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39.11242071021479°N 110.10915238352361°W
Green River — UT

Green River Town Reach

About ten miles of flatwater connecting Gray Canyon to Labyrinth, with one critical feature — the Tusher Diversion Dam and its 2017-rebuilt center-channel boat chute roughly three miles below Swaseys.

10 miles Class I–I 1 days
Flow USGS 09315000 Green River at Green River, UT — the key gauge for the entire...
Season Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct
Duration 1–1 days (typical 1)
Permit No permit required
Shuttle 8 mi — 0.3 hrs
Logistics Full expedition planning required

About ten miles of flatwater connecting Gray Canyon to Labyrinth, with one critical feature — the Tusher Diversion Dam and its 2017-rebuilt center-channel boat chute roughly three miles below Swaseys.

Green River Town Reach
Overview

Ten miles of flatwater through the broad valley of Green River, Utah — the connecting reach between Gray Canyon and Labyrinth, mostly shuttled past, occasionally floated as a town stretch.

The town reach of the Green River — approximately 10 miles of slow flatwater from Swaseys Boat Ramp at the foot of Gray Canyon down through the town of Green River, Utah, to Green River State Park. The single most important feature of this reach is the Tusher Diversion Dam, sitting roughly three miles below Swaseys and just over six miles above town. First built in 1913, the old weir was a notorious keeper hydraulic that forced every party to portage or take their chances over rebar-studded concrete. In 2017, after years of advocacy by American Whitewater and the Utah Rivers Council, the dam was rebuilt as a stair-step grouted-riprap structure with a 25-foot boat chute set in the center of the channel and a state-secured 147 cfs in-stream water right to keep the chute running. Boaters now run the chute straight down the middle. Scout from river right (private property — be respectful, do not trespass past the river bank). Even with the engineered chute, this is a manmade structure: approach with caution, expect splashy water in the chute, and stay clear of the rebar-studded rubble that flanks the right side and the boulder debris from Tusher Wash on the left. Outside the dam, the reach is character-free — canyon walls drop away above Swaseys; the river enters the broad open valley framed by the Book Cliffs to the north and the San Rafael Swell to the southwest. Passing under the I-70 and US-191 bridges, the reach connects two very different river experiences — the technical pool-drop water of Gray Canyon above and the wilderness float of Labyrinth Canyon below. No camps, no permits, no canyon — just the dam, the bridges, the current, and the agricultural valley on either bank. The take-out at Green River State Park sits at the head of a hundred-yard stretch of East Main Street that holds the entire post-trip routine in one walking radius: the John Wesley Powell River History Museum (River Runners Hall of Fame), the River Terrace Inn (lodging on the bank of the river), and the Tamarisk Restaurant (riverside diner with windows looking back at the water you just got off). Park your boat, walk the block.

Trip styles
transit, short town float
Ideal for
shuttle-only transit, short town floats, anglers on the lower Green, early-season warm-up paddles
River type
flatwater, town reach
10 miles
1 days typical

Flows & Hydrology

USGS Green River at Green River gauge (09315000) reads this reach directly — the key gauge for all of the lower Green.

7-Day Forecast

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Seasonality
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Year-round runnable; flows controlled by Flaming Gorge releases and seasonal runoff.

Geology

The river is in its post-canyon valley reach here — out of the Cretaceous shales of Gray Canyon, into the open valley between the Book Cliffs (Mesaverde Group) to the north and the San Rafael Swell to the southwest. The Wingate-bearing Triassic stack returns downstream as the river enters Labyrinth Canyon.

Rock Record
Mancos Shale
Mesaverde Group
Province
Colorado Plateau
Rock types
sandstone · shale
Logistics

No permits, paved shuttle (~15 min), put in at Swaseys, take out at Green River State Park. The one item that's not a logistics afterthought: the Tusher Diversion Dam at mile ~3. Run the boat chute straight down the center of the channel. Scout from river right. The 2017 rebuild made this safe at normal flows; the structure was a portage-or-die hazard for a hundred years before that.

