OARS
Extra water in hot weather
One writer packed a gallon per person per day, found it more than enough for a cool spring trip, and said a summer trip would call for more. A club group in May still hauled several gallons of water down from Mexican Hat by dirt road to top up.
From Road Trip Ryan, Wasatch Mountain Club and Recreation.gov (Bears Ears National Monument, BLM)
A daypack for side hikes
The side trips are the draw. The Honaker Trail is 2.5 miles each way with about 1,200 feet of climbing and some steep, technical spots, and the club reached the top before turning around. Slickhorn Canyon has clear pools for swimming.
From Wasatch Mountain Club and OARS
Bug spray for the put-in
One writer says bugs can be a problem at Sand Island from spring through fall but fade below the launch. The outfitter list adds that wasps and yellow jackets can be a nuisance.
From Road Trip Ryan and OARS
Footwear that stays on in current and a dry pair for camp
The outfitter tells paddlers to wear drainable shoes with a heel strap on the water and to change into dry socks and shoes at camp. Sand and buried rocks make bare feet a poor choice around camp.
From OARS
25 people can go on one permit. Split this list between them so nobody carries two stoves.
Plan a trip hereWhat hikers regret or leave behind on San Juan River
A rain jacket packed too deep
The upper-section group that was hailed on at the launch got the jacket on only after they were already wet and cold. They paddled the afternoon into headwinds in wet clothes and were glad of one campfire that night.
From Adventr
Counting on the Chinle Wash camp
Two separate groups wanted to camp at Chinle Wash on the first night and found a big commercial party had taken it. Each moved on to a Big Stick camp, so a Navajo permit does not hold a site for you.
From Wasatch Mountain Club and Adventr
A summer-sized water supply on a hot trip
The gallon-per-person figure worked for a cool spring float, and the author says summer would have called for more.
From Road Trip Ryan
Gear questions for San Juan River
Do you need a fire pan on the San Juan River?
Yes. The BLM stipulations require a durable metal pan at least 12 inches across with a lip of 1.5 inches, and the pan travels on every trip except one-day trips between April 1 and October 31, even if you only use a stove. A club that floated in May says the ranger checked for the fire pan and the toilet at the launch ramp.
From Bureau of Land Management, Monticello Field Office and Wasatch Mountain Club
Can you drink the water on the San Juan River?
Recreation.gov says there are no reliable drinkable sources on the river, that the silt makes filtering hard, and that each person should have at least one gallon a day. A trip writer who brought a gallon per person per day said it covered a cool spring trip but summer would call for more.
From Recreation.gov (Bears Ears National Monument, BLM) and Road Trip Ryan
Do you need a Navajo permit on the San Juan River?
For anything on river left, yes. Camping, hiking and visiting archaeological sites on the left bank need a separate Navajo Nation permit, and the left bank has a year-round camping closure for bighorn lambing. The BLM permit does not cover it.
From Recreation.gov (Bears Ears National Monument, BLM) and Road Trip Ryan
Are inflatable life jackets allowed on the San Juan River?
No. The BLM requires a properly sized whitewater-type jacket for each person and does not allow inflatables. People 13 and older wear it until below Slickhorn Rapid, and younger children wear it the whole river.
Sources
- San Juan River Rules and Regulations · Bureau of Land Management, Monticello Field Office · Agency
- San Juan River Permit Lottery And Reservations · Recreation.gov (Bears Ears National Monument, BLM) · Agency
- Rafting San Juan River, Sand Island to Clay Hills · Wasatch Mountain Club, Arnold Tran · Trip report
- The San Juan River · Adventr · Trip report
- The Lower San Juan River · Backcountry Post · Trip report
- Sand Island to Mexican Hat | San Juan River · Road Trip Ryan · Blog
- Rafting the San Juan River in Utah · Spoke and Blossom · Blog
- San Juan River: Before You Go · OARS · Blog