Upper Lodore Camp
First camp in the Canyon of Lodore — Precambrian quartzite walls, Douglas fir shade, and 1.7-billion-year-old rock.
Also known as: Upper Wade and Curtis Camp, Upper Camp
Upper Lodore Camp sits at approximately mile 3 within the Canyon of Lodore, just after the Green River has passed through the Gates of Lodore and entered the Uinta Mountain Group quartzite walls that define this canyon. The camp occupies a bench on river right, backed by dark red Precambrian quartzite cliffs that are among the oldest exposed rock in the Colorado River system — 1.7 billion years old. The canyon is tight here, forested with Douglas fir and box elder on the north-facing slopes, and the camp has meaningful shade that distinguishes it from the exposed desert camps downstream. Lodore is an assigned-camp system managed by Dinosaur National Monument, and Upper Lodore is one of the first camps available after launch. The river has some current but no significant rapids at this point — Winnie's Rapid and Upper Disaster Falls are downstream.