Utah | Moab / Professor Valley
Colorado River
Hittle Bottom to Takeout Beach
Check current paddling conditions for this Colorado River route, including water level, recent gauge trend, weather, and route details.
Route location
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Need to know
Why this call
Conditions
Gauge history and hourly forecast
The top card is the quick read. This lower section keeps the longer gauge trend, gauge context, and hourly forecast together.
Gauge detail
Gauge history & hourly forecastDetailed view
Gauge
Recent trend
Checking preferred range.
Checking trend.
Gauge source
--Checking timestampMN DNR provides the current paddling level here, but not chart-ready recent samples.
Weather
Hourly forecast
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Next 8 hours
Short-route forecast
Checking the next several hours.
Route overview
Quick facts and what's next
Distance, difficulty, shuttle basics, and the near-term outlook before you commit to the drive.
Quick facts
Plan ahead
Upcoming outlook
These are early planning reads. Re-check live conditions before you commit to the drive.
Waiting on forecast.
Waiting on forecast.
Plan
Plan your trip
Launch points, shuttle details, distance, and access notes.
Route logistics
Access and shuttle
Launch at Hittle Bottom and take out at Takeout Beach for the classic 13-mile Moab Daily / Fisher Towers section of the Colorado River. Expect scenic desert canyon paddling with named rapids that change from Class I to Class III as levels rise.
Prepare this trip
Take the plan with you
Download the canonical route, add a calendar hold, or send a simple float plan to your group.
Put-in
Hittle Bottom Recreation Site boat rampBLM maintains access facilities along the Daily stretch, including Hittle Bottom, Rocky Rapid / Ida Gulch, Sandy Beach, and Takeout Beach.
Take-out
Takeout Beach LandingHittle Bottom is also a campground and fee-area access; do not block the boat ramp or campground traffic while rigging.
Plan this segment
Pulling access map tiles. Usually under 5 seconds.
Access caveats and watch for
Access caveats
- BLM maintains access facilities along the Daily stretch, including Hittle Bottom, Rocky Rapid / Ida Gulch, Sandy Beach, and Takeout Beach.
- Hittle Bottom is also a campground and fee-area access; do not block the boat ramp or campground traffic while rigging.
- Takeout Beach is the default finish before the slackwater toward Moab. The stored coordinate is an AW access-area/waterbody anchor that audited 111 ft from the matched flowline and within 50 ft of the NHD waterbody, so identify the actual landing/ramp on arrival.
- Use legal public river stops and BLM-managed camps only. Private land on the corridor is marked no camping on the BLM map.
Watch for
- Rocky Rapid, Professor Creek Rapid, New Rapid, Onion Creek Rapid, White's Rapid, and Salt Wash Rapid.
- Class I-III behavior depending on season and flow; low water exposes rocks and higher water makes wave trains and holes stronger.
- PFD-wear requirement on the BLM map, spare propulsion, throwable PFD for boats over 16 feet, repair/bailing gear, and group first aid.
- Commercial rafts, private groups, roadside users, wind, heat, thunderstorms, and sparse services between managed access points.
- Overnight waste, firepan, trash pack-out, and 14-day river-trip limit rules.
Route gallery
See this route on the water
Photos help show what the access looks like and what the route actually feels like on the water.
No approved route photos yet
Start the gallery with shots of the access, river character, or any detail that helps paddlers know what this run actually looks like.
Score & sources
Why this score
See the gauge, weather, and source notes behind today's call.
Why this scoreToday's evidence strength is checking
Evidence strength mostly comes down to three things: how direct the active gauge is, how clear the range is, and how fresh the data is.
- Checking evidence-strength notes.
- Checking evidence cautions.
Data behind the scoreGauge, thresholds, and timing
These are the live readings and threshold notes behind today's score.
| Gauge site | Colorado River near Cisco, UT |
| Discharge | Checking |
| Gauge height | Checking |
| 24h trend | Checking |
| 24h change | Checking |
| Current band | Checking |
| Rain last 24h | Checking |
| Rain last 72h | Checking |
| Air temp | Checking |
| Water temp | Checking |
| Wind | Checking |
| Gusts | Checking |
| Rain timing | Checking |
| Ideal range | Needs paddler reports |
| Known low-water floor | 2,000 cfs |
| High threshold | Not calibrated yet |
| Evidence strength behind the range | Official and local sources |
| Gauge observed | Checking |
| Paddle Today updated | Checking |
| Main source behind this score | Published Moab Daily recommended-flow context paired with BLM route map |
| Gauge source | Checking |
| Weather source | Checking |
| Rainfall source | Checking |
NotesWhat to know before you go
These notes cover the access details, route quirks, and source caveats most likely to matter once you get there.
- Live gaugeUSGS 09180500 at 1,140 cfs / 1.50 ft
USGS Water Services returned Colorado River near Cisco values at 17:00 MDT on 2026-08-06. The gauge is upstream of the Hittle-to-Takeout split but inside the AW Professor Valley corridor that contains the Moab Daily.
- Route shapeMoab Daily, 13 miles
The BLM river-runner map says the Moab Daily, also called the Fisher Towers section, runs from Hittle Bottom to Takeout Beach and is Utah's most popular river trip.
- Endpoint coordinates38.76070, -109.32600 to 38.66174, -109.50074
American Whitewater publishes Hittle Bottoms access and Take-Out Beach access coordinates; BLM separately confirms both as maintained access facilities on the Moab Daily. Coordinate audit placed Hittle Bottom 23 ft from the matched Colorado River flowline and Takeout Beach 111 ft from the matched flowline but within 50 ft of the NHD waterbody.
- CampingDesignated river camps, sandbars, and developed campgrounds only
BLM restricts river-right camping to designated sites and sandbars, river-left camping to developed campgrounds, requires firepans and toilet systems for overnight trips, and limits trips to 14 days.
- Threshold postureMinimum-only at 2,000 cfs
Published Moab Daily guide context gives 2,000 cfs as the recommended low end. The app uses that as a floor only because BLM does not publish a formal scoring ladder.
- Image decisionNo route-gallery image selected
Bounded BLM, AW, Commons, and same-route web review found useful context photos but no clearly rights-clean exact Hittle-Bottom-to-Takeout-Beach paddling asset selected for local reuse.
Verify it yourselfCheck the source links
Use these links to double-check the gauge, route details, and access notes before you head out.
Paddler reports
Recent notes from paddlers
A few quick notes from people who were on this route recently.
Reports
Paddler reports
See recent photos and notes from people on the route.
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Keep exploring
More routes to check next
Compare another stretch on this river, or jump to nearby options before you pick a plan.
Quick answers
Colorado River paddling FAQ
What water level is good for paddling Colorado River?
Paddle Today watches Colorado River near Cisco, UT and uses 2,000 cfs as the conservative low-water floor for this route. The ideal range still needs more paddler reports.
Where does this Colorado River route start and end?
This route starts at Hittle Bottom Recreation Site boat ramp and ends at Takeout Beach Landing, about About 13.0 mi on the water.
Is this Colorado River route good for beginners?
This is listed as a moderate route. Expect more planning than an easy float, and use the live score, route notes, and source links before committing.
Flag a change
See something outdated?
Access, hazards, wood, and shuttle details change. Send a quick correction if something looks off.