Escape from the realities of day-to-day life this September and relax during a six-day float trip through Canyonlands National Park/Patrick Cone

Late September into October is typically a season of transition for much of the country, but in Canyonlands National Park in Utah it offers daytime temperatures in the upper 80s and into the 90s, cool evenings, and scant chance of rain. And when the sun goes down this September, telescopes will come out on the banks of the Colorado River during Traveler's float through this national park.

By timing our last river trip of the year with the new moon, conditions should be perfect for Kevin Poe, the National Park Service's original Dark Ranger, to guide us through the universe. During the day, we'll float the Colorado towards Glen Canyon National Recreation Area and Lake Powell. There will be time for standup paddleboard practice, rubber ducky workouts, and long discussions revolving around national parks.

River travel is a great way to explore the park’s canyons and get well away from the beaten path. “This is the way to experience and see this park,” Mike Hardinger remarked as we floated along during last year's Cataract Canyon trip. “I knew about the canyon (Cataract), but couldn’t truly picture its grandeur.” Bob Lacasse had enjoyed his motor trip through the Grand Canyon, but our six-day trip gave him an appreciation for smaller, human-powered rafts. "Oar boats offer a much more realistic river-running experience,” he said.

One key difference, of course, is the pace. Muscle-powered boats mainly track the river’s speed. Drifting along through this primeval landscape is timeless, as if you had traveled back to the 19th century or earlier. Desert writer Ed Abbey was particularly drawn to river running, so much so that he wrote an entire book on his favored pastime, Down The River.

While the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon is usually heralded as the river trip of a lifetime, a river trip through Canyonlands is just as spectacular in its own way. Once away from the pavement, this national park is primitive and raw. The muddy rivers flow beneath the ocher, buff, black, red, and blonde walls, having cut their way through this arid landscape.

Our late-September departure also ensures an extra helping of river solitude, as it was well past the high summer season. Last year we shared the river with blue heron and eagles. River otters played on the lip of the serious series of Big Drop rapids in Cataract Canyon. A beaver—bank dwellers here—had no chance of stopping the river, and one evening we watched as a desert bighorn ram led his harem down to water.

There remain a few spots left for this year's Cataract Canyon float trip, which launches September 26. To get an idea of what to expect, check out the following video. And if it sounds right for you, sign up!