Fort Collins Audubon Society

Canoe Trip 2008

The Gunnison River
3-day Trip

Date: June 6-8 (Fri-Sun), 2008                                     Trip:  Fort Collins Audubon Society
Cost: $300 (includes $50 donation to Fort Collins Audubon Society)  Level of Difficulty: Beginner / Intermediate

The Lower Gunnison
This leisurely 31-mile trip through the Escalante and Dominguez Canyons is a summer delight, leaving time for hiking and photography. The Gunnison is ideal for beginning and intermediate canoeists, providing lots of fun with various Class 1+ rapids along its course. You will paddle beside high walls of beautiful red sandstone and shale, deposited during the age of the dinosaurs. Interesting side trips into deep box canyons will leave you awed by the immensity of geologic time and the silence of the wilderness. Massive cottonwood trees stand on the river bends supporting huge nests of blue herons, hawks and eagles. Hiking will include the spectacular Dominguez Canyon Wilderness Study Area complete with a 40-foot waterfall, secluded swimming holes and numerous ancient Indian petroglyphs.

Centennial Canoe Outfitters (www.centennialcanoe.com) will provide all safety equipment, canoes and great food. Our guide from the 2005, 2006, and 2007 trips, Randy Hertzman, will lead us again this year (his wife Becca will be attending a class reunion and won't be able to join us).

How to Sign Up
Centennial Canoe Outfitters (www.centennialcanoe.com) will provide all safety equipment, river guides, canoes and great food. Cost of the trip is $300 ($260 for children ages 8-12), of which $50 is donated back to FCAS. You will need to bring a sleeping bag, tent and basic personal supplies.

The trip is limited to 22 participants, so sign up early to reserve your place. A deposit of $100 per person must accompany your reservation request, and the balance is due by May 8. For further details and to register for the trip, contact Centennial Canoe Outfitters, 1-877-353-1850 (toll free) and be sure to tell them you heard about it from Fort Collins Audubon Society.

 Get the Trip Packet (.pdf file requires Adobe Acrobat Reader)

Check out reports from our previous trips:  2002 Canoe Trip (Colorado River), 2003 Canoe Trip (Lower Gunnison River), 2004 Canoe Trip (White River), 2005 Canoe Trip (North Platte River), 2006 Canoe Trip (Green River), 2007 Canoe Trip (Yampa River).