Moab rafting companies, compared.
The short answer
Sixteen Moab rafting companies run their own trips, rentals and shuttles on the water around town, and between them they cover every kind of river day there is. Half day floats calm enough for a five year old. Class IV whitewater in a billion year old granite gorge. Five days camping on sandbars deep inside Canyonlands. Whatever you have in mind, somebody here is set up for exactly that.
Which is why the useful question is not who is best. These companies are built for different days out, so the question is which one is built for yours. Answer that and the rest gets easy, because for a town of five thousand people Moab is remarkably well supplied.
Find your match See all 16 companies
- Companies covered
- 19
- Currently trading
- 16
- Run day trips
- 11
- Run Cataract
- 9
- Trips we operate
- None
Three kinds of Moab rafting company, and that is good news.
Moab rafting companies fall into three groups, each specialising in a completely different day on the water. That specialisation is why the town serves everyone so well: nobody is trying to be all things to all visitors, so the family float people are excellent at family floats and the expedition people are excellent at expeditions. Spot which group you belong in and the shortlist writes itself.
Day trip operators
They work the calm Colorado stretches within an hour of town, mainly the Moab Daily and the Fisher Towers run. Small shops, often owner run, several departures a day, low minimum ages. Being good with nervous families is a real skill and these are the people who have it.
Expedition companies
They hold the federal authorisation for Westwater, Cataract and the overnight runs. Warehouses, shuttle fleets, camp kitchens, groover systems, career guides. There are fewer of them than most visitors assume, which is most of the reason those trips sell out in February.
Rental and shuttle outfits
They rent rafts, canoes, inflatable kayaks and paddleboards, then drive you and your gear to the put in. Cheapest way onto the water. Appropriate on flat, forgiving stretches with people who can read a river. Several day trip operators do both.
So a shop that runs a superb half day float may sell no overnight trips at all, and the company that runs a superb Cataract expedition is not the one you want handling a five year old's first hour in a boat. Neither is a failing. Match the company to the trip and you get the best of both.
Find the company built for your day.
Pick the description that sounds most like your group. Each one points at the companies set up for it and the trip page that explains what the day involves. Most visitors fit more than one, which is a nice problem to have.
All 16 Moab rafting companies, listed.
Every company we can confirm is running its own river trips, rentals or shuttles around Moab, grouped by what each one does best. Details come from the operators' own published material and from the National Park Service list of authorised Canyonlands concessioners, last updated in April 2025. Nobody pays to appear here and the order inside each group is alphabetical.
We include companies that run their own boats on these rivers and sell direct to the public. A few national operators hold Canyonlands concessions without keeping a real presence here, and packagers resell other people's trips; neither is listed, because neither helps you work out who will be rowing your boat. The closures at the end are there because people still search for them. Companies add and drop sections between seasons, so confirm anything that matters straight with them.
Day trips out of Moab
These shops run the Moab Daily and the Fisher Towers stretch, mostly as morning and afternoon departures you can book a few days out. Several also handle rentals and shuttles.
Adrift Adventures
378 N Main Street. A Park Service concessioner running the widest spread of boat types in town: oar rigs, paddle rafts, motor rigs, inflatable kayaks and paddleboards, on the Fisher Towers stretch, Westwater, Cataract and Desolation. Also runs 4x4, jet boat and horseback trips. Took on the licensing and much of the gear when Tag-A-Long Expeditions was broken up and sold.
Best for: groups who want river and land trips booked through one office.
Moab Rivertrippers & Jeep Tours
A kiosk at 97 S Main Street, trading since 1983 and now part of the Rivertrippers group based in Durango. Four trips: a four and a half hour Castle Valley float that takes children from three, a guided inflatable kayak version from twelve, full day Westwater from fourteen, and a three day Ruby Horsethief float from ten. Plus Jeep tours on Hell's Revenge and Fins and Things.
Best for: very young children on the Daily, and for a first overnight without any whitewater.
NAVTEC Expeditions
321 N Main Street. Family owned across three generations and an authorised concessioner of both Canyonlands and Arches. Sells the full ladder: Fisher Towers as a half day, one day or two day, a calm water cruise in a rigid inflatable, Westwater as one or two days, and Cataract as anything from a single day to five. Also rents rafts to private parties.
Best for: one company that can handle a first timer on Monday and Cataract on Thursday.
Paddle Moab
44 W 200 N. Started in 2012 as a paddleboard company and added rafting, kayaking and canyoneering in 2019. Runs the Fisher Towers stretch in six person paddle rafts, plus whitewater SUP for anyone who wants to make a Class II rapid hard work, and a flatwater night float under the dark sky.
