It’s nearly past time to apply for 2024 river permits (most of the lotteries closed on January 31). But if you blew it, don’t fret. You might be able to score a cancellation. Here’s a complete guide to applying for river trips—including tips for picking up cancellations—for most of the popular multi-day river trip in the Rocky Mountain West. Want to just jump to the list? Here’s a quick list of river permit application key dates and application links for many popular permitted rivers.

Middle Fork of Salmon
View of the Middle Fork of the Salmon, one our favorite rivers—and everyone else’s—so winning a permit through the lottery system is difficult
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Table of Contents

Factors affecting 2024 river lottery application success

River permits remain hard to come by as demand has steadily increased as more people started exploring the outdoors during the pandemic. Low river flows also will continue to constrain the feasible floating season. According to NOAA’s National Integrated Drought Information System, snow drought conditions are pervasive across the Rocky Mountain West, which spells trouble for this summer’s river flows, especially in the northern states. For an inkling of what water levels might be next summer, check out the National Water and Climate Center’s map of snow water equivalent measures, precipitation, and streamflow measures in the western U.S.

If you’re trying to choose a launch date in that perfect timeframe after peak flows and before low water, the pickings are getting slimmer. As an example, our group typically chooses a Middle Fork permit application date that falls in the third week of July. Historically, that gave us a nice, mid-level flow of about 2.5 feet—a level that is perfect for intermediate paddlers and accommodates putting in at Boundary Creek rather than at Indian Creek (which requires flying gear into the put-in, further complicating logistics).

But as you can see from this U.S. Forest Service hydograph of the Middle Fork, with the exception of 2017, average flows have dropped steadily in the last 10 years, and the 2021 flow was abysmal. Our crew managed to eke out a trip from Boundary that put in on July 18, 2021, but it was scratchy. Note the “average” flow line below (the dotted line), and the number of years that the flow fell below that average.

Middle Fork of the Salmon River Hydrograph 2012 to 2021 U.S. Forest Service
U.S. Forest Service hydrograph of Middle Fork of the Salmon from 2012 through 2021

This glum talk of low-water flows shouldn’t deter you from applying for a river permit, but know that many rivers will have a shortened runnable window in 2024 and beyond. Coupled with an increase in popularity of running permitted rivers in general (check out the River Radius podcast episode on river permits for some astounding statistics on the exponential growth of river permit applications), the odds are getting longer each year. Hedge your bets by compiling a list of multi-day trips that almost always have water and are self-permitted (meaning that they require some sort of registration but private use is not restricted): Check out “6 Great Self-Permit River Trips” for a few ideas.

Escalante-Dominguez Canyon Gunnison River
Waterfall at Escalante-Dominguez Canyon on the Gunnison River, a river section in western Colorado that is self-permitted

How to apply for lottery river permits

River permits for the most popular multi-day stretches in the western U.S. are awarded through a lottery process that opens December 1 and closes January 31. Most of the permitted rivers are managed by federal entities, such as the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), U.S. Forest Service, National Park Services, or others—sometimes in cooperation with one another. Some river sections require permits year-round; others only during the high-demand period. 

Results are typically announced mid-February, affording Valentine’s Day smiles or tears. If you applied for a lottery permit, you will receive an email with your results. Although this process means you might never get the opportunity to run a particular stretch of river, limiting private-boater permits protects the rivers we love from overuse. (Check out “The River Permit Lottery” on the NRS blog Duct Tape Diaries for Eric Johnson’s excellent discourse on why we all need—and hate—the river permit lottery system.)

Here are our tips for applying for river permit award through a lottery system:

1. Identify your core river trip crew

Communicate with the folks you typically run rivers with to determine generally available time frames for the next summer, top river choices, and water flow comfort levels. Some permit applications require you to state the number of people in your party at the outset, so have a group size in mind. In some cases (as with the Middle Fork of the Salmon River), the smaller your group, the more days you can spend on the river.  

2. Research your short list of river trips

Our crew can usually only do one full multi-day trip a year, so we try to pick one that is accessible within a day’s drive of Denver and Missoula, has decent whitewater but not too crazy, offers a wilderness experience, and has either great camps or hikes or both. Perennial picks for us are these:

Selway, Main Salmon, Middle Fork of the Salmon, and Hell’s Canyon on the Snake River

You apply for permits for all of these through the Four Rivers lottery. Any of these permits are difficult to pull, the hardest being the Middle Fork and the Selway: Demand for permits to run these rivers in central Idaho and eastern Oregon is high. They all offer supreme wilderness experiences, varying levels of whitewater, and—the clincher—delightful hot springs. Some of us have been applying to these rivers for three decades and have never succeeded. The lottery opens December 1, 2023, and closes January 31, 2024. Winners are announced on February 14, and permit holders must confirm their reservation by March 15. Permit season dates for 2024 are May 15 through July 31 for the Selway; May 26 through September 10 for Hell’s Canyon; June 20 through September 7 for the Salmon; and May 28 through September 3 for the Middle Fork of the Salmon.

