02. Price Canyon (Picnic area above Price Canyon to Castle Gate)

The Price is generally a low water run with several manmade and natural hazards. The river is primarily roadside, although it is down considerably from the road, so hiking out would be a pain. Scouting can be done from the road for the most part; check for wood.  The majority of the river consists of rocky drops and small ledges. Most of these are in general straight forward in their lines. The major dangers on the Price are the possibilities of strainers, human debris (rebar), and some dams near the end of the run. The water can be gray or white from upstream runoff. There is an initial rapid right below the putin, then some class II, with a scenic meander away from the road. After crossing under an underpass that puts you back along route 6 (although well below it), the pace picks up with fun drops that get busier as you go. The difficulty increases and stays in the IV range for several miles.  If its not scrapy-low then you will have a few miles of great rapids and drops. A big culvert is on the left a ways before the crux, although it can be missed, since there are a few miles that kinda look the same. There are not big eddies above the crux, so if you want to bank scout or portage, be sure you know where it is. To bank scout, around MP225 look for a turnout either upstream or downstream of the crux (MP 226), and walk a hundred yards to see it. From the putin it is about a 6.5 mile drive to mile post 227 for the takeout. This is about an 7.5 mile river float. The bridge over the river at MP 227 is a good spot to takeout. There is a large turnout across the road for parking. In 2024, I ran this section 4-5 times and did the takeout at MP 227. I saw one manmade hazard that could potentially be a problem. Scouted it the first time and never an issue after knowing how to proceed. The water heading into this hazard is slow with a big eddie and it marks the transistion into more challenging water. I will post a photo in the gallery. No other rebar or other manmade hazards seen.  This is a super fun and challenging section of Price River.  200 CFS on the Heiner gauge is the minimum and you will scrape some. CFS of 225 was my favorite (as a beginnger). 250 was good and definately more challenging. Febuary 13, 2025 update on paddling below MP 227. I walked the railroad tracks downstream of the takeout bridge at MP 227 inspecting the river bed of the rumored hazards such as rebar. I found a few hazards. Aprox .5 miles downstream of this takeout is a large boulder with a metal bar sticking out of it. Immeadiately after the river passes under the tracks (aprox .75 miles) there is a man-made barrier that will likely catch a lot of debris and potentially create a river wide strainer or a perfect narrow channel to boof a small drop. Aprox .25 miles below this is the diversion/drop/treatment structure along the river. There are some metal hazards in this spot, probably nothing that would give you any trouble however. I think the takeout bridge at MP 227 is perfect spot to end this float.