Dinosaur NM Green River Permit

About this permit

The Green through the Gates of Lodore shares a single Park Service permit with the Yampa (Recreation.gov 250014) but has a longer season. Its high use season for 2026 runs May 11 to September 12, against the Yampa's May 11 to July 11, because the Green is dam-regulated and the monument states it is always floatable for any approved craft.

The quota is in launches per day, with only 300 launch permits issued across the whole high use season: two per day from May 11 to 20, three per day from May 21 to July 11 not to exceed two launches per river, and two per day from July 12 to September 11. Low use season is one permit per day within the monument.

Trips may include no more than 25 persons, and only one permitted group is allowed per campsite. Fees are $15 non-refundable to apply and $185 on confirmation (a flat recreation fee per permit rather than per person), plus a $35 Extended Stay Fee where it applies. Monument entrance fees are separate.

Cancellations post randomly within 24 hours, and all low use permits plus any unclaimed high use permits released on March 6, 2026 at 8:00 am MT, so a cancellation alert keeps working after the draw. The lottery runs December 1 to January 31, with results February 12 and confirmation due by March 1. There is no wait list for unconfirmed reservations.

Equipment matches the Yampa's: fire pans elevated at least four inches, at least 100 square inches with a 3-inch rim, on a fireproof tarp, blanket or welder's cloth; a mesh strainer required on multi-day trips; strained fire residue and all floatables carried out; Type I, III or V Coast Guard approved life jackets properly worn by every participant on any craft with a minimum inherent buoyancy of 15.5 lbs for adults; a rescue and Z-drag kit, air pump, repair kits, spare oars and paddles, spare PFDs, kitchen floor tarp and first aid kits. Helmets are required in all named rapids for canoeists, kayakers including inflatable kayaks, and paddleboarders.

The same unresolved conflict applies here as on the Yampa: Recreation.gov's permit content says bag systems such as wag bags or PET systems are not permitted and requires a washable, reusable container toilet, while the monument's own March 2025 Boating in the Monument regulations list commercial bag systems as approved if carried in hard-sided containers or heavy-duty waterproof bags labelled Human Waste. Confirm with the River Office before buying.

There is no formal orientation, but there is a mandatory check-in inspection (failure to possess all required equipment at check-in will result in the inability to launch), and every permit holder must read and carry a printed copy of Boating in the Monument.

The route

The monument publishes the run as 44 miles from the Gates of Lodore to Split Mountain, and separately gives the upper leg alone: 19 miles from the Gates of Lodore to Echo Park. Below Echo Park it is 17 miles through Whirlpool Canyon, six through Island and Rainbow Parks, and nine rushing miles through Split Mountain, punctuated by four rapids, to the Split Mountain boat ramp. The Lodore launch is 106 miles north of the Canyon Visitor Center.

Powell named three of these rapids himself (Disaster Falls, Triplet Falls and Hell's Half Mile), and the monument's helmet rule names 15 in total: Teepee, Little Joe, Five Springs, Big Joe, Warm Springs, Winnie's Rapid, Disaster Falls, Harp Falls, Triplet, Hell's Half Mile, Greasy Pliers, Moonshine, SOB, Schoolboy and Inglesby. Depending on water level some are rated as high as Class IV, and the monument makes prior experience on comparable Class III or higher whitewater mandatory.

Why it matters

The Green through Dinosaur is the dam-regulated half of a two-river permit, which makes it the reliable one. Where the Yampa's high use season ends July 11 with the snowmelt, the Green's runs to September 12, and the monument states plainly that the Green River is always floatable for any approved craft.