Other resources for the Four Rivers lottery:

Rafting below Boundary Creek put-in on Middle Fork of Salmon
Rafting in the narrow canyon below Boundary Creek on the Middle Fork of the Salmon

Yampa and Green through Dinosaur National Monument

Yampa River and Gates of Lodore section of the Green River in Colorado and Utah are both gorgeous trips in Dinosaur National Monument that have interesting but not outrageous whitewater and fantastic hikes. Although the Green River is floatable most of the year, the Yampa flows depend on snowpack so the season is considerably shorter. Permit lottery for the 2024 season closes on January 31, and permit acceptance notifications are issued mid-February. Winners have until March 1 to confirm their trips. Unclaimed high-use permits will be available on March 4, as will low-use, one-day permits on the Green River from Rainbow Park to Split Mountain. The 2024 high-use period is May 11 to September 14 for the Green River (you can check Green River flows here) and May 11 to July 13 for the Yampa (check river flows here).

Resources for the Green and Yampa rivers to study before you apply for a permit:

Yampa River Whitewater
Yampa River whitewater

Green River through Desolation and Gray Canyons

Although we’ve long considered Deso our backup river, it has a special place in our hearts because it’s extremely remote, it’s family-friendly, and it has fantastic sandy beaches. As with any desert trip, it can get super-hot in the summer, so bring plenty of sun-protection clothes and water (filters don’t work well on this silty water, but check this post for water-hauling tips).

A permit is required to float Deso from February 1 through December 30. During the winter, the river is typically impassable because of ice dams. The lottery opens December 1 and closes January 31, with winners notified by February 14 and permit holder confirmations due by March 14.

Desolation Canyon resources to check out before you apply:

Rogue RIVER

The Rogue River in Oregon is a fantastic, wildly beautiful river that was one of the original eight rivers included in the 1968 Wild & Scenic River Act. These days, about 20,000 people float the Rogue National Wild & Scenic River each year. This river has challenging whitewater and beautiful hikes throughout. The high-use season is long, from May 15 to October 15. The lottery opens December 1 and closes January 31. Permit holders need to confirm their reservations at least 10 days before the launch date. You can score a Rogue permit by applying through the lottery, calling in to pick up cancellations, or arriving at the Smullin Visitor Center at Rand, OR, to claim any last-minute openings. From October 16 through May 14, 2025, you can float the Rogue with a self-issued permit, available at Smullin Visitor Center.

Rogue River trip planning resources to check out before you apply:

Salt River

Salt River in Arizona is a magical run that is extra elusive because the permit season is short—March 1 through May 15—and in some years, the water is so low that no permits are issued. If you’re lucky enough to get a permit, you’ll appreciate seeing pine trees and saguaro cacti commingling. The Salt whitewater is no joke—this river has plenty of Class III-IV rapids and the early spring season means the water is frigid. Bring your dry suit!

The Salt River lottery opens December 1 and closes January 31. Winners are notified on February 10, and permit holders must confirm their reservations by Feb. 20. On February 21, canceled reservations are released on a first-come, first-served basis. Throughout the year, White Mountain Apache Tribal Permits are also required.

Smith River in Montana

The Smith River in Montana is a superb family trip, with swiftly moving water (but no whitewater to speak of), legendary fishing, and fantastic hiking. The lottery opens January 2, 2024, and closes on February 14, 2024. The drawing will be held on February 22, 2024. Unclaimed or canceled launch dates can be picked up on or after March 4 (call 406-454-5861 to ask about available launches). The Smith River season for permitted private trips is April 1 to August 15.

The Smith River 2024 lottery process has changed in a few ways that mainly affect non-residents—for the worse.

  • The number of non-resident permits can’t exceed 10 percent of all available permits
  • A new “bonus point” system allows applicants to purchase an extra chance in the drawing ($5 for residents and $50 (ouch!) for non-residents, and these bonus points accumulate over the years for those who are unsuccessful
  • Applicants now choose only one launch date (most available slots are filled after the first round)
  • The permitted season starts April 1 and now ends August 15 rather than Oct 31 because the river flow typically drops in late July

Although pit toilets have been in place at the Smith’s designated campsites for years, starting in 2024 river runners will need to pack out their own waste. Back to the groover! (Check out our roundup of river toilets and Montana FWP’s list of approved toilet systems for the Smith River.) The good news is a SCAT machine is now available at Eden Bridge take-out. For more information about the permit process, camps, and tips for avoiding confrontations with bears, check out our post on planning a Smith River trip.

Paddling Esquif canoe on Smith River Montana
Canoe paddling on the Smith River in Montana

San Juan River

The San Juan River in Utah is a beautiful, mellow float that’s perfect for families with kids. If you don’t win a permit through the lottery, which applies to trips that launch between April 15 and July 15, you can usually pick up a cancellation or reserve a trip in advance for launches after prime season. The lottery opens on December 1 and closes January 31. Winners are notified by February 12, and deadline for permit confirmations is march 15.

