Colorado River (Utah) Fishing Guides
The Colorado through Utah's red rock country - the Cisco gauge that governs Westwater, the Moab daily and every float from Ruby Ranch to the confluence.
Map of the Colorado River (Utah)
43 numbered points: 13 access points, 17 campsites, 2 bridges, 2 parks and conservation areas, 2 agency offices, 1 regulation section limit, 3 springs, 1 USGS gauge, 2 points of interest. Tap a marker for details. Reviewed Sep 24, 2026.
- Access / boat ramp (13)
- Campsite (17)
- Bridge crossing (2)
- Park / conservation area (2)
- Agency / conservation office (2)
- Regulation section limit (1)
- Spring (3)
- USGS gauge (1)
- Point of interest (2)
Print it. Bag it. Bring it.Phones die, screens crack, and most of this water has no signal. Print this map, fold it into a zip-top bag or dry bag with your license, and you have a backup your electronics can’t give you. Every marker is numbered so you can say exactly where you are.
Open the printable mapAll 43 points on this map
| # | Point | Type | Lat, Lon | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Utah-Colorado state line Upstream limit, Utah DWR Colorado River section | Regulation section limit | 39.11523, -109.04896 | Utah's guidebook section runs from the Colorado state line downriver to the Hite bridge on SR-95, a limit far below this sheet. Placed where the chained centreline crosses the state line. |
| 2 | Westwater Ranger Station Campground BLM - eleven first-come sites at the Westwater put-in | Campsite | 39.08798, -109.10250 | BLM's Westwater fact sheet counts eleven first-come sites plus a group site at the put-in; OpenStreetMap carries exactly eleven, Site 1 to Site 11, and this point is their centroid. The river ranger checks permits here. |
| 3 | Westwater Ranger Station & Boat Launch BLM - permit put-in, I-70 Exit 227 | Access / boat ramp | 39.08664, -109.10124 | The Westwater Canyon put-in and river ranger contact station, 4.5 miles below the state line. A BLM permit is required for the canyon; this sheet does not restate permit rules. Seventeen river miles of Class III-IV to the next take-out. |
| 4 | Cisco Landing BLM - Westwater take-out | Access / boat ramp | 38.97035, -109.25030 | The first take-out below Westwater Canyon and the only one; BLM publishes the run as about 17 river miles from the ranger station, and this sheet's chained centreline measures 17.8 miles between the two points. |
| 5 | Cane Spring About 0.6 km off the river, north bank | Spring | 38.94080, -109.21920 | A named spring in the dry reach between Cisco Landing and Dewey Bridge. It sits roughly 600 m back from the water rather than on it, and that distance is stated here rather than implied away. |
| 6 | Cisco Wash boat launch BLM - unnamed in OpenStreetMap; UGRC files it as 'Cisco Wash' | Access / boat ramp | 38.87333, -109.26803 | A mapped ramp OpenStreetMap leaves unnamed. Utah's statewide ramp inventory carries a BLM ramp named Cisco Wash 20 m away, which is the name used here. That inventory was last updated in 2009, so check before hauling a trailer. |
| 7 | USGS 09180500 - Colorado River near Cisco The gauge the water page reads | USGS gauge | 38.81054, -109.29345 | Colorado River near Cisco governs Westwater releases, the Moab daily and the Cataract launches below. Confirmed three ways: the page's own link, the USGS site service, and a mapped station carrying ref 09180500 68 m off the centreline. |
| 8 | SR 128 bridge at Dewey Utah SR 128 - the only crossing in 100 km | Bridge crossing | 38.81184, -109.30442 | The modern Dewey Bridge on SR 128. Nothing else crosses the river between the Colorado state line and Moab, so this is the corridor's single road crossing. The 1916 suspension bridge beside it burned in 2008 and its towers still stand. |
| 9 | Dewey Bridge Campground BLM - 7 sites, 3 group sites, 29 road miles from US 191 | Campsite | 38.81089, -109.30810 | BLM's uppermost developed campground on the SR 128 corridor, with river access for small boats. BLM's own page gives a coordinate 31 km off the river, which was not used; the mapped campground and the state ramp agree here instead. |
| 10 | Dewey Bridge Boat Ramp BLM / Utah DNR - Fisher Towers run put-in | Access / boat ramp | 38.81133, -109.30817 | The put-in for the Fisher Towers stretch and the take-out for the long float down from Cisco. Named in OpenStreetMap and confirmed 77 m away in Utah's statewide ramp inventory. |
| 11 | Hittle Bottom Campground BLM - 15 sites, 1 group site, 23 road miles from US 191 | Campsite | 38.76028, -109.32403 | A riverside campground with its own boat ramp, on the Fisher Towers reach. BLM publishes no coordinate for it: the /visit/hittle-bottom-campground page is a 404, so this point is the mapped campground polygon. |
| 12 | Hittle Bottom Boat Ramp BLM - Fisher Towers take-out | Access / boat ramp | 38.76003, -109.32546 | The usual take-out for the Fisher Towers run and put-in for the reach above the Moab daily. OpenStreetMap maps the ramp twice at 40 m apart; it ships once. Confirmed in Utah's statewide ramp inventory. |
