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Colorado River Canoeing: Geography

Aug 3 - 5, 2017

Reserve Now

Trip Fees

Adult

$390

Kids

Discount*

Student

$390

Deposit**

Adult Only Icon See QUICK LINKS on the right sidebar for aditional information such as Itinerary, What to Bring, Map, etc.

University of Northern Colorado (UNC) Geography with Dr. James Dunn

Geography Professor, Dr. James Dunn, will be facilitating this trip as you learn about the power of water, wind, and weathering in a western environment. Labs and field exercises will be conducted throughout the trip as appropriate. This trip is open to the adult public who wish to learn while having fun on a canoe trip, and will be focused on teaching geography field work to UNC college students. There are 2 ways to register for this trip:

1) For students getting college credit, visit Dr. Jimmy Dunn's webpage for instructions on how to register as an undergraduate at the University of Northern CO starting April 4, 2017.

2) For UNC alumni and the adult public, pay the adult fee via the RESERVE NOW button on this page.

Colorado River

This spectacular canyon country of the Colorado Plateau, including Ruby and Horsethief Canyons, features majestic walls of red sandstone and offers some of the best canoeing in Colorado. The river is gentle with occasional small Class I+ rapids to add spice to the journey (Class I is easy and Class V is difficult). Roads do not bound this portion of the river and the steep-walled canyons are accessible only from the river, giving the area a true wilderness setting.

You’ll be amazed at stands of shiny granite sculpted by water through the ages while paddling or floating in your life jacket past the remnants of ancient metamorphic rock, called Black Rock. Camping along the river’s banks and exploring a deep box canyon will leave you awed by the immensity of geologic time and the silence of the wilderness. This is BIG COUNTRY and a geologist’s paradise. Many of our educational classes focus on this area. This stretch of river near Grand Junction, CO, is ideal for canoeing.

On three-day trips, we usually try to incorporate one layover day, staying camped in the same place for two nights, allowing time for conducting field studies, hiking the wilderness canyons, playing in the river and relaxing.