Overview: Welcome to the river permit lottery application site for Dinosaur National Monument-home to the Green and Yampa Rivers, two of the west's premier whitewater rivers. Green River: Gates of Lodore The Green River flows south out of Browns Park into Dinosaur National Monument and cuts through the Uinta Mountains, the largest east-west extending mountain range in the lower 48 states. Within the monument and along this stretch of the Green River lies the imposing Canyon of Lodore, which received its name from John Wesley Powell's expedition in 1869. Three of the rapids so impressed Powell that he named them Disaster Falls, Triplet Falls and Hell's Half Mile. The 19-mile run down the Green River from the Gates of Lodore to Echo Park is different today than in Powell's time, largely because of the dam at Flaming Gorge which regulates the flow. This allows for a longer rafting season, but one that is not much affected by spring run-off. However, there are many named and unnamed rapids, well-spaced as in most pool-drop rivers and plenty of beautiful river side campsites and hikes, dominated by the almost 2,000 feet high red cliffs. Yampa River The Yampa River begins at Deerlodge Park and rushes downstream 44-miles to join the Green River at Echo Park. Boaters continue downstream on the Green River to the take-out at the Split Mountain boat ramp. The Yampa is the largest free-flowing tributary within the Colorado River system. As such, it has a shorter season marked by fluctuations in water level resulting from snow received in the winter. It is characterized by such famous rapids as Teepee, Big Joe and Warm Springs. Below the Confluence of the Yampa and the Green River All trips continue downstream on the Green River from Echo Park through the 17-miles that is Whirlpool Canyon. It was named by Powell because of the squirrelly and unpredictable water the explorers experienced here. The last section of the Green River is the nine miles of Split Mountain Canyon beginning at the Rainbow Park boat ramp flowing swiftly downstream, punctuated by four named rapids and assorted riffles before reaching the take-out at the Split Mountain boat ramp. The river corridors within Dinosaur National Monument, with the exception of Echo Park, are proposed wilderness and consequently managed as such. This means you will not hear or see motors or vehicles anywhere along your trip with the possible exception of Echo Park where a dirt road comes down to the water's edge. Camping facilities exist at the Lodore and Deerlodge launch sites. Each has campsites, water available seasonally, an information station, staffed ranger station and vault toilets. These remote sites do not provide trash receptacles because of issues with bears. The launch locations have been kept fairly primitive to help the visitor transition to the wilderness environment of the canyon. Due to the remoteness of the area and long drive times, many groups camp at their launch site the night before their river launch. At the Split Mountain take-out, there are reservable group campsites (flush toilets seasonally, no showers) as well as vault toilets year-round and a seasonally operational groover dump site. Nearby is the world famous dinosaur quarry where you can see 149 million year old dinosaur bones encased in the rock. Dinosaur National Monument: Green and Yampa Rivers Map