Red Cliffs Lodge boat dock dislodged by ice, ‘saved’ in multiagency exercise
Feb 17, 2025, 8:00 PM | Updated: 9:26 pm
Workers attempt to wrangle a portion of the Red Cliffs Lodge boat ramp that became dislodged by ice and began floating down the Colorado River (Grand County Sheriff's Search and Rescue)
(Grand County Sheriff's Search and Rescue)
SALT LAKE CITY — A recent water rescue in Grand County didn’t involve a human in distress, but a boat dock that had been knocked from its moorings.
In a statement, officials from Grand County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue said a section of the boat dock at Red Cliffs Lodge was floating down the Colorado River “after it was apparently dislodged by ice.”
Several large chunks of the dock were pried loose by the ice, officials said. One of the chunks, about 40 feet long, became pinned against the rocks where Castle Creek enters the Colorado River and creates White’s Rapid.
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Grand County officials said two more sections of the dock continued floating downriver until one became lodged in an ice jam at Sandy Beach, about two miles downstream from Red Cliffs Lodge.
Dislodged boat dock an ‘opportunity to practice’
When the Grand County Utah Emergency Management office was notified about the boat dock on Jan. 31, they “recognized the opportunity to practice swift water rescue skills” according to a statement. On Feb. 10, with help from the National Park Service, Utah State Parks Rangers, and a rope system, workers extracted the docking segment lodged against the rocks in White’s Rapid.
It had traveled about 1/3 of a mile down the Colorado River.
Red Cliffs Lodge employees dismantled and retrieved the 70-foot section of dock caught in the ice jam near Sandy Beach. Officials said that a smaller, 20-foot section was found about a mile away from where it first broke loose.
“All sections of the dock still had floats attached,” said Grand County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue in a statement.
In this instance, don’t call 911
If you see something in the river that is an obvious hazard and doesn’t belong there, officials ask you not to call 911. Instead, call 435-259-4321 the non-emergency number for the Grand County Sheriff’s Office.
