Leave No Trace Camping

While it is possible to float the river in a day, most people are choosing a

slower pace and enjoying an ovemight along the river. If you do camp, here

are a few guidelines:

e Use a fire pan. It provides warmth and light and it prevents scarring of
the land. Please collect only driftwood or bring a portable stove. Minimize
your use of open fires.

¢ Use of a self-contained personal porta-potty is highly recommended. The
alternative is to bury human waste in a 6-8 inch cathole at least 200 feet
from your camp or the river.

¢ Camp on sand bars or in unvegetated areas. Select your campsites to
disperse continual use. This way, the greenery will have time to rejuvenate
before the next river users camp.

A Few Safety Reminders

e Wear a life jacket (required in Colorado) at all times.

¢ Take an extra paddle, a bailing device and an extra life jacket
for each boat.

¢ Bring your own drinking water. No fresh water is available.

¢ Don't forget sunscreen and insect repellent.

e Pets are allowed, but can tip a canoe.

e When approaching a family of geese please pull over and wait along
the shoreline until the geese can "escape." Inadvertently people have

"pushed" young geese miles down the river separating them from
their parents.

¢ Watch for submerged trees and rocks.

Maps
BLM surface maps (1:100,000): Vernal, Seep Ridge and Rangely.
USGS topo maps (1:24,000 quads): Southam Canyon, Asphalt Wash, Weaver

Ridge, Archy Bench, Red Wash Southwest, Walsh Knolls Utah/CO, Banty Point,
CO, and Rangely, CO.

1:24,000

Bitter Creak Books
672 W. Main Street
Vernal, Utah
801-789-4742

1:100,000

Vernal District Office
170 South 500 East
Vernal, Utah 84078
(801) 781-4400

For information in Colorado and floating 65 miles of the White River from Meeker
to Rangely contact:

BLM White River Resource Area Rangely Area Chamber of Commerce
73544 Highway 64 or| 209 East Main Street

P.O Box 928 Rangely, Colorado 81648

Meeker, Colorado 81641 (970) 675-5290

(970) 878-3601
BLM/UT-GI-95/006-8000


WHITE

Public Lands
60 miles to | Private Lands
top of Book
Chis Paved Roads

Launch and

Take Out Sites
Most people launch at the Bo-
|

Maintained Dirt Roads
Rapids

Miles from Green River

nanza Highway Bridge, 37 miles
south of Vernal on Utah State
Highway 45. The turnoff for this
launch is located 1/2 mile north of the bridge. Watch for the sign. The take out
is located 35 miles downstream at either the Mountain Fuel Bridge or at the
Enron Oil and Gas Company gas well. The Enron location is free and a sign
is located on “river right". The Mountain Fuel Bridge, which is the first bridge
encountered, is located on the Indian reservation and requires fee permits. The
shuttle time between take out and launch is one hour each direction. Be careful
as you drive as there are blind hills and sharp curves on this graded dirt road.

From the Bonanza Bridge:
River trips can be extended by either launching 8 miles upstream at Cowboy
Canyon, 38 miles upstream at Rangely, Colorado or by continuing your float
downstream to Sand Wash on the Green River, for another 86 miles. Again, fees
are charged for floating across reservation lands. (See insert)

How Long to Stay:
Ata minimum, give yourself two (2) days to enjoy the solitude and some relaxing
stops and hikes.

Caution: The road to the Cowboy Canyon launch site is rough and requires
high clearance vehicles.

WATCH OUT FOR SUBMERGED
TREES AND ROCKS

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When to Go

The best time to take a trip down the river is
during spring runoff from mid-April to mid-June
when flows range between 1,000 and 2,400
CFS. Summer months are fine for canoeing,
but bring plenty of insect repellent to ward off
the hordes of gnats, deer flies, and mosqui-
toes. The first frosts typically occur in mid-
September, turning the river corridor into a
wonderland of colors. Fall river flows are low
and may require dragging craft over gravel
areas and sand bars.

27

28
29
30
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@° 33
& 32 A \
a) of


U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT

FLOATING THE
WHITE RIVER

Born from snowmelt in mountain headwaters above Trapper Lake
in western Colorado, the White River flows due west in a serpen-
tine search for its confluence with the Green River. Near the Utah-
Colorado border the river course turns spectacular--canyon style.
For 100 miles between the town of Rangely, Colorado and the
river's confluence with the Green River, the White River cuts a
rugged, scenic trough into the high desert plains of the Uintah
Basin. This is a place to paddle, watch wildlife, and occasionally
leave the river for an unforgettable hike. This is one of the quiet
places, where solitude and a sense of adventure are still very much
a part of the outdoor experience.



as Hiking
So Hiking the river corridor and side canyons rewards the energetic with solitude,
: 2. wild flowers, distant sandstone vistas and an appreciation of the vastness of this
& massive landscape.
O° Ba wt What is Goblin City?
Soe” Downstream, there is an area of spectacular and fanciful geologic forms called
‘ OS Goblin City. Trappers passed in and out of this canyon in the early 1800's and
ee Watch out for snag trees told stories about it.

