Permit Applications for 2021
General Information
What if you didn't get a permit
Paddlers, consider searching for cancelled and non-lottery permits. You would still first include the others in the Club who applied--the basic rule of permit parties. Here's how:
Getting a river permit without a lottery draw
So, you failed to draw a river permit through the lotteries. But you can still get a permit. Permits may become available because they weren’t paid for, or they were cancelled, or they are for dates and days outside of the lottery dates. For example, the Chama Lottery was for Friday/Saturday permits. How about putting in on a weekday?
It’s always good to check the average flow rates to see if the river is likely to be too high or too low for your wishes and abilities. For example, you might want to float the Yampa through Dinosaur and you look at a date after July 10. Flows may be 300 to 1500 cfs. For rafts you hope for at least 800 cfs, and for canoes at least 500, or for canoes with some riffle-dragging, down to 350.
All the permitted rivers of interest in our Permit Party are accessible through Recreation.gov – except for the Smith, which is accessible through Montana Game and Fish/State Parks.
Rec.gov has a date for each river on which the cancelled and unfilled reservations come available. Also available are the low-season, non-lottery dates. For the Chama the weekday launches become available as well.
So, check Recreation.gov on the posting date, beginning 8 a.m. MDT. The more people on the “wanna go” list who check for openings the better. Some rivers, like the Green/Yampa in Dinosaur might require that you did apply for the regular lottery draw in order to get cancelled permits.
Good strategy: Let’s say 12 people were unsuccessful applicants for “Dream River.” So those 12 agree to keep checking, daily, as early as a cancelled permit becomes available. Person A does so for a week. Then Person B for the next week, etc., looking for times the group can go.
Here are the dates you can begin checking (but check after that, too):
CHAMA RIVER – April 1. When do you want to go? Late April/early May- can be cold, snowy, rainy but usually nice: temps: 70 day, 30’s nights. April 1 at 8 a.m: go on Rec.gov and check for availability and grab.
SAN JUAN RIVER – March 16
YAMPA and GREEN IN DINOSAUR – March 6. The low-water Yampa trip still requires class 3 paddlers! Same with the Green. Also phone the call center at 1-877-444-6777. I recommend calling them: They may know some dates not yet shown on Rec.gov.
GRAY’S AND DESOLATION CANYONS - Check Rec.Gov March 15 and beyond.
IDAHO 4-RIVERS (MAIN AND MIDDLE FORK SALMON (Hell’s Canyon on the Snake, Main Salmon, Middle Fork Salmon, Selway - Check Rec.gov 8 a.m. March 16 and beyond.
SMITH RIVER MONTANA - Only idea open now is to buy “super-permit” lottery tickets, $5 each, through April 1, with the result to be announced April 2. You can buy as many as you want (great scheme for Montana’s bank account!). Probably 100’s of these purchased, all for one permit, but…Still waiting to hear how one might search for/pounce on a cancelled Smith permit.
Some rivers will let you choose pre-season or post-season dates as early as the year before. For example, for the Main Salmon, on October 1st you could apply for off-season dates for the following year.
Good Luck,
Eric Hermann
Paddlers, consider searching for cancelled and non-lottery permits. You would still first include the others in the Club who applied--the basic rule of permit parties. Here's how:
Getting a river permit without a lottery draw
So, you failed to draw a river permit through the lotteries. But you can still get a permit. Permits may become available because they weren’t paid for, or they were cancelled, or they are for dates and days outside of the lottery dates. For example, the Chama Lottery was for Friday/Saturday permits. How about putting in on a weekday?
It’s always good to check the average flow rates to see if the river is likely to be too high or too low for your wishes and abilities. For example, you might want to float the Yampa through Dinosaur and you look at a date after July 10. Flows may be 300 to 1500 cfs. For rafts you hope for at least 800 cfs, and for canoes at least 500, or for canoes with some riffle-dragging, down to 350.
All the permitted rivers of interest in our Permit Party are accessible through Recreation.gov – except for the Smith, which is accessible through Montana Game and Fish/State Parks.
