San Juan River

Desert river through Navajo country - goosenecks, cliff dwellings, and petroglyphs, with good permit odds and year-round access.

Utah·Class II-III·26-57 mi·2-5 days·Apr-Jul

Mexican Hat ramp → Clay Hills Crossing

At a glancenot yet refreshed

Current flow

Flow data unavailable

The run

Two standard sections. Upper: 26 miles from Sand Island to Mexican Hat, Class I-II, mostly flatwater through Comb Ridge and past Navajo Twin Rocks, with side hikes to River House ruin and petroglyph panels along the canyon walls. Lower: 57 miles from Mexican Hat to Clay Hills Crossing, Class II-III with Government Rapid (Class III, mile 15) and Ross Rapid (Class II-III, mile 26) being the named features. The Goosenecks - the 5-mile meander where the river folds back on itself - are in the lower section. Most parties do one or the other; full 83-mile runs combine both.

The permit

Lottery runs December for launches between April 15 and July 31. Odds are good - roughly 25-50% for most dates. Fall and winter permits are first-come-first-served and rarely full. The San Juan flows through Navajo and Ute Mountain Ute reservation land; the BLM permit covers put-in and take-out access.

Timing

The San Juan is a runoff river: peak flows in April-May can exceed 5,000 CFS, then drops through summer to 800-1,500 CFS by August. Low water (below 800) slows the trip and bones out the bigger rapids; above 3,000 the river moves fast and the goosenecks eddy out less. July through September is the most popular season: warm days, predictable flows, few bugs. April and early May have the biggest water and are cold at night.

Logistics

Sand Island put-in: Bluff, UT. Mexican Hat put-in or take-out: Mexican Hat, UT. Clay Hills Crossing take-out: 50 miles of dirt road off UT-261 - passable to 2WD in dry weather, impossible after rain. Shuttle companies run out of Bluff and Mexican Hat, $200-400 one-way. Clay Hills has no services; the closest gas and water are in Mexican Hat or Bluff.

River House ruin

Mile 3 on the upper section. Puebloan cliff dwelling from roughly 1250 CE. No hike required - visible from the river and a five-minute walk from a sand beach. Stay outside the wall, don't touch plaster, don't enter the kiva.

Clay Hills road

The 50-mile road from Clay Hills Crossing to UT-261 is compacted clay and sandstone. Turns to grease in rain and strands 2WD vehicles that try it wet. Check the forecast before committing to Clay Hills as take-out. Mexican Hat take-out keeps the run shorter and the logistics easier.

Hero photo: Kkaufman11 via Wikimedia Commons · Public domain

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