The Land is Awesome in Every Respect!

Every canyon, every bend in the river reveals something else to stun the senses and leave you marveling that such a place exists at all... a place that's totally unlike any other. A place that demands to be shared like a special secret.

Holiday Expeditions has been going there for over thirty years. Whitewater rafting through the most spectacular landscapes on earth. On some of the hottest whitewater anywhere. And sharing it with anyone curious enough to come along. If you have never done the river it might be hard to imagine, but in all the world, there is nothing anywhere quite like a whitewater wilderness adventure in the Rocky Mountain West.

Holiday Expeditions offers twelve different sections of eight rivers in Utah, Arizona, Colorado and Idaho. Each trip is unique. Different landscapes. Different-sized rapids. Some trips are designed for scenic adventurers who are a little more interested in the scenic than in the adventure. Other trips deliver the best world-class whitewater the West has to offer.


Various Trips:

Lodore Canyon - GREEN RIVER RAFTING
Dinosaur Nat'l Monument (4 Days)

Lodore was the first major canyon encountered by John Wesley Powell and his men on their 1869 expedition. Powell's adventures live on in the rapids he named: Disaster Falls, Triplet Falls and Hells Half Mile. Set aside as an American treasure in 1938 under the National Park system, this canyon is a sanctuary for bighorn sheep, deer and other friendly critters.

Your 44-mile trip starts at the "Gates of Lodore" where two 800-foot buttresses mark the beginning of a series of canyons. You will see vermillion cliffs cut from Precambrian bedrock in Lodore canyon, then leapfrog through time as you cross a geologic fault in Echo Park, and see rock reflect the colors of a rainbow on your last day at the entrance to Split Mountain Gorge.

The whitewater is technical, and that means your guide's oars will be busy as a bee's wings, making quick cuts and dodges to keep the self-bailing raft headed for the clear chutes and clean waves. In the 1870's Pat Lynch, a hermit who lived at Echo Park, used to visit his neighbors by floating downstream with a log. When you reach Echo Park you'll blow up an inflatable kayak just in case you want to leave your neighbors on the raft for some personal, paddling fun.



YAMPA RIVER RAFTING
Dinosaur Nat'l Monument (4 and 5 Days)

The Yampa is WILD. The last undammed river in the Colorado River system. Through the years the Yampa has defied many attempts to dam its free flow, several by congress, and the most formidable in 1965 by Mother Nature. Just after dinner on June 10th, a flash flood carried tons of rock down Warm Springs draw blocking the river channel. Within twenty-four hours the Yampa took aim and breached the dam, leaving in its wake Warm Springs Rapid, rated among the 10 biggest drops in the country.

Every May and June this river rises to the occasion and CRANKS with plenty of full-bodied waves from the first day to the last. Like many wild things the Yampa also has a serene side...miles of white tiger-striped walls that drop 2000 feet sheer to the water, side-canyon waterfalls, Ancestral Puebloan rock art, and whispering caves. You spend 46 miles of this 71-mile trip on the Yampa and then merge with the Green River at Echo Park for the balance through Whirlpool Canyon and Split Mountain Gorge. If you feel the need for something rare, something wild and free...the Yampa is waiting.



SALMON RIVER RAFTING
The River of No Return (5 And 6 Days)

There is a green hole in the middle of Idaho. A spot refreshingly empty on your highway map. A place where pavement never was...and wild rivers still are...raw country, 20,000 square miles of it, and right through the middle runs the Salmon River- The River of No Return.

Cutting the second deepest canyon in North America, the Salmon River is a clear mountain river with pine forests and white sandy beaches. The canyon abounds in deserted homesteads and, of special interest to river travelers, natural hot springs: aah...feels good. One crowd appreciates this roadless country even more than us. Deer, bighorn sheep, moose, birds of prey, elk, bear and the frolicking river otter call this refuge home.

Translucent emerald water, responding to the drop and irregularities of the river bottom, form over forty rapids. That means you have first class whitewater on each day of the trip. Around July the hands-on types can request inflatable kayaks and meet the River of No Return on their own terms.

In a state that's second only to Alaska in designated wilderness areas, getting from point "A" to point "B" can take some doing. That's why Holiday Expeditions has included a scenic charter flight from Boise to Salmon, Idaho - gateway to their river put-in. Ninety-two life-changing river miles later you will return to civilization in Boise.



SNAKE RIVER RAFTING
Hell's Canyon (3 & 5 Days)

There's an obvious boundary where Idaho ends and Oregon begins: Hell's Canyon, a 7,000-foot deep abyss forged by the Snake River. Congress was so impressed by this natural achievement, it named Hell's Canyon to the National Wild and Scenic River System in 1976. Stunning landscapes, BIG rapids and curious wildlife pull you into the chasm for a closer look. Nez Perce pictographs and rough-hewn pioneer dwellings remind us that not all visitors enjoyed grand service, great meals and relaxation here. Three days will take you through the heart of the canyon, 33-miles of Snake River and the two largest rapids: Granite Creek and Wild Sheep. If you have time, five days will leave all 80-miles of the fabled Hell's Canyon forever etched in your mind.



Grand Canyon / Grand Canyon National Park
COLORADO RIVER RAFTING
-5 or 6 Days (Upper)
-8 or 9 Days (Lower)

Grand Canyon Rafting! The very name "Grand Canyon" brings to mind unparalleled beauty, and breathtaking whitewater. This grand-daddy of whitewater rafting in Arizona boasts 150 rapids, including some of the wildest whitewater in North America. The two largest, Lava Falls and Crystal Rapid, are awesome to behold, exhilarating to run -- the right stuff indeed.