White OS

To i
Meeker

4)

to Rio Blanco
Flows Required Gounty oad 21 Kenny. Ressrvolll
Activity Flow Need ae <4 a \ ae 2 sigh ee Recreation Area |
Canoeing class | &ll 300 1000 cfs : Es < ae | ic : 1 LAUNCH SITE

Canoeing class II & Ill 1000 3000 cfs
Rafting 1200 + cfs
Drift boats & Dories 1200 + cfs

Taylor Draw Dam

ay
4 : wes:
7 + =

s \
Museum *,
Visitor Ss

Gok Information 1
= "
LAUNCH & " (139)
co) SITE ry *
Shavetail ( 3 = i |
Bridge 3, s u
= * Three men from John Wesley Powell's second expedition in 1871 hiked up the
._ st White River from the confluence with the Green to find Goblin City.
‘ o In 1989 Clay Johnson of Vemal read an entry in Powell's journal relating to
- Goblin City. Curious and haunted, he painstakingly sought out the working
journals of the three men. By comparing the three descriptions and with the aid
Colorado Launch Sites of a sketch the size of a postage stamp, Johnson rediscovered the forgotten
Rivertrips can be extended up to 37: miles by launching on “hon ee see the century-old mystery and set footholds as did the early
BLM land below Taylor Draw Dam east of Rangely (River Mile 101). Other launch

explorers, "from the bluffs to southward”.

A strenuous 2 hour hike along the ridges midway between miles 36 and 37
(look for sign), will take you to the ridgelines. The view is to the east and a late
afternoon sun provides the best shadows.

What will lie before you is a series of stacked ridges with towers, spires...
“numerous small buttes and square rocks, almost in rows and about the size of
small buildings, so that there is a striking suggestion of a town." (Frederick S.
Dellenbaugh, artist and assistant topographer to Powell's expedition.)

sites include: the White Avenue/Green Bridge in Rangely (River Mile 92), and BLM
land five miles west of Rangely on Rio Blanco County Road 2 (near River Mile 84).
From Taylor Draw Dam the river passes by oil & gas wells and through private ranch
lands for about 20 miles. Be careful of the bridge abutment in the river at Highway
64. Parcels of BLM public lands provide camping areas or lunch stops in 6 locations
between Rangely and the Utah border. Respect private property and do not
trespass. All services are available in the town of Rangely including a campground
with drinking water and showers.


Water Conditions "

Water varies from smooth to moderate rolling waves, and is
generally suitable for canoes and kayaks. The White River is
scaled as class | and Il waters. Flows of 800 CFSorlesswill 37 miles
occasionally require pulling canoes. over gravel bars. Flows from Bonanza
above 1500 CFS require intermediate to advanced technical Bridge to Vernal
skills for canoes, and are suitable for dory and raft use. Cotton-
wood trees are often undercut and fall into and across the river.
Gradient: 7 ft./mi. Water level peaks in late May, early June. The
all-time peak flow occurred July 15, 1929 at 8160 CFS.

17 miles from
Bonanza Bridge
to Hwy. 40

Old photo of Bonanza Toll Bridge. There once was a busy stage stop town called
ignatio on the other side of the river. It was established around 1905 and was a
critical crossing point for the booming Gilsonite mining industry.

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Stock Drive ~s 1” Sz
Trail Sign ———pve Parra a
< — = = ao
Ose ; , rei nas Bonanza
ie Mountain Fuel Bridge to >. Gilsonite Mine
yr? Bonanza bridge - 18 miles us,

Daily river flow rates fluctuate through-
out the year, however, average flow
rates in cubic feet per second are:

Oct. 465 April 699
Nov. 451 May 1399
Dec. 347 June 1724
Jan. 371 July 724
Feb. 542 Aug. 414
Mar. 580 Sept. 355

LAUNCH SITE

UTAH

Call 801-539-1311 for 24-hour prere-
corded updated flow rate information.
Listen for: "White near Watson."

= \\

COLORADO

39

42
40 S
gf 8s Permits
% ts Non-commerical use on this river is free; no hiking, boating, or parking
zs S1 permits are required. Use of Tribal property, including the popular Mountain
@ \ CAMP SITE < Fuel Bridge takeout, requires several different types of permits. See
i 5 brochure insert or contact the Uintah and Ouray Reservation, P.O. Box
com cny Y ye Vea < 190, Fort Duchesne, UT 84026, (801) 722-5511 Monday through Thursday

8:00 a.m. to. 4:30 p.m.