Gear
Camp Kitchen

On a seven-day trip, you'll cook roughly 20 meals on a folding table in the sand. The constraint isn't ambition — it's ice management. Days one through three, you have real cooler capacity. Days four and five are the transition zone. Days six and seven are pantry cooking.

The best river cooks plan backward from the last night. If your final dinner is still good — not just edible, but genuinely good — the trip ends on a high.

Dinner Ideas by Trip Day
10River miles
Reading the River

Books that shape the science, history, and stories behind this place.

Canyon Country

Canyon Country

Donald L. Baars · 1989

An accessible introduction to the rock layers, canyon formation, and landscapes of the Colorado Plateau and canyon country.

knowledge
Down the Great Unknown

Down the Great Unknown

Edward Dolnick · 2002

The dramatic story of John Wesley Powell's first expedition through the Grand Canyon and the birth of river exploration in the American West.

storytelling cultural context knowledge
Fluvial Processes in Geomorphology

Fluvial Processes in Geomorphology

Luna B. Leopold, M. Gordon Wolman, John P. Miller · 1964

A foundational scientific text on river geomorphology, covering sediment transport, channel form, fluvial dynamics, and the physical processes that shape river systems.

knowledge
Geology of Utah's Rivers

Geology of Utah's Rivers

William T. Parry · 2016

A geological exploration of Utah’s major river systems explaining how tectonics, sedimentation, and erosion shaped the canyon landscapes of the Colorado Plateau and surrounding regions.

knowledge
How to Read Water

How to Read Water

Tristan Gooley · 2016

A guide to understanding the subtle clues in water movement—from puddles and rivers to oceans—teaching readers how currents, waves, surface textures, and patterns reveal information about wind, depth, obstacles, and landscape.

knowledge tone
Introduction to Physical Hydrology

Introduction to Physical Hydrology

Martin R. Hendriks · 2010

A rigorous, university-level introduction to physical hydrology covering the full water cycle — precipitation, evapotranspiration, infiltration, groundwater, runoff generation, and streamflow — with quantitative methods throughout. The scientific foundation for understanding how rivers work at the watershed scale, from snowpack in the Rockies to baseflow in canyon rivers.

knowledge
River Mechanics

River Mechanics

Pierre Y. Julien · 2002

A rigorous graduate-level treatment of river hydraulics and sediment transport, covering flow resistance, bedforms, channel stability, and the physical mechanics that govern river behavior.

knowledge
River Runners' Guide to Utah and Adjacent Areas

River Runners' Guide to Utah and Adjacent Areas

Gary C. Nichols · 2009

A comprehensive guidebook to whitewater rivers in Utah and neighboring regions, covering river access, rapids, flow considerations, trip logistics, and historical context for river runners.

knowledge
The Colorado Plateau

The Colorado Plateau

Donald L. Baars · 1983

A key geological reference for understanding the uplift, stratigraphy, tectonics, and erosional history of the Colorado Plateau.

knowledge
The Control of Nature

The Control of Nature

John McPhee · 1989

Three deeply reported narratives about humanity's attempts to stop rivers, lava, and debris flows — and what the land does in return. A masterwork of geological journalism that asks whether nature can ever truly be controlled.

tone storytelling philosophy knowledge
The Exploration of the Colorado River

The Exploration of the Colorado River

John Wesley Powell · 1875

Powell's original account of the first scientific expedition through the Grand Canyon, documenting the geology, natural history, and challenges of navigating the unknown Colorado River.

knowledge storytelling cultural context
The Secret Knowledge of Water

The Secret Knowledge of Water

Craig Childs · 2000

Craig Childs explores the hidden water sources and desert hydrology of the American Southwest, revealing how water shapes and sustains life in the most arid landscapes on Earth.

tone philosophy knowledge
Where the Old West Stayed Young

Where the Old West Stayed Young

John Rolfe Burroughs · 1962

A historical portrait of the ranching and outlaw culture of Browns Park and the remote canyons of the Colorado Plateau, illuminating how geography shaped the final stronghold of the old frontier.

cultural context storytelling knowledge
Gray Canyon
Upstream Gray Canyon
Labyrinth Canyon
Downstream Labyrinth Canyon