Rec.gov has a date for each river on which the cancelled and unfilled reservations come available. Also available are the low-season, non-lottery dates. For the Chama the weekday launches become available as well.
So, check Recreation.gov on the posting date, beginning 8 a.m. MDT. The more people on the “wanna go” list who check for openings the better. Some rivers, like the Green/Yampa in Dinosaur might require that you did apply for the regular lottery draw in order to get cancelled permits.
Good strategy: Let’s say 12 people were unsuccessful applicants for “Dream River.” So those 12 agree to keep checking, daily, as early as a cancelled permit becomes available. Person A does so for a week. Then Person B for the next week, etc., looking for times the group can go.
Here are the dates you can begin checking (but check after that, too):
CHAMA RIVER – April 1. When do you want to go? Late April/early May- can be cold, snowy, rainy but usually nice: temps: 70 day, 30’s nights. April 1 at 8 a.m: go on Rec.gov and check for availability and grab.
SAN JUAN RIVER – March 16
YAMPA and GREEN IN DINOSAUR – March 6. The low-water Yampa trip still requires class 3 paddlers! Same with the Green. Also phone the call center at 1-877-444-6777. I recommend calling them: They may know some dates not yet shown on Rec.gov.
GRAY’S AND DESOLATION CANYONS - Check Rec.Gov March 15 and beyond.
IDAHO 4-RIVERS (MAIN AND MIDDLE FORK SALMON (Hell’s Canyon on the Snake, Main Salmon, Middle Fork Salmon, Selway - Check Rec.gov 8 a.m. March 16 and beyond.
SMITH RIVER MONTANA - Only idea open now is to buy “super-permit” lottery tickets, $5 each, through April 1, with the result to be announced April 2. You can buy as many as you want (great scheme for Montana’s bank account!). Probably 100’s of these purchased, all for one permit, but…Still waiting to hear how one might search for/pounce on a cancelled Smith permit.
Some rivers will let you choose pre-season or post-season dates as early as the year before. For example, for the Main Salmon, on October 1st you could apply for off-season dates for the following year.
Good Luck,
Eric Hermann
For a general description of each river, including it's whitewater rating and flows, click this link:
River Permit Information for 2021.
To understand how the Permit Party works, click this link:
How Our Permit Party Works.
To enter which rivers you applied for in 2021, click the link below.
(Or you can email your name and list of rivers you applied for to roger@rff.com.)
Enter your data into the spreadsheet.
River Permit Information for 2021.
To understand how the Permit Party works, click this link:
How Our Permit Party Works.
To enter which rivers you applied for in 2021, click the link below.
(Or you can email your name and list of rivers you applied for to roger@rff.com.)
Enter your data into the spreadsheet.
Current Winners
Please check this data. Search for your name using Edit, Find or CTRL + F to see if I have listed you in all the rivers you signed up for. If your name is listed on a permitted river, you must have sent in a permit for that river. Email roger@rff.com to make changes.
Paddlers who have won a lottery and obtained a permit are shown in red.
Paddlers who have won a lottery and obtained a permit are shown in red.
- Roger Faaborg won a permit to float the San Juan from Sand Island to Clay Hills with a put-in of Tuesday, July 13.
Deso/Gray - Green River Permit Required. 75 mile float, remote class II, III at high water
- Debbie Hinde
- Jan Dooley
- Richard Ferguson
- Erin Danaher
- Russ Dahlgren
- Jake Tornatsky
Gates of Lodore - Green River Permit Required. 4-5 days, class III, May 8 to September 8
- Roger Faaborg
- Jan Dooley
- Richard Ferguson
- Erin Danaher
- Russ Dahlgren
Labyrinth and/or Stillwater Canyons Permit Required. Phone for a Permit. Class I
- No one yet
Main Salmon Permit Required.
- Jan Dooley
Middle Fork of the Salmon Permit Required. 106 mile float, 7 days, demanding, class III-IV, bony by August.