Best for: small groups and anyone who would rather paddle their own craft than ride.
Red River Adventures
1140 S Main Street, open since 2003. Owner operated, and the pitch is boat size: small premium paddle rafts capped at eight guests on the Fisher Towers section. Also guides rock climbing, canyoneering and combination trips, so the river day can be one part of something longer.
Best for: people who care more about how many strangers share the boat than about price.
Way to Moab
160 E 100 S, family owned. Morning departure at 8:30am back by 1:00pm, afternoon departure at 2:00pm, and private custom trips at whatever hour suits. Minimum age five and fifty pounds. Guides hold Wilderness First Responder certification. Rides out to the river go in a van or in an open air thirty seat army truck, which children tend to remember longer than the rapids. Also rents rafts, inflatable kayaks and tubes with shuttle.
Best for: families with young children and anyone who wants a small, unhurried boat.
Wild West Voyages
422 Kane Creek Boulevard. Locally owned, deliberately small, running half day and full day Colorado River trips by raft, inflatable kayak or paddleboard, as shared departures or private charters. One of the main rental shops in town, with shuttles and a self guided float package for people who would rather go alone. Also guides Arches and Canyonlands.
Best for: renting rather than being guided, and for pairing a river morning with a park afternoon.
Whitewater and multi day expeditions
These are the companies with the permits, the shuttle logistics and the camp kitchens. Some keep a Moab office, some run from Salt Lake City or Durango and meet you here. If you want Cataract, Desolation or Lodore, your choice is from this list.
Colorado River & Trail Expeditions
A Salt Lake City company and a long standing Canyonlands concessioner, running Cataract alongside Desolation and other Green River sections. Not a Moab storefront, so plan on booking well ahead and meeting the trip rather than walking in.
Holiday River Expeditions
Running since 1966 out of Salt Lake City and unusual for refusing to put a motor on anything. Oar power throughout, which buys you quiet and costs you a day. Nothing here is a day trip: Westwater is a two or three day weekend, Cataract is five or six, Fisher Towers is an overnight. Also covers Desolation, Labyrinth, the San Juan, Gates of Lodore and the Yampa. Worth noting their published Cataract minimum age, which is eight most of the season and sixteen through May and June.
Best for: people who want the canyon quiet and are happy to trade a day for it.
Mild to Wild Rafting & Jeep Tours
Durango based with a Moab outpost at 745 Kane Creek Boulevard, and a Canyonlands concessioner. Runs daily Fisher Towers trips as the entry point and Cataract as anything from two to six days, plus Desolation. Useful if you are combining Colorado and Utah rivers on one trip.
OARS Canyonlands
2802 S Highway 191, and part of a national river company founded in 1969. Specialises in multi day wilderness trips on the Green and Colorado, including Cataract by raft or dory and Desolation as a family expedition. Strong on trips built specifically around children who are old enough to camp.
Best for: a first multi day river trip with kids aboard.
Sheri Griffith River Expeditions
2231 S Highway 191, running since 1971 and among the longest established rafting companies based in Moab. Cataract as four or five days, Westwater as one or two, plus scenic Labyrinth and Desolation. Known for the comfortable end of the market and for specialty departures, including women's trips and family trips. Publishes its Cataract launch dates a season ahead, which makes planning easier than with most.
Best for: a comfortable Cataract trip, and for anyone booking a long way out.
Western River Expeditions
Founded in 1961 and still one of the biggest names on the Colorado. Best known for running Cataract on large J rig motor rafts, which cover the miles quickly and carry a lot of people, so a two day express trip is possible where an oar trip needs five. If your holiday has a Cataract sized hole but not a Cataract sized week, this is how it gets done. They also trade in Moab through a downtown storefront, so you may see the same trip under a second name.
Best for: big whitewater on a short schedule, and for parties too large to split across paddle boats.
World Wide River Expeditions
625 Riversands Road, family run and a Canyonlands concessioner. Covers both ends of the range, from Colorado River day trips through to Westwater and Cataract, with oar, paddle, motor and inflatable kayak options. Generally sits toward the value end of the multi day market.
Best for: a multi day trip on a tighter budget without dropping to an unpermitted operator.
Rentals, shuttles and river support
If you are going self guided, these are the businesses that make it possible. Note that several of the day trip shops above also rent boats and run shuttles.
