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Field Library

Access Points

Put-ins, take-outs, boat ramps and shore access — where a trip starts, ends, or can be cut short.

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All Access Points A–Z

21 put-ins, take-outs and ramps.

  • Bullfrog Marina
    Reservoir-side marina on the north shore of Lake Powell in Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. Serves as the common take-out for Cataract Canyon trips when Powell elevation allows. At low reservoir elevations the main launch ramp goes dry; NPS has staged service ramps — confirm ramp status before booking a shuttle.
  • Cisco Boat Ramp
    Cisco Boat Ramp via I-70 exit. Good take-out with staging area.
  • Colorado-Green Confluencecanyon boundary
    The confluence of the Green and Colorado Rivers in Canyonlands National Park. **No vehicle access. No boat ramp. No road of any kind reaches this point.** Boaters arrive only by floating in (Meander Canyon down the Colorado from Potash, or Stillwater Canyon down the Green from Mineral Bottom or Green River, UT) or by foot from the Doll House (via the Spanish Bottom trail, which itself is reached only by 4WD via the Maze District). Serves as the take-out point for Meander Canyon (Colorado) and Stillwater Canyon (Green) via river shuttle — Tex's Riverways / Big Tex Expeditions operates jetboat pickup here and returns boaters to Moab or Potash. The geographic put-in for Cataract Canyon — every Cataract trip enters at this point regardless of where the trip itself launched. Trip-level shuttles (Potash → North Wash, Mineral Bottom → North Wash, etc.) live on the river-trip entities, not on the Cataract section.
  • Dewey Bridge Boat Ramp
    BLM day-use site at the former Dewey Bridge location on UT-128. The historic 1916 suspension bridge was destroyed by fire in 2008; piers remain. Serves as the standard take-out for Cisco-to-Dewey floats and the put-in for the scenic Dewey-to-Hittle-Bottom / Professor Valley stretch.
  • Gates of Lodore Put-input in
    Permitted put-in for Lodore Canyon multi-day river trips. Located at the foot of the Gates of Lodore inside Dinosaur National Monument, co-located with Lodore Campground and the seasonal ranger station where launch check-in occurs. Reached via CO-318 from Maybell, CO — roughly 65 miles of paved highway with no services on the approach.
  • Hittle Bottomput in
    Put-in for the Professor Valley section on the Colorado River along scenic Highway 128 northeast of Moab.
  • Little Hole
  • Lower Onion Creek Boat Rampmulti use access
    Access along Utah Highway 128 (Upper Colorado River Scenic Byway), approximately 22 miles from the US-191 / UT-128 junction at Moab. Two boat ramps at Lower Onion Creek Campground, accessed via a 1.5-mile gravel road off UT-128 (across from the Fisher Towers sign). Managed by BLM Moab Field Office. Adjacent to Lower Onion Creek Campground and opposite the Fisher Towers road. Elevation ~4,085 ft. First-come first-served campground at $20/night.
  • Mineral Bottom
    Mineral Bottom road drops 1,200 feet via steep switchbacks — high-clearance required, trailers not recommended. Drive time from Moab is approximately 2 hours. Road surface is dirt and becomes impassable when wet. Confirm road conditions before shuttling.
  • Moab Bridge Boat Rampmulti use access
    Boat ramp at the US-191 Colorado River bridge, 4 miles north of downtown Moab at the junction of US-191 and UT-128. The twin-structure bridge (1,022 ft long, completed December 2010) is the gateway to Moab and the US-191 corridor to Arches, Canyonlands, and points south. The ramp serves as the downstream terminus of the Jackass Canyon reach (from Take Out Beach, 10 mi upstream) and the put-in for The Portal (17 mi downstream to Potash). Named 'Moab Bridge Boat Ramp' by the National Rivers Project and BLM documentation.
  • North Wash / Dirty Devil Take Outtake out
    Primary take-out for Cataract Canyon trips. As of June 2026, North Wash is served by an improved temporary boat ramp — roughly 16 feet wide, surfaced with articulating concrete-block mats, handling one party at a time, and built for high-clearance four-wheel-drive vehicles only due to the steep grade. It sits slightly downstream of the historic take-out and replaced the failing primitive landing after Lake Powell's drawdown left the old Hite-area ramp unusable. It is explicitly a temporary structure on a shoreline the river is still downcutting through reservoir sediment, so mud, shoreline change, lake elevation, and road damage can still alter usability. Parties must verify the current take-out calendar, access advisories, and lake conditions before launch.
  • Potash Boat Ramp
    The Meander Canyon put-in at mile 47.3 (also called Jackson Bottom Boat Ramp), and the most common launch for standard Cataract trips — which run Meander Canyon down to the Confluence and on into Cataract. Good for Colorado-side approach mileage. Ramp and staging are more developed than backcountry alternative launches, but trip leaders should still verify seasonal conditions, parking rules, and current launch procedures.
  • Rainbow Park Boat Ramp
  • Rocky Rapid Boat Rampmulti use access
    Public boat ramp on UT-128 (Upper Colorado River Scenic Byway), roughly 17 miles from the US-191 / UT-128 junction at Moab. BLM ramp on the Colorado River below Rocky Rapid (Class II+); the ramp sits on a side channel on river-left. At high flows it may be impossible to cross the current and reach this take-out in time — plan accordingly. Standard alternate launch for Moab Daily trips that want to skip the upper canyon or take out before Take Out Beach. Vault toilet and shade huts with picnic tables on site.
  • Sand Wash Ranger Station and Boat Launch
    Remote BLM launch with ranger presence in main season, primitive ramp, toilets, rigging area, and nearby primitive camping/screen cabins.
  • Sandy Beach River Accessmulti use access
    Access along Utah Highway 128 (Upper Colorado River Scenic Byway), approximately 14 miles from the US-191 / UT-128 junction at Moab. Informal river access at a sandy beach along UT-128 — no formal boat ramp. Paddlers and swimmers access the Colorado directly from the highway shoulder. A useful alternative take-out or put-in when Take Out Beach (3 mi downstream) is crowded with commercial raft traffic. Best for kayakers, SUPs, and small groups.
  • Spillway Boat Launch
  • Split Mountain Boat Ramp
  • Swaseys Boat Ramp
    Standard take-out for the Desolation/Gray trip near Green River, Utah. Adjacent beach/day-use infrastructure and take-out staging make this the practical end point for most private trips.
  • Take Out Beachtake out
    Standard take-out for the Professor Valley section, located along Highway 128 near the Colorado River bridge into Moab.
  • Westwater Ranger Station Boat Rampput in
    The BLM put-in for Westwater Canyon, co-located with the Westwater Ranger Station where launch permits are checked. Reached via I-70 exit 227, then roughly nine miles south to the ranger station. A developed ramp and staging area in open sandstone country, mile 0 of the ~17-mile run — everything difficult about Westwater happens downstream, in the gorge.