Moab rafting guides and journal.
The short answer
This is where we work through the questions that do not fit on a trip page. Month by month conditions, what a river actually does at different flows, how to plan a Moab week around a park visit, and the things people wish they had known before booking.
Eight planning guides are published, each written to be the best answer available on its question. They live on the plan your trip page, and this is where the dated journal pieces will appear.
Start here Compare trips instead
The four guides that answer most questions.
These are not summaries pointing somewhere else. They are the substantial pieces on this site, and between them they cover what almost everyone needs before booking.
What the whitewater classes actually mean
Class I to V described as they feel from inside the boat, with the realistic risk at each level. Age minimums by trip in one table. What to do if you fall out, and why standing up in moving water is the thing not to do. Plus the point most sites skip: sun and heat send more rafting guests looking for help than rapids do.
Read the safety guideEvery Moab trip, compared side by side
Eight trips in one table with class, length, minimum age, distance from town and typical price. Then four questions that narrow it down: how old is the youngest, how much time do you really have, rapids or scenery, and when are you coming. Most people can decide from this page alone.
Compare all tripsThe five rivers, and why they differ
Why the Colorado carries half day trips and the Green does not. Why the Dolores may not run at all this year. Why the Yampa season ends in July. Includes a permits table showing which federal agency caps which run and how far ahead each needs booking.
Explore the riversThe questions everyone arrives with
Do you need experience. Will you get wet. Can children come, and how young. What it costs. When to book. Whether to tip. Twenty seven questions across choosing, booking, the day itself, families, season and how this site works.
Read the FAQThe planning guides live here.
Eight long guides answer the questions people arrive with: when to come, what it costs, half day or full day, whether the children can join, what to bring, how to read a flow report, who to book with, and how to fit a river day around the parks. They sit together on one page so you can find yours quickly.
The journal
This page is where dated pieces will go: conditions reports through the season, river history, photography notes and anything that does not belong in an evergreen guide. Nothing is published here yet, and we would rather leave it empty than pad it out.
What we write about.
Five areas, chosen because they are the questions outfitter sites do not answer. An outfitter can only tell you about its own departures. We can compare, and we can say when the answer is to book something else or come a different month.
Conditions and timing
What the rivers are doing month by month, how snowpack shapes the season, and why the same run feels like two different trips in May and September. The single most underrated factor in whether you enjoy a rafting day.
Trip planning
Fitting a river day around Arches and Canyonlands, how many days Moab actually needs, what to book first when trips are permit capped, and how to plan a week that does not leave everyone exhausted by Wednesday.
Comparisons
Westwater against Cataract. Half day against full day. Moab Daily against Fisher Towers. The decisions people are actually stuck on, answered with a recommendation rather than a list of features.
Gear and preparation
What to wear and why cotton is a genuine problem, protecting a camera on the water, what to pack for a multi day trip and what to leave behind, and what outfitters supply so you do not buy things you do not need.
The rivers themselves
Geology, history and the people who ran these canyons first. Powell's expeditions, the dam that was never built at Echo Park, and why Westwater's black granite is roughly a billion years older than the rock above it.
Outfitters and permits
Who runs what, how commercial permits work, why the best trips sell out months ahead, and what separates a good operator from one that will take your money and put you on the wrong river.
The list is finished. Now yours.
Every guide we set out to write is published. What gets written next comes from readers, so if you came here looking for something and did not find it, that is the most useful thing you can tell us. Send us the question and we will answer you directly rather than making you wait for an article.
If you would rather look than read, the photo gallery shows what each trip actually looks like. Things we are weighing up next: what to pack for a multi day expedition, how to photograph a river day without ruining a camera, self guided permits on Labyrinth, and a proper history of the canyons from Powell onward. Tell us which of those you would actually read.
About these guides.
Why are there only eight guides?
Because each one is written to be the best answer available on its question, which takes considerably longer than padding a blog out to look active. Every guide here runs well over two thousand words and is built from the same research as the trip pages. We would rather publish eight of those than fifty of the other kind.
Where should I start if I am planning a trip?
The trip comparison if you want to pick something quickly, or the safety guide if you are unsure what difficulty suits your group. Between those two and the FAQ, most planning questions are covered.
Can I ask you a question directly?
Yes, and we would prefer it. Questions from readers are how we decide what to write next, so if you cannot find an answer, get in touch. We will answer you rather than making you wait for an article.
Do outfitters write or pay for anything here?
No. Everything on this site is written independently and nobody pays for coverage or placement. We list only permitted operators, and where a cheaper or non commissionable option is the better choice we say so. See the disclosure page.
How current is the information?
Pages carry the season they were last reviewed. River conditions, outfitter policies, age minimums and pricing all change, sometimes within a season, so treat anything here as a starting point and confirm specifics with the operator before booking.
What did you want to know?
If you came looking for something and did not find it, that is useful to us. Tell us and we will answer, then write it properly.