Sparkling clear springs gush from cracks in the cliffs, forming lush oases of ferns, pools and wild flowers. Each of the Earth's climatic zones is represented in Grand Canyon from alpine forests on the rim to Sonoran deserts in the lower elevations.

The entire canyon requires twelve days, and the Grand Canyon reserves its greatest reward for those who make this time commitment. Five, and eight day split trip options offer either the upper or lower section of the canyon. These trips involve a spectacular 9-mile hike into or out of the canyon from the South Rim to the Colorado River and are recommended for those in good physical condition.

Reservations should be made well in advance as demand for this world-class adventure is high.



Westwater Canyon - COLORADO RIVER RAFTING
-2 and 3 Days Rafting
-Days/ Ranch 2 Rafting 2


Often called a miniature Grand Canyon, this segment of the Colorado River is the answer for the person who is short on time but wants it all...a wilderness canyon so stunningly beautiful you 'll have no doubt but to leave the world behind. The finale - world class whitewater. Depending upon water level and trip length, you will see from eighteen to fifty miles of the Colorado's finest beaches, side canyons, and campsites.

A century ago pioneer river explorers Thane Galloway and John Wesley Powell developed two distinctive rowing styles. Your guides will employ them to meet the challenge of Westwater's rapids. Galloway's innovative facing style will be used in most of the rapids that demand tight boat placement, including Funnel Falls and Sock-it-to-me. Powell's distinctive style is used for Skull rapid where a powerful thrust is required to thrust through a diagonal wave feeding right into Skull Hole.

On selected dates we combine our Westwater trip with a two-day stay at the Tavaputs Ranch. Inside tips on booking Westwater Canyon...it usually sells out so book early. The three-day trip offers more time to leave the world behind and the opportunity to become one-on-one with the Colorado River in an inflatable kayak.: the ultimate three-day getaway.



San Juan River Rafting - NAVAJOLAND
(3 and 4 Days)

By the late 1870's, the Mormons had colonized virtually every corner of Utah before pushing the boundaries of "Zion" southeast to the isolated canyons of the San Juan River. It was on the San Juan that Norman Nevills, a pioneer of commercial river running, began his first river trip with a new bride and a boat built from outhouse planks.

This country is a mecca for the lover of slickrock, precious Indian cultural sites, and warm-water rapids. Your guide can lead you through side canyons to polished limestone swimming pools, or to the canyon rim for an endless vista of Monument Valley, the landscape synonymous with the "John Wayne Western".

Flowing faster than any other river we run, the San Juan has scores of small rapids. In addition, sand waves caused by shifting sands on the river bottom add several spontaneous roller-coaster rides to the 83-mile trip. For those who like a lot of action, Holiday Expeditions brings inflatable kayaks which shift the San Juan's modest rapids upscale to high adventure.



Cataract Canyon - COLORADO RIVER RAFTING
Canyonlands National Park (5 & 6 Days)

This legendary gorge named Cataract Canyon is buried in the heart of Utah's Canyonlands National Park. Our rafts offer effortless conveyance to side canyon grottos, waterfalls and ancient Anasazi ruins that are otherwise inaccessible. On this trip you see the most vivid contrast between utter tranquility and all-out high adventure.

In the first part of the trip the current slides us quietly past brilliantly colored cliffs and towering table-top mesas. Here the river conditions both body and soul, giving you time to prepare yourself for the behemoth rapids awaiting below the confluence of the Green and Colorado rivers.

Nowhere on its entire course does the Colorado River descend more precipitously than through Cataract Canyon. On river night three, the Colorado River will not rest. The roar of the cataracts will lull you to sleep, dance in your dreams, then wake you the next morning with a new bearing. Time to batten down the hatches and hold on. Twenty-three BIG ONES, among them Mile Long, Ben Hurt and the grand-daddy of them all, The Big Drops, a succession of three big-hitters that will take you laughing and cheering, 30 feet closer to sea level in less than a mile.



Lower Salmon River Rafting - IDAHO WILDERNESS
(4 Days)

This section of the mighty Salmon River guides us through four stunning canyons Green, Cougar, Snowhole and Blue Canyons — as the surroundings change from sheer rock canyons to rolling mountains plated in golden grass. At high water, huge standing waves and chomping rapids command the attention of whitewater enthusiasts. Later in the summer, the Lower Salmon calms down inviting families to enjoy warm water, white sandy beaches and family-friendly rapids. The Salmon meets the voluminous Snake River for the last 20 miles of our trip.


Desolation Canyon - GREEN RIVER RAFTING
-5/6 Days Rafting
-7/8 Days / Tavaputs Ranch 2 Rafting 5/6

The Green River splits the 10,000 foot high Tavaputs Plateau and forms a gorge deeper than the Grand Canyon. Over one million uninhabited acres surround this holdout of the Old West. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid used these remote canyons one hundred years ago to escape the law. Today, you'll go just to escape.

Despite the name Desolation Canyon, the river surroundings offer green cottonwood groves, white sand beaches, and clear-water side streams. Your guide's selection of nightly camps will make good use of these features. Off river, abandoned homesteads mark the end of a frontiersman's dream, and prehistoric Indian petroglyphs the end of a civilization.

Born in 1987, the child of a side canyon flash flood, Belknap rapid is a formidable addition to the over 60 rapids on this 84-mile trip. With whitewater that builds in intensity each day, Desolation Canyon is an ideal place to occasionally swap your seat in the raft for a thirst quenching ride in an inflatable kayak.

On selected dates through-out the season we combine our Desolation Canyon river trip with a two day stay at Tavaputs Ranch. Accessed by a short flight into the Tavaputs plateau, Tavaputs Ranch is nestled among remote alpine forests and rolling meadows. Daily activities include horseback riding, hiking, four-wheeling, and simply relaxing in the outdoors.

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