Tex's Riverways
691 N 500 W, in business since 1958 and a Park Service concessioner for canoe shuttles and jet boat service. The standard answer for self guided flatwater: rent a boat, get driven to Ruby Ranch or Mineral Bottom, paddle Labyrinth, Stillwater or Meander, get collected by jet boat at the other end. Rates cover round trip transport for you, your gear and any boats you rent from them.
Canyonlands by Night & Day
Trading as Canyonlands River Tours on the Park Service list. Jet boat trips on the calm water below town, canoe shuttle service, and the long running evening sound and light show. Not rafting, but it is on the same river and it answers the question of what to do with an evening. Absorbed Tag-A-Long's jet boat fleet.
Moab Rafting and Canoe Company
For years the specialist for self guided Labyrinth and Stillwater canoe trips, with the largest canoe fleet in town and the only dog friendly river trips going. Its website currently states that the company is closed, off site and not accepting reservations while it restructures. We are listing it because people still search for it. Do not plan a trip around it without calling first.
Two names you will still find online
Canyon Voyages Adventure Co on N Main Street is listed as permanently closed, though old reviews and third party booking pages linger. Tag-A-Long Expeditions, in business from 1964, was sold off in pieces when its owners retired rather than failing: the jet boats went to Canyonlands by Night, the licensing and gear to Adrift Adventures. If a booking page offers you either, it is out of date.
Which Moab rafting company runs which river.
The fastest way to shortlist. Find your river, read down the column, and you have your candidates. A yes means the company currently publishes that trip. A dash means we could not find it in their published material, which is not the same as a refusal, so it is always worth asking.
| Outfitter | Moab day trips | Westwater | Cataract | Other multi day | Rentals or shuttle |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adrift Adventures | Yes | Yes | Yes | Desolation | Kayak, SUP |
| Colorado River & Trail | — | — | Yes | Desolation, Green | — |
| Holiday River Expeditions | — | Yes | Yes | Desolation, Labyrinth, Lodore, Yampa, San Juan | — |
| Mild to Wild Rafting | Yes | — | Yes | Desolation | — |
| Moab Rivertrippers | Yes | Yes | — | Ruby Horsethief | Kayaks |
| NAVTEC Expeditions | Yes | Yes | Yes | Labyrinth | Raft rental |
| OARS Canyonlands | — | — | Yes | Desolation, Green | — |
| Paddle Moab | Yes | — | — | — | SUP, kayak |
| Red River Adventures | Yes | — | — | — | — |
| Sheri Griffith Expeditions | Yes | Yes | Yes | Desolation, Labyrinth | — |
| Tex's Riverways | — | — | — | Self guided flatwater | Canoe, jet boat |
| Way to Moab | Yes | — | — | — | Raft, kayak, tube |
| Western River Expeditions | Yes | Yes | Yes | — | — |
| Wild West Voyages | Yes | — | — | — | Raft, kayak, SUP |
| World Wide River | Yes | Yes | Yes | Green River | — |
Two patterns fall out of that grid. The day trip column is crowded, which means you can turn up in July and still get on the water. The Cataract column is short, which means those trips are worth booking early. Neither is a problem once you know which column you are in.
How far ahead to book.
Trip by trip, who you will be dealing with and how much room you have to shop around. The short version: day trips are easy to get, and the further into Canyonlands you go, the earlier you should be on the phone.
| Trip | Kind of operator | How much choice |
|---|---|---|
| Moab Daily | Day trip operators | The easiest trip in the region to book. Eleven companies on this page run this water, most with morning and afternoon departures, so a few days notice is usually plenty |
| Fisher Towers | Day trip operators | Nearly as much choice, with the longer drive out Highway 128 thinning the field slightly |
| Westwater Canyon | Expedition companies | Limited. BLM caps commercial use at 75 passengers a day from April through September, shared among a handful of permitted operators |
| Cataract Canyon | Expedition companies | Limited, and the trips differ enormously. A one day motor run and a five day oar trip are both sold as Cataract. Compare the itinerary, not the headline |
| Desolation Canyon | Expedition companies | Limited. The put in is remote enough that only the larger operations bother |
| Labyrinth Canyon | Expedition companies and rentals | Guided multi day trips from a few outfitters, and the most common self guided permit trip in the area. Tex's Riverways handles most of the logistics for private parties |
| Gates of Lodore | Expedition companies | Very limited. Permit capped inside Dinosaur National Monument, and among the hardest trips in the region to get a seat on |
The rule of thumb: for a day trip, call this week. For Westwater, call a month or two out. For Cataract or Lodore, book in winter for the following summer and you will get the dates you want. The cost guide explains why the capped trips hold their price.
Twelve questions that get you the right boat.