| 13 | Lower Onion Creek Campground BLM - 19 sites, 4 group sites, gravel road off SR 128 | Campsite | 38.73709, -109.35890 | BLM's fee table lists Lower Onion Creek at 22 road miles from US 191, with Upper Onion Creek and Fisher Towers campground on the same gravel road. Only Lower Onion Creek is named in OpenStreetMap; the other two are not marked here. |
| 14 | Onion Creek boat ramp BLM - named 'Onion Creek' in OpenStreetMap | Access / boat ramp | 38.73750, -109.36126 | BLM's own Moab Daily river map labels this Lower Onion Campground & Boat Ramp. It is absent from Utah's statewide ramp inventory, so the OpenStreetMap name is what ships. |
| 15 | Ida Gulch (Rocky Rapid) boat ramp Utah DNR inventory coordinate; BLM writes 'Rocky Rapid' | Access / boat ramp | 38.69601, -109.41264 | The mid-river access on the Moab daily, called Ida Gulch or Rocky Rapid on BLM's river map. This point is the state inventory's coordinate; an unnamed mapped ramp half a kilometre downstream matched no published name. |
| 16 | Sandy Beach Boat Launch BLM - named on the Moab Daily river map | Access / boat ramp | 38.68255, -109.47753 | A beach launch on the Moab daily, named in OpenStreetMap and confirmed 70 m away in Utah's statewide ramp inventory. |
| 17 | Take Out Beach Utah DNR - the Moab daily take-out | Access / boat ramp | 38.66181, -109.50075 | The standard take-out for the Moab daily. BLM's 2016 corridor map labels it Takeout Beach and its river map Take Out Boat Ramp; OpenStreetMap and the state inventory agree on the position to 21 m. |
| 18 | Upper Big Bend Campground BLM - 8 sites, 8.1 road miles from US 191 | Campsite | 38.64917, -109.48817 | The upper of the two Big Bend campgrounds on SR 128, across the road from the river. |
| 19 | Big Bend boat ramp Utah DNR inventory; unnamed in OpenStreetMap | Access / boat ramp | 38.64821, -109.48102 | A mapped ramp at Big Bend that OpenStreetMap leaves unnamed. Utah's statewide inventory carries a DNR ramp called Big Bend 100 m away, which is the name used here. |
| 20 | Big Bend Campground BLM - 33 sites, 3 group sites, 7.4 road miles from US 191 | Campsite | 38.64821, -109.48004 | The largest campground on the SR 128 corridor. Note a trap for anyone checking BLM's own pages: blm.gov/visit/big-bend-campground is the OREGON site on the Crooked River, and its coordinates are 1,400 km from here. |
| 21 | Oak Grove Campground BLM - 7 sites, no trailers, 6.9 road miles from US 191 | Campsite | 38.64353, -109.47661 | A small tent-only campground between Hal Canyon and Big Bend. |
| 22 | Hal Canyon Campground BLM - 11 sites, 6.6 road miles from US 191 | Campsite | 38.64079, -109.47777 | One of the tight canyon campgrounds on the Moab daily reach. |
| 23 | Drinks Canyon Campground BLM - 17 sites, 6.2 road miles from US 191 | Campsite | 38.63420, -109.48460 | BLM's fee table lists one Drinks Canyon campground; OpenStreetMap splits it into Upper, Middle and Lower loops spread over about 400 m. One point ships, on the middle loop, rather than three dots a printed sheet cannot tell apart. |
| 24 | Grandstaff Campground BLM - 16 sites, no trailers, 3 road miles from US 191 | Campsite | 38.61212, -109.53264 | Formerly Negro Bill Campground; BLM now writes Grandstaff, and the adjacent canyon and trailhead carry the same name. The 2016 corridor map still prints the old spelling on the wilderness study area. |
| 25 | Goose Island Campground BLM - 19 sites, 2 group sites, 1.4 road miles from US 191 | Campsite | 38.61115, -109.55783 | The first campground up SR 128 from Moab and the closest to town. BLM publishes a coordinate for it that lands 151 m off this sheet's centreline, which corroborates the mapped polygon used here. |
| 26 | Matrimony Spring Roadside spring at the US 191 / SR 128 junction | Spring | 38.60297, -109.57165 | A long-used roadside spring at the mouth of the SR 128 corridor, 77 m off the river. Grand County has posted it as untreated in the past; treat or filter. |
| 27 | Boat ramp at the US 191 bridge, Moab Unnamed in OpenStreetMap; UGRC files it as 'Moab bridge' | Access / boat ramp | 38.60472, -109.57359 | The town ramp beside Lions Park, at the US 191 crossing. OpenStreetMap leaves it unnamed and Utah's statewide inventory calls it simply 'Moab bridge', so it is not christened with a local name here. |
| 28 | Lions Park Grand County - riverside park at the US 191 bridge | Park / conservation area | 38.60251, -109.57519 | The riverside park at the junction of US 191 and SR 128, beside the town boat ramp, with the Moab Canyon Pathway trailhead and seasonal drinking water. |
| 29 | US 191 bridge, Moab Twin spans north of town | Bridge crossing | 38.60393, -109.57796 | The US 191 crossing north of Moab, mapped as two parallel spans and shipped once. It is the last bridge on this sheet: nothing crosses the Colorado again between here and the Green River confluence, 104 km downstream. |
