Desolation & Gray Canyons Permit

About this permit

A permit is required for all river travel through Desolation and Gray Canyons between Sand Wash and Nefertiti during the typical boating season, March through November. In December through February the river typically freezes over and is impassible to watercraft.

The quota is measured in groups entering per day: two groups a day in the spring low-use season from March 1 to May 14, six a day in the summer high-use season from May 15 to August 14, and two a day in the fall low-use season from August 15 to November 30. Dates between May 1 and September 30 are lottery controlled.

A group is 25 people or fewer, and not more than the number pre-paid for on the permit. Minimum trip length is three calendar days and the maximum is nine. Fees are a one-time $6 reservation fee plus a $40 per person recreation fee.

Cancellations post immediately as they occur, and unawarded and unaccepted dates open first-come first-served on March 15 at 8:00 am MDT, so a cancellation alert keeps working all season. The lottery runs December 1 through January 31, with notification on February 14, 2026 and an acceptance period through March 14 at 11:59 MDT. There is no wait list for unconfirmed reservations, and non-lottery dates opened December 1.

Equipment is prescriptive. The toilet must be a washable, leak-proof, reusable system allowing carry-out and disposal of solid human waste; leaving solid waste on public land or dumping it into vault toilets or trash receptacles at BLM facilities is prohibited. Bag systems are acceptable here, unlike on some rivers, if they are part of a specifically engineered bag waste containment system containing enzymes and polymers, and all solid waste including bags must be contained in a leakproof, crushproof, animalproof, hard-sided container with a screw-on or ratchet-locking lid. A durable metal fire pan at least 12 inches wide with a 1.5-inch lip must be carried on all trips even if stoves are used for cooking, and remains required during a fire ban; fire blankets under the pan are recommended. Life jackets must be properly sized Type I, III or V, children 12 and under must wear one at all times when boating, and everyone must wear one from Jack Creek Rapid to the take-out. Dishwater strainers are recommended rather than required. Also required: a first aid kit, repair kits, air pumps, a spare oar, paddle or motor per vessel with one spare paddle per three low-capacity vessels, a bail bucket or bilge pump, and for boats 16 feet and over a Type IV throwable device or a commercially made rescue rope with at least 40 feet of line, plus a whistle or horn.

All boaters must complete the Utah Mussel Aware Course, and motorized craft additionally need home-state registration and enrolment in the Utah AIS Vessel Enrollment Program. Pets are prohibited on the Desolation Gray Canyons section of the Green River year round.

The route

The permit covers 84 river miles, launching at the Sand Wash Boat Launch Area and taking out at Swaseys Boat Ramp and Campground, with the permitted section described as between Sand Wash and Nefertiti. The BLM's assessment of the whitewater is refreshingly plain: over sixty riffles and rapids punctuate the trip, none are particularly difficult, and a dozen or so can cause some trouble for the unprepared traveler. It names two rapids: Nefertiti and Jack Creek.

One rule that shapes the whole trip: from Jack Creek Rapid to the take-out, all persons must wear a PFD.

And one closure to plan around from the moment you launch. As of September 2018, all activities on Ute Tribal Lands are strictly prohibited: landing watercraft, visiting cultural and historic sites, camping and hiking. Those lands are on river left, the east side, from Sand Wash to Coal Creek.

Why it matters

Deso-Gray is the friendliest big multi-day river on the Colorado Plateau. Six groups a day launch at peak, the minimum trip is three days and the maximum nine, and the water is forgiving enough that it is where a lot of private boaters run their first long self-supported trip.