Westwater Gear Checklist

What shapes your gear on Westwater Canyon

Length and time on the water

The agency counts 17 miles from the ranger station to Cisco Boat Ramp. A kayak guide counts 19.5 miles. Over 10,000 CFS a run can wrap up in about 4 hours, while 1,000 to 5,000 CFS can stretch it to 10 hours or more. One group that rafted it in a day started around 10:00 am.

From Bureau of Land Management, Moab Field Office: Westwater Canyon Information, Camping By Kayak and Adventr

Flows people actually ran

The agency says flows usually top out near 20,000 CFS around the end of May or start of June, then shrink to under 3,000 CFS by fall. RiverBent calls about 3,500 CFS a friendly level. A packrafting group ran about 3900 CFS in October and called it low but runnable. A July raft trip averaged 5,440 CFS.

From Bureau of Land Management, Moab Field Office: Westwater Canyon Information, RiverBent, American Whitewater: Thoughts on the scouting situation and Adventr

Where the whitewater sits

Almost all of it is packed into about 3 miles. RiverBent places Little Dolores, a Class III, about 7 miles from the put-in, and Skull, a Class IV, a few rapids later, followed by the Room of Doom eddy on river right. After Last Chance you still have 5 or more miles of riffles to the take-out.

From RiverBent

Scouting: two sources disagree

RiverBent calls scouting essentially impossible and tells paddlers to study video of Skull before they go. A packrafter who ran it at about 4,000 CFS found scouting straightforward with care, though the schist is slippery, and said Marble Canyon was the first notable canyon rapid. His advice for rafts was to study the line at Skull online or follow someone who knows it.

From RiverBent and American Whitewater: Thoughts on the scouting situation

One night, one assigned campsite

The permit allows camping in the canyon on your launch night only. Rangers assign sites in launch order and by group size. RiverBent counts 8 canyon sites, mostly just above or just below the big rapids, and says the group ready to go earliest gets the most say. The agency also lists 11 first-come sites at the put-in at $20 a night in cash or check.

From Bureau of Land Management, Moab Field Office: 2024 River Use Stipulations for Private, Non-Commercial Use: Westwater Canyon, Bureau of Land Management, Moab Field Office: Westwater Canyon Information and RiverBent

Weather swings

A July raft day had a forecast high near 105 degrees F. Two December runs started at 11 and 31 degrees F, with iced eddies and river-wide ice bridges. RiverBent warns that camps can run hours cold in shade or hours hot in sun, and says to bring fleece for early fall.

From Adventr, American Whitewater: Westwater to Rose Ranch trip reports: December 2020 winter runs and RiverBent

What hikers carry on Westwater Canyon

• A dry suit for winter, thick layers for any cold start

  RiverBent would want a dry suit on a winter run and urges thinking through what a swim would be like in cold water. Two December runners started at 11 and 31 degrees F and met ice bridges. The runner who wrote it up says to look at the water temperature on the Cisco gauge before committing.

  From RiverBent and American Whitewater: Westwater to Rose Ranch trip reports: December 2020 winter runs

• Sun cover for midsummer and a fleece for early fall

  RiverBent says camps can be hot or cold depending on when the sun slips behind the canyon walls, so it packs sun protection for midsummer and extra fleece for early fall. The July day trip met a forecast near 105 degrees F.

  From RiverBent and Adventr

• Flip lines on a raft

  One raft in the July group carried flip lines, and its crew practiced using them after the rapids. A kayaker in that group swam at Surprise, well before Skull, and rode out the rest in a raft.

  From Adventr

• A hard-sided toilet container, even for a day trip

  A kayak guide says the toilet rule applies even on one-day trips, and in practice rangers want a hard-sided container. He lists a PVC-style groover, a small hard case or a bottle as options that pass, and says a dry bag will not.

  From Camping By Kayak

• A cheap roasting pan as the fire pan

  The same guide says the Westwater pan is much smaller than the Grand Canyon one, so a store-bought turkey pan can do the job if it meets the 12 inch size.

  From Camping By Kayak and Bureau of Land Management, Moab Field Office: 2024 River Use Stipulations for Private, Non-Commercial Use: Westwater Canyon

• Strong tape and a small first aid kit for a kayak

  For kayaks the guide says an ordinary day-use first aid kit and strong repair tape satisfy the loosely worded first aid and repair rules. He adds one breakdown paddle for every three kayaks.

  From Camping By Kayak

• A line plan for Skull Rapid, saved before you launch

  RiverBent studied video first and found the left skate at 3,500 CFS worked best, while those who tried the slot to the right had a worse time. The packrafter says a raft crew should study Skull online or follow someone who knows it.

  From RiverBent and American Whitewater: Thoughts on the scouting situation

• All your drinking water

  The agency says trash service is provided at the ranger station but not water. RiverBent repeats the advice to bring your own.

  From Bureau of Land Management, Moab Field Office: Westwater Canyon Information and RiverBent

Gear questions for Westwater Canyon