Green River » For many Wasatch Front residents, there are only a few good reasons to stop in this hardscrabble town on the banks of the river that provides its name.
Some zoom in for fuel or a snack on their way to Moab. A few visit Ray's Tavern for what many folks consider Utah's best cheeseburger. And, in the late summer and fall, fruit lovers cruise the stands along the main drag, in search of Green River's famous melons.
Yet Green River, which has seen its share of booms and busts over the years, has more to offer.
For one thing, it is the home of the John Wesley Powell River History Museum and the Utah River Runners Hall of Fame.
The museum's mission is to communicate the historic value of the Green and Colorado rivers as national treasures by collecting and exhibiting information and artifacts. Visitors can see an excellent 25-minute movie called "Journey into the Great Unknown" as well as permanent exhibits of the historic boats used by such river running pioneers as John Wesley Powell. In fact, the museum's focus is Powell's expeditions in 1869 and 1871-72.
The museum also features traveling exhibits of historical works and art by some of Utah's top artists, as well as a well-stocked gift shop where local volunteers and employees offer information about area attractions.
People who love running the Colorado and Green Rivers can visit the Utah River Runners Hall of Fame, which features biographies of some of the pioneers of this popular activity. Kent Frost and Dee Holladay are the most recent inductees.
The museum, on the east bank of the Green River, is open Sunday through Saturday, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., during the summer season, and daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the winter. Admission is $4, $1 for children three to 12, and $10 for families. A large grassy area with covered picnic tables is on the east side of the museum. Plan on 15 minutes to an hour to tour the museum.
Beyond the museum, the Green River State Park features a nine-hole golf course along the river banks, and a shaded 42-unit campground with showers. There are picnic tables and a ramp for river launching.
Green River is also a good base for day trips into the nearby San Rafael Swell or Goblin Valley State Park. And lovers of American Indian rock art shouldn't miss the pictographs at Thompson Canyon, about 57 miles east of Green River, just off I-70.
According to Edward Geary, writing in the Utah History Encyclopedia , Green River has always been an historically important river crossing and was part of the Spanish Trail in the 1830s and 1840s. It became a stopping point for the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railway in 1883 and was at the heart of the Outlaw Trail during the Robbers Roost Days in the late 19th century.
The town's fortunes have gone up and down, with the up spikes including an oil boom in 1901, a uranium mining boom in the 1950s, and the Utah Launch Complex of the White Sands Missile Base in 1964.
While peach tree farming proved difficult, according to Geary, the town's 4,000 foot elevation and relatively long frost-free seasons proved ideal for growing melons. As early as 1900, J.H. Melon Brown was trying to grow the bulbous fruit there. Today, perhaps the most well-known of Green River's melon families are the Veteres and Dunhams, who operate stands throughout the town and near its two freeway exits.
Green River has seen a recent boom in new motels, especially on the eastern end of town, and still serves as a place where Desolation Canyon trips end or where Labyrinth and even Cataract Canyon adventures begin.
Finally, here's an interesting bit of trivia involving Green River, courtesy of Geary: The 105-mile stretch of Interstate 70 between Green River and Salina is the longest stretch without services in the entire U.S. Interstate Highway system.