If you skip the rest of this page, take these. They are what a guide would ask on your behalf, and the companies here will answer all twelve without blinking. Ask them and you will book with real confidence rather than crossed fingers.
Safety and staffing
1. How many guests per guide on my boat? Lower is better and it shows on whitewater. Hesitation here is itself an answer.
2. What certifications do the guides hold? Swiftwater rescue and a current wilderness medical qualification are the floor. Way to Moab publishes that its guides are Wilderness First Responders. Others will tell you if you ask.
3. How many seasons has my guide run this stretch? Knowing the specific water beats general experience, and never more so than in Westwater's inner gorge.
4. What happens if the weather turns? Lightning and wind cancel more days around here than water level does. A specific answer means they have thought about it.
The trip itself
5. What is the minimum age on my actual date? Not the number on the website. Minimums climb at high water. See rafting with children.
6. Which boat will we be in? Paddle raft, oar rig, motor rig or rigid inflatable changes the day completely, and operators switch at high flows.
7. How many people on the departure? Eight in a paddle raft and twenty on a J rig can cost within a few dollars of each other and are different holidays.
8. What exactly is included? Lunch, wetsuit, splash jacket, dry bag, shuttle, park fees. Two quotes fifty dollars apart are often identical value.
Logistics
9. Where do we meet, and when are we back on Main Street? Ask for the real return time, not the brochure one, if you have anything booked that evening.
10. What is the cancellation policy in both directions? What happens if you cancel, what happens if they do, and both in writing.
The river
11. What is the river doing this week? A good operator talks about current flow rather than reciting a class rating. See water levels explained.
12. Is this the right trip for my group? The most valuable answer an outfitter can give you is no. The ones willing to say it are the ones to book.
What a good Moab rafting company looks like.
The companies on this page clear this bar, which is a large part of why Moab has the reputation it does. Use the list to recognise a good operation rather than to worry about a bad one, and to reassure yourself once you have chosen.
They name their permits
A good company tells you which agency authorises the water it is selling, and it is usually proud of it. Cataract, Stillwater and Meander need a Canyonlands concession. Westwater needs a BLM permit. Both agencies will confirm over the phone.
They volunteer their training
Swiftwater rescue and a current wilderness medical qualification are standard here. Way to Moab publishes that its guides are Wilderness First Responders; most of the others will tell you the moment you ask, often with the guide's name and how many seasons they have run.
They state age minimums precisely
Five years and fifty pounds at Way to Moab. Three on the Castle Valley float at Moab Rivertrippers. Eight on Holiday's Cataract, rising to sixteen through May and June. That precision is the mark of a company that has thought hard about who belongs in the boat.
Their price includes the boring things
Wetsuit and splash jacket for spring, dry bag, lunch, shuttle, park and river fees. Ask for the list and compare like for like. Two quotes fifty dollars apart are often the same money once you have counted what is in them.
They talk about this week's river
The best sign of all. A company that describes what the flow is doing right now, rather than reciting a class rating from a brochure, is a company whose guides were on the water yesterday. See water levels explained.
They will talk you out of it
Ask whether a trip suits your group and a good operator will sometimes say no and point you at something better, occasionally at a competitor. Around here that happens more often than visitors expect, and it is the single strongest signal you have found the right people.
One honest caveat
Rafting near Moab is well regulated and the established companies are good, so this is not a market where you need to be on guard. The one place to slow down is a whitewater quote that sits well below everybody else. Permits, shuttle mileage, insurance and boat replacement cost the same for every operator on the river, so a much lower number has to come out of guide ratios, guide pay or the age of the equipment. On a calm float that may not matter. In Westwater it does.
Reading the reviews.
Rafting reviews are noisier than most, because a river day depends on weather, flow and who else ended up in the boat. A one star review about rain tells you nothing about the company.
Worth weighing
Guides named repeatedly across seasons. That means low turnover, and low turnover is one of the better proxies for how a business treats people.
How they handled a bad day. Find the reviews describing a cancellation, an injury or a complaint. The response teaches you more than a hundred sunny afternoons.
Consistency over years. Recent reviews matter most, but a company good in 2021 and good now is a different proposition from one having a good quarter.
Safe to discount
Complaints about the weather. Nobody controls it, and pulling boats for lightning is the correct call.
Complaints that the river was calm. Usually somebody who booked a Class I to II float expecting Skull Rapid. Research failure, not service failure.
Complaints about cold water in May. That water was snow in Colorado a few weeks earlier. A good operator will have offered a wetsuit, which is the part worth checking.
