| The 105-mile stretch of the Dolores River Wilderness Area, snaking through Colorado and Utah, and its surrounding 26,000-acre wilderness study area is an excellent setting for hiking, paddling, mountain biking, swimming and wildlife viewing.Paddlers wend through forests of ponderosa pine and pinon-juniper and echoing red-walled canyons. The river features challenging white water in its upper reaches and meandering flatwater in lower canyon segments.North of Cortez and downstream from the McPhee Reservoir are outstanding trout fisheries.The 26-mile Snaggletooth mountain bike trail that parallels the river is rated intermediate and features desert scenery and some river crossings, which can be unsafe and not crossable when water levels are high.About 10 miles of the Snaggletooth trail is shared with four-by-four vehicles. Horse riders also use the trail.The Grand Junction Field Office manages just a small section of the Dolores River, from Gateway to State Line Rapid. The State Line Rapid-Dewey Bridge is managed by the Moab BLM office and a permit is required to float this section of the river. |
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