As the Colorado River leaves the confines of Westwater Canyon and enters the muted shades of the Cisco Desert, she begins a series of broad meanders across a wide floodplain. Her channel is shallow and braided with the sand and gravel bars created from the sediments picked up from her long journey across Colorado.

Photo by Frank Mendoca

Except for a brief stop to pick up her younger sister the Dolores River, where sharply tilted sandstone cliffs create a small ochre-walled canyon, the Colorado here is a completely different river from the stretches downstream. Boaters are treated to broad and open views of the farmlands and fields lining the river - this feels more like cowboy country of the open range. Cottonwood groves provide cool shade on a hot summer day; in the spring the trees are covered with new pale green leaves and in the fall they are golden and rustling with the breeze. This is one of the best sections along the Colorado for bird watching. Migratory waterfowl use this part of the river as a wintering ground, whose milder temperatures and calmer weather are a refuge from the harsh climate further north. It is not uncommon to see Canada geese, ducks, herons and other waterfowl on a late fall float downstream. In spring, songbirds return to the river, and the banks and groves can be a symphony of birdcalls.

Boaters put in for this gentle stretch of river at the Cisco boat ramp off of state highway 128. Twenty-three miles of paddling calm water with a few riffles will find you at the Hittle Bottom take-out. This is a nice stretch of river for an introduction to the Colorado River. This trip is appropriate for beginner and advanced canoers.

Red River Canoe Company provides guided trips for groups of 7 or more for this stretch of the Colorado River. Please call for more information, availability and current prices.

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Red River Canoe Company
1371 North Highway 191
Moab, Utah 84532
800-753-8216
redriver@redrivercanoe.com

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