Westwater Canyon permits are issued on a rolling two-month window. Go to Recreation.gov on the calendar date exactly two months before your target launch, starting at 8:00 a.m. Mountain. If you're chasing a weekend date in peak season, be at your keyboard at 8:00 a.m. sharp. Five private permits is the daily limit April through September.
The canyon itself is 17 miles on the Colorado just inside the Utah border, with nine back-to-back rapids crammed into a two-mile granite gorge at the center. Eleven named rapids total, up to Class IV. You can run it in a long day or as an overnight with one night of camping. Groups max out at 25 people. Campsites are small and managing swimmers in the inner gorge gets complicated fast.
Permit Costs
There are two fees through Recreation.gov: a $6.00 non-refundable transaction fee per permit, plus a $10.00 per-person fee. The $10.00 per-person fee is fully refundable if you cancel the permit or reduce your group size at least 14 days before your launch date. The $6.00 transaction fee is non-refundable. The permit holder must be 18 or older.
You cannot print your permit until 14 days before your launch date. Once you print it, you can't make changes to the reservation.
Read every line of the permit before you launch. Assigned camps, group size limits, and fire restrictions vary, so review the BLM's current river use stipulations. Rangers check for all permit requirements at the put-in.
The Flows to Know
Westwater is runnable from roughly 2,000 CFS up to about 30,000 CFS, but the river changes character substantially across that range.
Below 3,000 CFS: Technical and bony. More rock exposure, narrower lines, more demanding maneuvering. Not dangerous for experienced groups, just precise.
3,000–7,000 CFS: The sweet spot most paddlers prefer. Rapids are powerful but the lines are clear. Skull's best route at these levels is a hard cut to river left just above the drop.
7,000–13,000 CFS: Fun, pushy, fewer technical moves as rocks go under. The Room of Doom becomes easier to exit. At 9,000 CFS and below you can paddle up to the top of the eddy and ferry out into the main current.
13,000–20,000 CFS: The "terrible teens." Few eddies between rapids in the main gorge, hydraulics that don't forgive mistakes. A swim here could go miles before recovery. This is a serious Class IV run and no place for a crew that hasn't done it before.
Above 20,000 CFS: Most rapids wash out. The main canyon becomes fast flatwater with Skull remaining the one significant obstacle.
The USGS gauge to watch is the Colorado River near Cisco, UT (gauge #09180500). The river typically peaks in late May or early June during snowmelt, often hitting 15,000–20,000 CFS. By September it's usually back to 5,000 CFS or below.
About Skull Rapid
Skull is what this canyon is known for, and it earns the attention. A cluster of boulders at the center of the channel, a sharp left bend, and on river right: the Room of Doom. The Room is a powerful recirculating eddy. Getting sucked in isn't catastrophic at moderate flows. You can paddle out. But at high water the eddy fence strengthens, and above 10,000 CFS rafts can find themselves unable to break back into the main current without serious effort. There have been cases at extreme flows where groups dismantled their boats and portaged out over the cliff walls.
The standard line at most flows is river left, cutting sharply before the drop. Research the line on video before you go. Scouting on foot is difficult. The Precambrian schist is slick, and most groups can't see the crux from shore. The American Whitewater guide to Westwater has detailed notes on lines at different flows.
If Your Target Date Is Gone
Weekday permits move significantly more slowly than weekends. If your dates are flexible, check the Recreation.gov permit calendar before that two-month window opens. You'll see what's still available within the booking period. Cancellations come up regularly, especially for midweek launches.
RiverTrip monitors the Westwater permit page and sends an alert the moment a date you're watching opens up. Set an alert for your target window and stop checking manually.
Connecting Ruby-Horsethief to Westwater
Some groups run the full corridor: Ruby-Horsethief upstream (25 miles, family-friendly flatwater and canyon scenery), then hand off to Westwater for the whitewater below. The permits are separate. Ruby-Horsethief overnight camping permits are also on Recreation.gov on a two-month rolling window. Westwater is the only whitewater option on this stretch of the Colorado. If your crew is mixed ability, run Ruby-Horsethief first and get an honest read on who's ready to continue.
One thing worth knowing before you plan: dogs, cats, and all other pets are strictly prohibited on the river and at campsites inside Westwater Canyon. Pets are allowed on-leash in Ruby-Horsethief and at the Westwater launch ramp, but they cannot go into the canyon. This is spelled out in the BLM's permit stipulations.
The put-in for Westwater is a 9-mile drive down a gravel access road off Interstate 70 at exit 227. The Westwater Ranger Station is at the put-in. Show up with your permit in hand. No permits are issued at the ramp.