Paddling | Sevier River from US 89 Milepost 181.7 to Whistle Stop
Hype:
This stretch of river begins at milepost 181.7 between Marysvale and Big Rock Canyon Mountain and ends at the Candy Mountain Whistle Stop Trailhead. The run is about 3.75 miles long and generally takes about 2 hours to complete. This stretch is easy flatwater and is appropriate for canoes, kayak, and tubes.
Time: 2 hours
Length: 3.75 miles
Fees: None
Recommended Ages:
 | 0-3 |
 | 4-11 |
 | 12-19 |
 | 20-49 |
 | 50-69 |
 | 70+ |
Recommended Months to Visit:
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Navigate to 38.485533, -112.242780.
Drive through the gate to a flat grassy area where you can launch from. Close the gate behind you. This boat launch is on BLM land.
Closest City or Region: Marysvale Canyon, Utah
Coordinates: 38.485533, -112.242780
By Jeremy Dye
Savannah and I kayaked from the Hoovers Restaurant to Whistle Stop while we were waiting for others to raft the lower stretch.
By Jeremy Dye
Jeremy Dye, Tara Dye, Savannah Dye, Madilyn Dye, Cooper Dye, Laura Dye, Anthony Dye, Arianne Dye, Miller Dye, Ondylyn Wagner, Jaren Wagner, Killian Wagner,
After the raft popped, we all decided to canoe and kayak the upper section together. The kids each got a turn on the kayaks, and we had a great time. It was Miller's first time paddling a kayak, and he picked up on it pretty quickly. We took it slowly and just went kid speed. It was pretty fun.
By Jeremy Dye
Jeremy Dye, Tara Dye, Savannah Dye, Madilyn Dye, Jared Justensen, Amy Justensen, Shad Petersen, Chalise Petersen, Tori Turner,
Flow Rate: 447 cfs
We went with a bunch of work friends to try out this stretch of the Sevier River. None of us had ever rafted this stretch of river before, and beta is extremely hard to find. We brought the canoes, but when we got there, two guys were starting their trip in inflatable kayaks and recommended that we not take canoes down that stretch of river. They said there was a class 3+ rapid.
Since we had a bunch of little kids with us, we drove up the road and took a calm ride in the canoes from Big Rock Candy Mountain Resort to the launch. Then we switched over to the raft and went down the rest of the canyon.
Before I go any further, I should probably explain the condition of the rafts we were using. Last year, I received 2 rafts from my Aunt and Uncle. Both rafts had several patches and several large hold (gashes if you will). I spent the 2 weeks leading up to the trip patching all the holes I could find, pumping the rafts up, watching them lose air, finding the new holes, and repeating the process. Finally the night before our trip, I got the last holes patched. We got to the launch and started blowing up the rafts, and one of them wouldn't hold air at all. By this point I was all out of patches, and we didn't have enough time to let the glue set up either. So we left the one raft on shore and took turns in the remaining raft.
Jared went down on an inner tube and Shad, Tori, Tara, and Savannah took the first trip down in the raft while Amy, Chalise, and I watched the kids. I took several videos of the rafters as we followed them down the canyon. In the first set of rapids, Savannah decided she'd had enough and wanted to get off. Then in the next rapids, they rubbed against a rock and ripped off a couple patches. So Tara's job was to hold her fingers over the holes while the rest paddled. Long story short, no one know how to paddle and they just went with the current in their oh-so-flat raft. Shad even got bucked off the back.
After they finished the fun rapids, we all stopped for lunch. Then Tara dropped Amy, Chalise, and me off just above the rapids so we could do the fun rapids too. We left the pump hose in the valve and pumped air the whole time because it was losing air so quickly. We hit the Big Daddy/Rambo rapid just right, but then we got stuck in the depression and couldn't get up over the hydraulic jump. The water was pouring into our raft, and we were just sitting there completely stuck. Amy and Chalise were both scared we were going to die. Amy accidentally dropped her paddle. Chalise and I were both paddling as hard as we could but nothing worked. It felt like we were in there forever, but it was probably only one or two minutes. I though about jumping out over the hydraulic jump, but that's when I realized I had forgotten to put my life jacket on. Whoops. Eventually, we were able to dig our paddles really deap and use them like underwater sails to carry us out. It was really crazy. Luckily the paddle got stuck in an eddy and we were able to get it back. The only thing we lost was a shoe.
After that little trip, our family had to go up north. We left the gear with everyone else, and they went down the remainder of the river down to Big Bend Take-Out.
Swimming - Outdoor
Swimming
Paddling
Wildflowers and Vegitation
Wildlife and Birding
Fishing
No Drinking Water
Rivers and Streams
Mountains
Restrooms - Vault
Road Access is Paved
Access Road is 2WD Accessible