Fur-trader William H. Ashley was the first to attempt to float the Green River to the Gulf of Mexico. He passed through Red Canyon on May 3, 1825, and was followed by William Manley, on a gold-seeking venture to California in 1849.

It was Major John Wesley Powell that gave us the names Flaming Gorge and Red Canyon in 1869, while exploring the rough water and unknown territory of the Green and Colorado Rivers.

After years of gunfights and land battles, the area became the Ashley National Forest, part of the National Forest System, signed into effect by Theodore Roosevelt.