San Rafael
01. Fuller Bottom to San Rafael Campground (Little Grand Canyon)
| Difficulty | I-II |
| Length | 17 mi |
| Avg Gradient | n/a |
| Gauge | San Rafael River Near Green River, Ut |
| Flow Rate as of 16 minutes | 7 cfsbelow recommended |
| Reach Info Last Updated | April 19, 2023 |
River Description
Apr 19, 2023 Warning, barbed wire fence across river, per the trip report below, thank you!
The San Rafael Swell topographic map (712) published as part of National Geographic's Trails Illustrated series is an excellent map of the region.
Check out the Buckhorn Wash pictograph panel on the shuttle.
River Features
Fullers Bottom Trailhead Put In
Put-in on river left at the trailhead.
San Rafael Bridge Recreation Site Take Out
Take-out at the bridge where San Rafael Bridge Campground, also known as Swinging Bridge Campground is located. This is a good place to camp the night before a trip.
Trip Reports
Log in to add a reportI just spoke with the Price BLM field office and they confirmed that the barbed wire fence from 4/23/2023 has been removed.
Did the river on 4/24/23 at 320 on the gage and it stayed there the entire day. There was no boat dragging and we did not hit any rocks. Great place for beginner boaters at those flows. The water was very cold. The float took 5 hours at that level without lunch or stopping for hikes. We paddled quite a bit because of the twisty river, there was very little 'floating' that you see at lower water levels. We did not see the fence across the river. The BLM must have taken the fence out.
Be aware that at the time of this report there is a river wide barbed wire fence blocking the channel just below the first take out and about a mile upstream of the swinging bridge. At 300cfs it is visible but comes up fast, with higher water it might be even less visible. We were able to spot the fence and get out and portage however another party on the river this day got swept into the fence and it capsized their packraft, sweeping them out of their boat and under the fence.
This run can be done down to 100 CSF. We did it around 150. On the river there were people in cheap lake kayaks, inner tubes, 14 ft rats, paddle boards and basically anything that floats. Our time was done in duckies. Faster than most but slower than the pack rafters. We did not do a lot of hiking and only stopped for a short lunch. If you decide to go at these water levels start early or go overnight as it does not move very fast. There were no logs or obstacles to impede flow. It gets cold quickly in the desert and once the sun goes behind the mountain it get cool fast. The high was 66 but when we got off the river at 650 pm it was in the high 40's and everyone was very cold.
there is a river wide log that is 2 feet around about 15 minutes from put in at fullers bottom. Water hits even with the top of the log at 1000 cfs as of yesterday 6/5/2017.
I alerted the ranger. We had someone get snagged on the log going over and had to be rescued. I had to drag over my 13 foot raft and inflatable sabertooth cataraft. The raft almost flipped.
Sliding sideways into the log resulted in flips of duckies and hard shells of following groups. This log was not there on 6/4/2017.
Be careful at water levels less than 1000
Camping above N. Salt Wash canyon
Floating in the last 8 miles of canyon
Aerial shot of the entrance to Little Grand Canyon, San Rafael R.