Resources to check out before you apply:

3. Confer with your party to settle on launch dates

The more people in your group applying for permits, the higher your chances of pulling a permit (theoretically, anyway). For years, we applied for permits with the same 10 or so folks (four or five families) and had a fair amount of luck: We’ve run the Yampa, the Rogue, Middle Fork (twice), Desolation Canyon many times (it’s our back-up river), the Smith, Gates of Lodore.

We’ve pulled a few permits that we had to let go because of lack of water. Our target launch window has been between July 4 and the end of July. This time frame works best for various work and school schedules. Applying late in the season also means we’re going to miss the big whitewater and we might not even have enough water for the trip (note the previous discussion about recent low-water flows). We also pick mid-week launch dates, but have no idea whether that has improved our odds. (For more info about how to improve your odds, check out the river permit application success graphs compiled by Down River Equipment.)

Large group on river trip
Theoretically, the more people in your group who apply for permits, the more likely you’ll be to score one

4. Submit the permit application

Apply for a permit at Recreation.gov or the permit-granting entity if it’s not a federal resource. On the Rec.gov application page for each river, you’ll find the essential information about the permit season, application deadlines, and how to pick up a cancellation.

The Rec.gov site includes an overview of the river, a “need to know” tab that specifies the minimum age of the permit holder (typically 18), maximum group size, trip length, expected qualifications of the trip leader, fishing regulations, and other important info.

The page also includes info about fees/cancellations, directions to the launch site, and contact information for the governing agency. To apply, you need to set up an account and pay the registration fee with a credit card. In most cases, you’ll receive lottery results by Valentine’s Day. 

San Juan River in Utah is a great family float in a beautiful canyon

5. Claim your permit

If you get happy news, you need to pay attention to the instructions for using the permit, starting with signaling that you’re going to use the permit and, in most cases, confirming the size of party, number and types of boats, and names of people in your party. You can usually edit these details as the trip draws closer. If you’re the trip leader, be sure to confirm your trip by the deadline or your launch date will be put into the cancellation pool for other boaters to claim on a first-come basis.

6. Plan your trip

We have posts on many of these river trips in our River Beta section, where you’ll find descriptions of each stretch, descriptions of rapids, and notes about the downsides and upsides for each river as well as detailed permit processes and additional resources. In our Organizing section, you’ll find river trip planning guidelines, including how to plan multi-day river trips, how to plan river meals, and how to research river flows for your target launch date.  

Great self-permitted multi-day river trips

If you strike out in the lottery (as many of us do every year), don’t despair. There are plenty of great multi-day trips that are either non-permitted or have good odds for cancellations. For more information about self-permit river options, see “6 Great Self-Permit River Trips.”

  • Lower Salmon in Idaho. Magically clear water, fun and continuous whitewater, white sandy beaches, great fishing, and no rain or bugs that I can remember. This section meets the Snake River just below Hell’s Canyon, and the last day can be a slog if it’s windy. But everything else about this trip is 5 stars, including the cliff-jumping. For now, the Lower Salmon is self-permitted; you simply fill out the permit at the launch site. This trip does require an Idaho Invasive Species Sticker. 
  • Labyrinth Canyon, Green River. Placid water, red canyon walls, plenty of wildlife. This is a beautiful float through true Ed Abbey country. 
  • Gunnison River through Escalante Canyon. This is a terrific trip that you can do in two to three days with mellow class II waves, a stunning waterfall, and terrific hiking opportunities. For now, this river doesn’t require a permit, but studies are underway to limit use of this beautiful stretch of river. That wouldn’t be a bad thing: It’s getting increased pressure from paddlers and hikers.
Lower Salmon River whitewater
Spicy whitewater on the Lower Salmon, a self-permitted river

And if you’re looking for a quick weekend trip, here are some great choices:

  • Westwater Canyon on the Colorado: Overnight trip (or you can run it in a day) with 3 miles of action-packed Class III and IV whitewater. Here’s our write-up of Westwater Canyon, including video footage of many of the major rapids. Although Westwater does require a permit, it’s on a rolling two-month lead time, so there’s no annual deadline for applying.
  • Ruby-Horsethief Canyon on the Colorado: Just a Class II-III rapid or two, but good family/friend float, and almost always runnable. We celebrated Thanksgiving 2020 on Ruby-Horsethief, which was an excellent way to maintain social distancing in the pandemic days. You do need to register for campsites for Ruby-Horsethief, so it’s best to plan your trips a few months in advance especially if you’re targeting holiday weekends.
  • Gunnison River through Gunnison Gorge: Picturesque canyon with legendary fishing, spicy whitewater, and a steep hike to the put-in (raft gear can get carried down on pack horses). This is a lot of logistics for an overnight trip, but decidedly worth the effort. The best plan would be to run this for the maximum length trip of 2 nights and 3 days. This is a self-permitted river: You simply sign in at the trailhead. 

Can’t win if you don’t play

The first step in winning a river permit through the lottery system is to apply. Start the conversation today with your river friends about 2024 trips, and be sure to check the water levels for the past couple of years before you choose a date. When Valentine’s Day rolls around, you might get the sweetest gift of all.

This could be you next summer—chilling out on the Lower Salmon

Read more about organizing river trips

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