San Juan River

NM, CO, UT • US

The San Juan River flows 383 miles from the San Juan Mountains of southern
Colorado through New Mexico and southeastern Utah to its confluence with
the Colorado River in Lake Powell. The permit-required reach from Sand
Island through the Goosenecks to Clay Hills Crossing is one of the most
archaeologically rich river trips in the American Southwest, featuring
Ancestral Puebloan cliff dwellings, petroglyphs, sand waves, and dramatic
entrenched meanders. Typically run as a 5-7 day float from Sand Island
to Clay Hills (83 miles) or a shorter 4-day Sand Island to Mexican Hat.

383.0 mi total 3 sections 6 access points 14 camps 10 rapids

🗺 Explore map

Click any point for details. Sections without stored geometry are drawn as straight put-in → take-out lines — actual courses follow the river. Purple lines = permit-required sections.

Sections (3)

Quality Waters (Navajo Dam to Gobernador Wash)

● Navajo Dam (Texas Hole) → ● Navajo Dam (Texas Hole)

5.0 mi 💧 562 cfs · medium

Class I

Upper San Juan (Sand Island to Mexican Hat)

● Sand Island → ● Mexican Hat

27.5 mi 🏕 6 🌊 5 💧 511 cfs · low

Class II-III

🔒 Permit

Lower San Juan (Mexican Hat to Clay Hills)

● Mexican Hat → ● Clay Hills Crossing

55.5 mi 🏕 8 🌊 5 💧 511 cfs · low

Class II-III

🔒 Permit