Meander Canyon is a lesser-known stretch of river in the Canyonlands region; most of the fame goes to its familiar counterpart Stillwater Canyon on the Green River. Yet Meander Canyon is without a doubt one of the lovelier sections of the Colorado River, rich with archeology, history, and incomparable scenery. The landscape through which the Colorado River flows near Moab has been shaped and deformed by salt - its effects are visible everywhere, from the long narrow fracture of Spanish Valley,

Photo by Todd Campbell

to the tiny, parallel side canyons that enter the river through the sheer sandstone walls below Moab. Salt from an ancient ocean formed as thick layers in deeply buried rocks. The pressure of the layers above forced the salt to squeeze like toothpaste up through the overlying layers, causing them to bulge and bend and ultimately crack in long straight clefts in the land's surface. From the air, the land still looks like a rumpled and wrinkled carpet, molded and cracked by the forces of time. A float down this stretch of river brings past geological forces to vivid life in the present landscape.

Boaters enter Canyonlands National Park just above Little Bridge Canyon. For those who wish to explore off the river there are ample opportunities in this section. In a few different places, most notably at Lathrop Canyon, hikers can climb away from the river to the White Rim Trail, a 111 mile-long biking and jeep trail that skirts the edge of the rim of the inner canyon. Views from this trail are spectacular: one is neither down in the canyon looking up, nor above looking down. Instead, one is completely encircled by the color and form of the Canyonlands in broad, expansive vistas. At Indian Creek Indian ruins identify an ancient route to the rim used by the Anasazi as they moved from the low country in the winter and spring to the high country for summer and fall.

Geological oddities are common along this stretch of river. At Jackson Hole, the Colorado shortened its course by approximately 3 miles when it cut through a narrow neck of sandstone in one of its own turns, leaving the old curve stranded as a dry loop canyon. To see a Jackson Hole in the making, boaters can continue downstream to The Loop, where the river literally doubles back on its own course before turning downstream to make a final run for the Confluence. There is one small rapid 2 miles above the Confluence at The Slide. This is a Class I to II rapid formed by rock slides from the cliffs.

A trip in Meander Canyon may start or end in several different places, depending on your time constraints. Most trips begin at Moab boat ramp and end at the Confluence, a distance of 67 miles. One can, however, be dropped off by jet boat further downstream than Potash, or be picked up by jet boat before the Confluence. This flexibility in scheduling, unavailable on Stillwater Canyon trips, makes Meander Canyon the perfect choice for visitors who want to experience the grandeur of the the Canyonlands country by river, but who don't have many days with which to do so.

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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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