Dolores River rafting.
The short answer
The Dolores River is the best trip in the Southwest that most people never get. Around 170 miles of red rock canyon below McPhee Reservoir, Class II to IV, and so few boaters on it that running Snaggletooth still carries real standing among Colorado Plateau paddlers.
The catch is timing rather than luck. The upper canyons need a reservoir release, which comes in strong San Juan snow years. The lower river picks up the San Miguel and can run even when McPhee holds back. Watch the snowpack from February, and if March looks good, move quickly.
- Difficulty
- Class II to IV
- Trip lengths
- 2 to 10 days
- Season
- April to early June
- Best years
- High San Juan snowpack
- River length
- About 240 miles
Will the Dolores River run this year?
Most rivers on this site run to a schedule. The Dolores runs to a snowpack, and once you understand the mechanism you can read the season months ahead of the crowd.
McPhee Dam, completed in the 1980s, holds the upper river primarily for irrigation. Water goes downstream once agricultural allocations are covered, which takes a well above average snowpack in the San Juan Mountains. When that happens the release typically pushes flows past the 800 cubic feet per second that opens the Ponderosa Gorge, and a window of a few weeks appears between April and early June.
The part most write ups leave out: the San Miguel joins the Dolores well below the dam and brings its own snowmelt. In years when McPhee holds back, the sections below that confluence can still come up. So a quiet forecast for the Ponderosa Gorge is not a closed season, it is a redirect to the lower river.
| When | What to do |
|---|---|
| January to February | Start watching San Juan Mountains snowpack reports. Early numbers are indicative rather than decisive, but they tell you whether to keep the spring flexible |
| March | The month that decides it. By late March the picture is usually clear enough that outfitters start talking about a season |
| April | Releases are announced and dates fill within days. This is when being ready pays off |
| April to early June | The window. Typically a few weeks, and worth rearranging a calendar for |
Practical version: get on outfitter mailing lists over winter and hold a loose week in spring. The people who get on the Dolores are the ones already watching in February.
Flows are published for the gauge near Cisco, Utah. How to read a flow report covers what the numbers mean on every river here.
Three stretches, when there is water.
The Dolores River rises in the San Juan Mountains, runs northwest across western Colorado into Utah, and joins the Colorado about two miles above Dewey Bridge, roughly 30 miles upstream of Moab. That puts the confluence downstream of Westwater Canyon and an easy drive from town. Commercial trips use three broad sections.
Bradfield to Slickrock
The Ponderosa Gorge, below the dam. About 47 miles falling at roughly 19 feet per mile, the most technical water on the river and the section experienced boaters wait years for. Home to Snaggletooth. Usually run over two to four days.
Slickrock to Bedrock
Around 50 miles of Slickrock Canyon, milder and more remote. Deep red walls, very few people, and a strong option for groups who want the canyon without the hardest whitewater.
Gateway to Dewey Bridge
The 31 mile lower river, down to the Colorado. Mostly relaxed, with Stateline Rapid the one piece of serious water. Often runnable when the upper river is not, because the San Miguel adds flow above it.
The Colorado sections currently need no permit. Once the river crosses into Utah a Bureau of Land Management permit is required, available from 1 January each year.
Snaggletooth, and why it is famous.
What it is
A boulder rapid in the Ponderosa Gorge, rated Class IV and pushing Class V at the top of a release, named for the rock sitting in the middle of the main channel. It is the hardest single piece of water on the commercially run Dolores and is scouted before nearly every descent.
Why it has a reputation
Partly difficulty, mostly scarcity. Because the river runs so seldom, far fewer boaters have run Snaggletooth than have run comparable rapids elsewhere. That gives it a standing among Colorado Plateau paddlers out of proportion to its size, and makes a good year worth chasing.
As on every river here, difficulty tracks flow. High in a release Snaggletooth is pushy and consequential. Later in the window it becomes a technical rock dodging problem, and good fun at a different pitch. Ask your outfitter what the release is doing the week you go.
How to plan around it.
If it is running
Book fast and clear the calendar. Windows are short, outfitters run limited departures, and everyone who has been waiting for a big snow year moves at once. Treat it like catching a swell rather than planning a holiday, and it works.
If it is not
Westwater Canyon is the closest match for the whitewater and sits just upriver of the Dolores confluence. Desolation Canyon is the closest match for the multi day canyon experience, and it runs every year.
One thing worth saying plainly: because the Dolores runs so seldom, information about it online goes stale quickly, and sites still list trips that have not operated in years. Confirm with an outfitter directly rather than trusting any published schedule, including ours.
Dolores River FAQs.
Does the Dolores River run every year?
Not reliably. Flows below McPhee Dam depend on releases that happen when snowpack in the San Juan Mountains is well above average, because irrigation allocations are met first. In strong years the river runs for a few weeks between April and early June. In quieter years the upper canyons stay low, though the sections below the San Miguel confluence can still come up on tributary snowmelt.
When will I know if the Dolores River is running?
Usually by late March, once the season's snowpack is clear. Outfitters begin announcing departures around then and dates fill within days. If the Dolores matters to you, get on outfitter mailing lists over winter and keep a spring week flexible.
How hard is the Dolores River?
Class II to IV depending on section. The Ponderosa Gorge below Bradfield is the most technical, falling about 19 feet per mile, with Snaggletooth the hardest single rapid at Class IV to V. Slickrock Canyon and the lower river run milder at Class II to III, with Stateline Rapid the exception on the Gateway run. Difficulty moves considerably with the release level.
What is Snaggletooth?
A boulder rapid in the Ponderosa Gorge, named for the rock sitting in the main channel, rated Class IV and pushing Class V at high release. It is the hardest water on the commercially run Dolores and is almost always scouted first. Its reputation comes as much from scarcity as difficulty, since the river runs so rarely.
Where does the Dolores River join the Colorado?
About two miles above Dewey Bridge on Utah Highway 128, roughly 30 miles upstream of Moab. That places the confluence downstream of Westwater Canyon, which makes Westwater the natural substitute if you had hoped to run the Dolores and the release does not come.
Do I need a permit to raft the Dolores River?
On the Colorado sections, currently no. Once the river crosses into Utah a Bureau of Land Management permit is required, and permits become available from 1 January for that year. Guided trips handle this for you; private boaters should check current BLM requirements before launching.
How long is the Dolores River?
About 240 miles from its headwaters in the San Juan Mountains to the Colorado River in Utah, with roughly 170 miles of that running through canyon below McPhee Reservoir. Commercial trips use three broad sections and run anywhere from two to ten days.
Should I plan a trip around the Dolores River?
Plan a reliable trip, then watch the snowpack and treat a Dolores release as the bonus you move on quickly. Booking something dependable and staying ready to switch gets people onto the Dolores far more often than holding out for a river that may not come up.
Watch the snowpack.
When the Dolores runs it is one of the best trips in the Southwest. When it does not, the Colorado and the Green are an hour away and run every year.