- Debbie Hinde
- Jan Dooley
- Eric Hermann
Rio Chama Permit Required. 3 days, Class II, 6 hour drive, nice camps, Late May to late June
- Debbie Hinde
- Roger Faaborg
- Sonia van Zyl
- Don van Zyl
- Karen Roth
- Nick Kot
- Erin Danahe
- Laura Radcliff
- Jake Tornatzky
- Eric Hermann
Rogue River in Oregon Permit Required. Class II-III, in Oregon
- Debbie Hinde
- Jan Dooley
- Jake Tornatsky
Ruby Horsethief on the Colorado Permit Required. 25 miles, 1-3 days, class I, II at high water. You need to call in 60 days ahead of your launch to get a permit to float the Ruby Horsethief section of the Colorado. People interested in this trip are listed below.
- No one yet
Salt River in Arizona Permit Required. Season March to April, class II-IV+
- No one yet
San Juan Permit Required. You can float from Sand Island to Mexican Hat and/or Mexican Hat to Clay Hills
- Roger Faaborg got a permit, Sand Island to Clay Hills, put-in July 13.
- Jan Dooley
- Ross Beveridge
- Sonia van Zyl
- Don van Zyl
- Richard Ferguson
- Nick Kot
- Russ Dahlgren
- Laura Radcliff
- Cathi Kindt
- Eric Hermann
- Randy Sparrow
- Carol Marander
- Deb Lindner
Selway River - Idaho Permit Required.
- No one yet
Smith River in Montana, Camp Baker to Eden Bridge Permit Required. Class 2, Late May until mid June.
- Debbie Hinde
- Jan Dooley
- Ross Beveridge
- Nick Kot
- Erin Danaher
- Laura Radcliff
- Julian Hart
- Jake Tornatzky
- Cathi Kindt
- Bill Rivers
- Eric Hermann
Snake River - Hells Canyon Permit Required.
- No one yet
Westwater on the Colorado Permit Required. You need to call in 2 months before your launch date to get a permit to float the Westwater section of the Colorado. It is class III and IV.
- Russ Dahlgren
Yampa in Dinosaur Permit Required. 4-5 days, class 2-3, May 8 to July 14
- Jan Dooley
- Karen Roth
- Pete Graham
- Jake Tornatsky
- Bill Rivers
- Eric Hermann
The Following Rivers do not require Permits
Brown's Canyon - Arkansas River No permit needed.
- No one yet
Colorado River, Moab to the Confluence Class I, No permit needed.
- No one yet
Colorado River, 42 Mile Stretch that ends at Moab, Class II or III. You do not need a permit.
- No one yet
Dirty Devil No permit needed.
- No one yet
Dismal River in Nebraska You do not need a permit to float the Dismal. The water flow is always the same throughout the year. It is best to in early spring or late fall to avoid the bugs.
- Roger Faaborg
Green River below Flaming Gorge Dam No permit needed. Class II. 2-3 days, camp along the river or float day trips.
- Roger Faaborg
Dolores (River of Sorrow) You do not need a permit to float the Dolores, but you do need enough water. We would probably float between May 15 and June 15. Read Eric Hermann's excellent article on the Dolores. Click More... in the top menu, then Newsletter, It is in August 2008.
- No one yet
Escalante You do not need a permit to float the Escalante, but you do need sufficient water.
- No one yet
Gunnison River near Delta You do not need a permit to float the Gunnison.
- No one yet
Missouri River in Montana No permit needed.
- No one yet
Niobrara River in Nebraska No permit needed.
- Roger Faaborg
North Platte River in Wyoming No permit needed. Northgate (class III), Six Mile Gap(class II), Treasure Island to Saratoga to Pick Bridge to I-80 to Seminoe Reservoir (class I) and Glendo to Guernsey (class I+). We do some of these floats about every year.
- Roger Faaborg, all the floats
Owyhee River in Oregon You fill out the permit at the put-in.
- No one yet
San Rafael You do not need a permit to float the San Rafael. It is a pretty area, 16 miles, class I-II.
- No one yet
Yellowstone River in Wyoming No permit needed.
- no one yet