| 30 | Scott M. Matheson Wetlands Preserve The Nature Conservancy and Utah DNR - 875 acres | Park / conservation area | 38.57433, -109.57280 | A riverside wetland preserve on the west edge of Moab with boardwalks and a viewing platform, reached from Kane Creek Boulevard. The mapped boundary reaches the river; this point is its centre, about 500 m back from the channel. |
| 31 | Moab Information Center Multi-agency visitor centre, Main and Center, Moab | Agency / conservation office | 38.57284, -109.55024 | The joint BLM, National Park Service, Forest Service and state visitor centre in the middle of Moab - the counter for river-corridor questions and permit information. It sits about 2.5 km from the river, in town. |
| 32 | Moab Ranger District, Manti-La Sal NF USDA Forest Service - La Sal Mountains district | Agency / conservation office | 38.57459, -109.54957 | The Forest Service district office in Moab. It manages the La Sal Mountains rather than this river: the corridor from the state line to the confluence is BLM's Moab Field Office, which OpenStreetMap does not map anywhere in the box. |
| 33 | King's Bottom Campground BLM - 23 sites, 1 group site, Kane Creek Boulevard | Campsite | 38.55644, -109.58590 | The nearest riverside campground to town, on Kane Creek Boulevard rather than SR 128 or SR 279. BLM's own coordinate for it lands 117 m off this centreline, which corroborates the mapped polygon. |
| 34 | Kings Bottom Spring Beside the Kane Creek Boulevard campground | Spring | 38.55593, -109.58496 | A named spring at King's Bottom, 158 m off the river. Untested; treat or filter. |
| 35 | Jaycee Park Campground BLM - 7 sites, no trailers, SR 279 mile 4 | Campsite | 38.55639, -109.59064 | A small tent campground on Potash Road at the Portal Overlook trailhead, the first of the three SR 279 campgrounds. |
| 36 | Williams Bottom Campground BLM - 17 sites, SR 279 mile 6 | Campsite | 38.53660, -109.60525 | A riverside campground on Potash Road below the Portal, closed seasonally in winter in some years. |
| 37 | Gold Bar Campground BLM - 9 sites plus 4 group sites, SR 279 mile 10 | Campsite | 38.57481, -109.63406 | The last campground on Potash Road. Its four lettered group sites are reservation-only and are not marked separately here. |
| 38 | Gold Bar boat ramp BLM - unnamed in OpenStreetMap; UGRC files it as 'Gold Bar' | Access / boat ramp | 38.57624, -109.63492 | A mapped ramp beside the Gold Bar campground that OpenStreetMap leaves unnamed; Utah's statewide inventory carries a BLM ramp of that name at the same place. |
| 39 | Potash Boat Ramp End of SR 279 - last vehicle access above the confluence | Access / boat ramp | 38.50563, -109.65916 | The take-out for the Moab-to-Potash float and the put-in for the 47-mile wilderness run to the Green River confluence. Utah's statewide inventory records the ownership here as private, so check access before hauling a trailer. |
| 40 | USGS 09185600 - Colorado River at Potash A second real gauge; the page reads the Cisco gauge | Point of interest | 38.50472, -109.65833 | A second USGS station stands at the Potash ramp, 98 m off the centreline and 78 river kilometres below the gauge this page reads. It is real and useful for the lower run, and it ships as a landmark rather than as a second gauge. |
| 41 | Lathrop Canyon river camp Canyonlands National Park - permit river camp | Campsite | 38.36995, -109.77177 | A named river camp on the roadless run from Potash to the confluence, inside Canyonlands National Park. There is no vehicle access to the river anywhere on these 47 miles; the camps are boat-in and permitted by the park. |
| 42 | Rustler Canyon river camp Canyonlands National Park - permit river camp | Campsite | 38.29528, -109.78575 | The lower of the two named river camps between Potash and the confluence. A third mapped camp in this reach carries no name at all and is not marked. |
| 43 | Confluence with the Green River End of this reach; Cataract Canyon begins below | Point of interest | 38.18773, -109.88546 | The Green River comes in from the north-west and the Colorado doubles in size. Everything below this point is Cataract Canyon, a separate permitted whitewater run that is not on this sheet. |
Guides on the Colorado River (Utah)
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About the Colorado River (Utah)
The gauge near Cisco is the reference point for the Colorado River through southeastern Utah. It watches about twenty-four thousand one hundred square miles and reports discharge, stage and a live water temperature series. Almost every commercial and private float on this stretch of river is planned against this number: Westwater Canyon immediately downstream, the Moab daily section through the Professor Valley, and the long flatwater run from Potash toward the confluence with the Green in Canyonlands all key off Cisco.
