Utah’s Wild and Scenic Rivers thread through two of the Colorado Plateau’s most spectacular canyon systems. The interactive Utah Wild and Scenic Rivers map below plots both designated rivers and all 58 protected segments — 231.6 miles of free-flowing water managed across the state’s red-rock country. The Virgin Wild and Scenic River, with 168.6 miles across 55 segments, protects the North Fork Virgin through Zion National Park and its tributaries on the high plateaus above the canyon. The Green Wild and Scenic River adds 63 miles through the Desolation and Gray canyons of the Uinta Basin. The National Park Service administers 147.1 miles, the Bureau of Land Management another 84.5 miles. Click any segment for details on classification and managing agency.

Wild and Scenic Rivers in Utah at a Glance

Utah’s Colorado Plateau landscape is defined by rivers that have carved some of the deepest canyons on the continent, yet only two rivers carry formal Wild and Scenic designation within state borders. The Virgin River was designated in part to protect the extraordinary slot canyons and hanging gardens of Zion National Park’s narrows from future upstream impoundment. The Green River through the Desolation and Gray Canyon stretch is one of the most remote BLM-managed river corridors in the West — 84 miles of whitewater canyon entirely without road access — a remnant of the same prehistoric drainage that Powell first documented in 1869. Utah’s federal system added rivers in the state across legislative actions over several decades, primarily connected to the Zion corridor and the Green River basin.

Classification Breakdown

The high share of Wild segments in Utah — 48 of 58 total — reflects how fragmented and canyon-locked much of the Virgin system is on the high plateaus above Zion. Many of the 55 Virgin segments are short gorge sections on tributaries of the North Fork where no roads penetrate. The Green’s three segments reflect a gradient from the access point near Sand Wash (Recreational) down through increasingly remote canyon to the fully Wild lower Desolation reaches.

Managing Agencies

NPS administers the Virgin system within and adjacent to Zion National Park, where the agency manages a dramatic narrows corridor that draws well over a million hikers a year. BLM manages the Green River through Desolation Canyon, one of the agency’s most celebrated multiday float experiences nationally — the canyon is so remote that it sees only a few thousand float trips per year despite its extraordinary scenery.

Longest Designated Rivers in Utah

The Virgin’s 55 segments span an enormous elevation range from the high plateaus of the Markagunt and Kolob to the canyon bottom at Zion Narrows — the Wild segments protect the slot canyon sections that are simply inaccessible except on foot or by wading the river itself. The Green River’s Desolation Canyon is a 97-mile BLM-permitted float from Sand Wash to Green River town, passing through canyon walls up to 5,000 feet high and entirely without road access through the canyon proper. It is among the most scenically dramatic river trips in the interior West.

Where to Run, Hike, or Fish Utah’s Wild and Scenic Rivers

For multi-day whitewater

The Green River through Desolation and Gray Canyon (the Wild and Scenic reach) is a classic five-to-seven-day permitted float with Class II–III whitewater, launching from Sand Wash south of Ouray and taking out at Green River town. BLM administers a permit system for the peak season from May through September. The canyon walls are Cretaceous and Paleocene sandstones and shales, with side canyons like Three Canyon and Coal Creek offering excellent day hikes from camp. Commercial outfitters operating out of Green River, Utah serve this corridor regularly.

For hiking and access

The Virgin River Narrows in Zion National Park is one of the most visited slot-canyon hikes in the world — wading upstream through the narrows in the Wild reach of the North Fork Virgin is an experience unlike anything else on the Colorado Plateau. The top-down permit (from Chamberlain’s Ranch to the Temple of Sinawava) requires advance reservation. The canyon is typically passable from late May through October depending on water levels and flash flood risk. The Kolob Canyons section of Zion, which protects upper Virgin tributaries in their Wild segment form, offers less-crowded canyon hiking from the Kolob Canyons Road exit off I-15.

For native fish

The Virgin River is critical habitat for the Virgin River chub and woundfin, two federally endangered native fish species found only in the Virgin River basin. The Wild and Scenic designation helps protect the flow regime and riparian corridor these species require. The Green River through Desolation Canyon supports Colorado pikeminnow and razorback sucker in some segments, two more endangered Colorado River basin endemics. Utah Division of Wildlife Resources and the US Fish and Wildlife Service jointly coordinate recovery efforts in both drainages.

Maps for Neighboring States

For Wild and Scenic River coverage across the Colorado Plateau and Great Basin, see our maps for neighboring states: Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Wyoming, and New Mexico. Nevada has no designated Wild and Scenic rivers. For the full national picture, see our US Wild and Scenic Rivers map covering all 249 rivers across 42 states and Puerto Rico.

Data Sources

River segment geometry, classification, mileage, and managing-agency attributes come from the US Forest Service Enterprise Data Warehouse, specifically the National Wild and Scenic River Segments dataset jointly maintained by the USFS, NPS, BLM, and US Fish and Wildlife Service. Source service: USFS EDW Wild Scenic River Segments. Authoritative national index: rivers.gov. State recreation and fish-management context: Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, Zion National Park, and the relevant BLM field offices.