How we choose, and how we are paid.
What we do
We do not operate rafting trips. We compare them. Every company on this page was checked against the National Park Service concessioner list and against its own published material, and where we could not confirm something we left it out rather than guessing. Everyone listed here is a company we would happily send a friend to. Your booking contract is with them, never with us.
We publish no guest reviews and no star ratings, because we have not collected any. Inventing them would be dishonest and, in the United States, illegal.
What we will not do
Nobody has paid for a listing on this page and nobody can. We expect to add affiliate booking links in future, and when we do, every page carrying one will say so plainly and we will name which links earn a commission.
The listings above are in alphabetical order inside each group. There is no ranking and no featured slot. Our current position is set out in full on the disclosure page.
Moab rafting company FAQs.
How many rafting companies are there in Moab?
Sixteen Moab rafting companies currently run their own trips, rentals or shuttles here, and this page lists all of them. Nine hold National Park Service concessions for whitewater in Canyonlands. That is a lot of choice for a town of five thousand people, and it is why almost anyone can find a good fit. Three more names appear at the end of the directory because people still search for them and they are no longer taking bookings.
Which Moab rafting company is best?
The one built for the day you want, and there is a strong candidate for every kind of trip. For families and first timers, day trip shops like Way to Moab, Wild West Voyages, Red River Adventures, Moab Rivertrippers and Paddle Moab run the calm Colorado stretches and are very good at it. For Westwater, Cataract and the overnight runs, go to an expedition company: Sheri Griffith, OARS, Holiday, Western River, World Wide River, Mild to Wild or Colorado River & Trail. NAVTEC and Adrift cover both ends. Decide which kind of day you want and the shortlist is short.
Does it matter which company I book for the Moab Daily?
Less than people expect. Everyone runs the same thirteen miles of river. What changes is how many people are in the boat, what kind of boat it is, whether children are welcome, what the price includes and how personal the shop feels. Eleven companies here run this water, so you can pick the style of day you want and still be confident in the trip.
Why do so few companies run Cataract Canyon?
Because it is inside Canyonlands National Park and requires a Park Service concession, and because the logistics are substantial. A multi day trip through the canyon needs boats, shuttle vehicles, a camp kitchen, waste systems and guides willing to live in a remote canyon for a week. Nine of the companies on this page hold that authorisation and run the canyon regularly, in everything from a single long day to six days of camping. Book in winter for the following summer and you will have your pick of dates.
How do I check an outfitter is properly authorised?
The National Park Service publishes its list of authorised Canyonlands concessioners, which covers anyone running Cataract, Stillwater or Meander commercially. For Westwater, commercial use is permitted by the BLM Moab Field Office and capped at 75 passengers a day from April through September; you can call them on 435 259 2100. Every company on this page holds the authorisation for what it sells, so if you book from the directory above the check is already done.
Is the cheapest company a bad idea?
Usually not. Day trip prices around Moab sit in a narrow band and the value at the lower end is real, so booking the cheapest half day float is a perfectly good decision. The one exception is whitewater priced well under everybody else. Permits, shuttles, insurance and boats cost every operator the same, so a big gap has to come from somewhere, normally guide ratios, guide pay or the age of the equipment.
Do all Moab rafting companies run multi day trips?
No, and that is worth knowing before you call. Several of the best day trip shops in town run no overnight rafting at all, because the permits and logistics are a different business, and they will happily tell you so. If you want Cataract, Desolation or Gates of Lodore, you need an expedition company.
Can I rent a raft and go without a guide?
On the right water, yes. Way to Moab, Wild West Voyages and NAVTEC rent boats with shuttle service for the calm Colorado stretches, and Tex's Riverways has handled self guided canoe trips through Labyrinth, Stillwater and Meander since 1958. Westwater and Cataract are a different matter: both need a private permit, and BLM describes Westwater as challenging at every water level and suitable only for experienced boaters.
Do you get paid to recommend these companies?
Not at present. No company has paid for a listing here and none can. We expect to add affiliate booking links in future, and when we do, every affected page will say so and identify which links earn a commission. The disclosure page carries the current position in full.
Should I book direct or through a booking site?
Booking direct usually puts you in contact with somebody who knows what the river did this morning, which matters for age minimums, water level and what to wear. Booking platforms are quicker for comparing availability. For anything permit capped, or where a child is close to the age minimum, book direct.
There is a boat here with your name on it.
Sixteen companies, every kind of river day from a two hour float to a week in Canyonlands, and guides who will tell you straight which one suits your group. Pick your river and go straight to the people who run it.