As a fishery this is not a trout river and it should not be sold as one. The main stem here is warm, silty and heavily modified by upstream storage, and the native fish community – Colorado pikeminnow, razorback sucker, humpback chub and bonytail – is imperilled and fully protected. Those fish must be released immediately and are not an angling target. What anglers actually catch are channel catfish, which are common and are the mainstay, along with smallmouth and largemouth bass in the slower reaches, common carp in numbers, and black crappie in backwaters. Utah’s regulations for the Colorado drainage include specific provisions aimed at non-native species and at protecting the native community, and they should be read before fishing.
The real character of this water is the canyon country it runs through. Westwater is a genuine whitewater canyon with a permit system; the Moab daily is a busy, accessible half-day run; and the lower flatwater is a wilderness float with no road access for days. Flows swing widely between spring runoff and late-summer baseflow, and the difference reshapes every one of those trips.
Permits are required for Westwater and for Canyonlands river trips, and the temperature series at Cisco is a practical aid for both anglers and boaters through the hot months.
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Access
Cisco gauge and boat launch - the flow reference and the Westwater put-in area.
Westwater Canyon ranger station - permitted whitewater run downstream of the gauge.
Dewey Bridge - the standard put-in for the Professor Valley float.
Hittle Bottom and Highway 128 pullouts - roadside river access above Moab.
Moab daily section take-out at Take Out Beach - the busiest access on the river.
Potash boat ramp - the launch for the lower flatwater run.
Confluence with the Green River, Canyonlands - the bottom of the permitted float.
Seasons
Spring: runoff brings the highest, coldest and siltiest water and the peak whitewater season.
Summer: flows drop and temperatures climb; catfish fishing is best and floats are crowded.
Fall: settled low flows, cooler water and the most pleasant conditions of the year.
Winter: low and cold with little traffic; fishing is slow but access is easy.
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Questions
What is the current flow on the Colorado River (Utah)?
As of Nov 2, 7:00 am, the USGS gauge COLORADO RIVER NEAR CISCO, UT reads 12,900 cfs, with water temperature 52.9 F. Conditions update every 15 minutes.
What species can you catch on the Colorado River (Utah)?
Anglers target Black Crappie, Channel Catfish, Common Carp, Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass on the Colorado River (Utah) in Utah.
Where can you access the Colorado River (Utah)?
Cisco gauge and boat launch - the flow reference and the Westwater put-in area. Westwater Canyon ranger station - permitted whitewater run downstream of the gauge. Dewey Bridge - the standard put-in for the Professor Valley float. Hittle Bottom and Highway 128 pullouts - roadside river access above Moab. Moab daily section take-out at Take Out Beach - the busiest access on the river. Potash boat ramp - the launch for the lower flatwater run. Confluence with the Green River, Canyonlands - the bottom of the permitted float.
When is the best time to fish the Colorado River (Utah)?
Spring: runoff brings the highest, coldest and siltiest water and the peak whitewater season. Summer: flows drop and temperatures climb; catfish fishing is best and floats are crowded. Fall: settled low flows, cooler water and the most pleasant conditions of the year. Winter: low and cold with little traffic; fishing is slow but access is easy.
Where are the fishing regulations for the Colorado River (Utah)?
Regulations change by season and section. Read the current rules on the Utah agency site: https://wildlife.utah.gov/guidebooks.html