Name: Green River Daily
Rating: 3.0

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Plan in onX Backcountry

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Dogs No Dogs

E-Bikes Allowed

Family Friendly Easy riding, and if you come at an off time, you are unlikely to encounter traffic. Great wildlife and petroglyphs. There are many places to access the river. Use life jackets for swimming!

This road passes through clay layers that render it completely impassible in rainy conditions. Do not attempt to ride (or drive) this route when wet, or when expecting rain! You'll quickly glop up and stop, slide off the road, or break your derailleur.

In high water, the river inundates sections of the road.

Need to Know

If you leave the road to wander about on foot, watch for poison ivy in damp areas.

Be a bit careful about thrashing through the willows—the bears hang out in there during the heat of the day, and it's terrifying (though not generally dangerous) to flush one out. At camp, take precautions with your food.

Oddly, scenes for the sailing movie, "Wind," a 1992 Matthew Modine/Jennifer Grey film, were shot near Swazey's boat ramp.

Description

This dirt road runs from Swasey's boat ramp to Nefertiti Rapid, the put-in for the Green River Daily boating stretch, and the last day of the longer Desolation Canyon wilderness river trip. If you are a boater, this road can be used to run your shuttle using a mountain bike.

If you are just out for a ride, this route passes by interesting features in a rather remote area. The riding is mellow, and you can stash the bike to hike to petroglyphs, side canyons, beaches, and historic sites. There is a lot of wildlife in this stretch, and you can expect to regularly see migratory birds, chukkar, bighorn sheep and black bear.

This route could make a great component of a MTB/pack-rafting adventure, since the river is relatively easy, no boating permit is required on the daily stretch, and there's lots of free camping.

At the end of the road at Nefertiti Rapid, there is a rough hiking track that continues to follow the river upstream to Rattlesnake Canyon which it then follows, eventually reaching all the way back to the town of Green River after a 50-mile expedition. Check with the Moab BLM office about the current use regulations on this trail on the east side of the river (the Price BLM office manages the west side of the river).

On your way out (in the summer months), be sure to buy a Green River melon from the roadside vendors—they are spectacular. And Ray's Tavern is the local boater bar, with tasty burgers and fries.