A Canyon of Varied Character

Words and pictures by Doug Freed

Lora Chiehowsky and Kim Craig at the confluence of Buckskin Canyon, coming in from the left, and Paria Canyon. The confluence is at the heart of the narrows section of Paria Canyon.

Archaeologists believe ancient civilizations used Paria Canyon as a travel route between what is now southern Utah and norther Arizona.

What a great commute.

Paria Canyon is a 38-mile walk through a stunning canyon with a varied character as the creek winds from southern Utah to Lee’s Ferry at the mouth of Marble Canyon. The headwaters of Paria Creek reach all the way north to Bryce Canyon National Park, but most hikers hikers don’t start until near the state line where the canyon narrows as it flows through an upthrust known as the Paria Plateau.

Paria Canyon is a rare treat for desert hikers as the creek flows year-round. The flow of the creek fluctuates between dangerous flash floods to ankle-deep. Flash floods are a real and present threat. The drainage of Paria Creek is so large a thunderstorm 50 miles away near Bryce Canyon can cause flooding in the canyon. Hikers are well advised to pay attention and be prepared to seek higher ground. In most places in the canyon seeking higher ground is a simple matter, but between miles three and 15 where the walls narrow to not much wider than the creek itself, avoiding high water might be difficult. Flash floods may also leave the canyon muddy, which will make the hiking more difficult.

This trip starts four months prior to putting on a backpack with sitting in front of a computer trying to get a permit. Permits are doled out on a first-come, first-serve basis four months in advance. Hikers in the canyon are limited to 20 per day and group size is limited to 10. Most complete the 38-mile trip from White House campground to Lees Ferry in four or five days.

The hiking is relatively benign. It’s all slightly downhill (for groups traveling south to Lees Ferry) with no climbs. Mostly it’s walking over sand, some packed and hard, some wet, some dry and soft. Wear some sort of water shoe or old sneaker or running shoe as all hikers will end up walking through the water many, many times each day. Modern water shoes make for good hikers in Paria, but an old-school trick is to wear an old pair of running shoes, and just throw them away in the Lees Ferry dumpster at the end of the trip. They won’t be worth keeping after 38 miles of sand and water.

Even though feet will be wet all day, it’s best to wear thick hiking socks. The sand will fill shoes (and socks) and the thick socks will assist in keeping the blisters at bay. Pay attention to the blister issue as a blister on the first day of the trip will soak in wet, bacteria-rich conditions the rest of the trip.

If making this trip a through-hike, a car shuttle is needed, and it is long enough to make arriving a day early worthwhile. What was once a one-way trip of maybe an hour from the Paria Canyon ranger state to Lees Ferry is now 114 miles one way due to a large landslide that has closed U.S. Highway 89 south out of Page, Ariz. This round trip of 228 miles will kill most of a day, particularly if you take the time to walk across the old Navajo Bridge and watch the California condor hang out beneath the bridge, or linger a bit watching boatmen rig their rafts at Lees Ferry for a run down the Grand Canyon.

An alternate route via House Rock Road west of Paria Canyon is a highly scenic road that offers the chance to make short day hikes into Buckskin or Wire Pass Canyons. This dirt road is impassable if wet and when dry will severely test the suspension of your vehicle. Four-wheel-drive isn’t necessary, but a little clearance is helpful. Each route to Lees Ferry will take about the same amount of time.

Some Paria Canyon visitors choose to skip the car shuttle and make a down and back visit. We also saw a group that was making the trip from Lees Ferry up canyon to White House Campground.

With the shuttle completed, the next step is checking in at the Paria Canyon BLM ranger station to pick up the permit and get updates on conditions and regulations. This is where you will be given a couple of “wag bags.” It is now mandatory to transport out of the canyon your own human waste, and the “wag bags” are what you need to do it. While this practice may seem unsavory at best, it has left the canyon once again with a wilderness feel. As one ranger put it, prior to the human waste rule, “the camping areas had reached the point nobody would want to camp there.”

Most hikers spend the night before their trip at White House Campground, which also serves as the trailhead. Of the groups at the camp we talked to, one group had arranged for a shuttle to the top of famed Paria side canyon Buckskin Gulch for a trip down Buckskin and up the Paria back to the campground. Another group planned a four day trip of two days down Paria and two days back up. Ours was the only group to make the through hike to Lees Ferry and from conversations it appear the long shuttle was a determining factor for the other groups.

It is difficult to imagine what is to come when the hike starts. The prevailing geologic formation is a slender bit of Page Sandstone and the walking is through wide-open desert. With each step, however, the canyon narrows. As the Navajo sandstone formation begins to show, the walls draw closer. By mile four it’s The Narrows where the walls pinch in to slightly wider than the creek. Now, rather than the walls narrowing, they grow higher and higher as the creek cuts deeper and deeper into the plateau.

On my most recent trip, the river was present for the first few miles, then disappeared, only to reappear at the confluence of Buckskin Gulch at mile seven. On a long-ago previous trip, we were forced to swim a substantial lake that had formed in the narrows when Buckskin flooded and dammed the creek.

The hiking through The Narrows is pleasant – firm, wet sand and shade make for ideal conditions. At Buckskin, the creek is barely a trickle. It will grow with each step. By mile 10, it is a full-fledged creek where it reaches the first of three reliable springs and a camp. The camps in The Narrows are small but idyllic. High enough to get out of the wet sand and away from high water danger, but very close to the creek and the spring. The high, close walls make for lots of shade.

We camped at mile ten the first night, which is the site of the first reliable spring. Paria Creek was running clear, however, so the spring really wasn’t necessary. At times, the creek is very muddy, which would quickly clog a water filter. In fact, it is Paria Creek that often turns the Colorado to its famous chocolate milk color after it runs clear for about eight miles below Lake Powell. Archaeologist believe the word Paria may be an archaic Paiute word for muddy-tasting water. At mile 12 is another reliable spring called Big Spring that has a strong flow and a nice camp nearby.

The canyon begins to widen a bit even as it grows deeper. The creek begins to build nice river bottoms full of stunning green willows that contrast nicely with the red canyon walls and the bright blue sky. The walking is through loose sand and in and out of the water to cross the creek many times a day. The miles slip by quickly. We aimed for mile 22 for a second camp because of a spring called Shower Spring that sounded very alluring. The camp was terrific, but the spring was surrounded by a thick stand of willows and while somewhat shower worthy, was somewhat inconvenient. The willow stand also made Shower Spring very easy to miss. There is only one more reliable spring in the canyon below this point at mile 25.

Below mile 22 the character of the canyon changes again. This time it’s the forces of entropy that keep it interesting. Hundreds of large rocks have fallen from the cliff faces and rolled to the creek. The hiking now is more back and forth, up and down route picking through the rocks littering the bottom of the canyon. Far from difficult, the hiking in this section is fun and interesting. Along with the rocks that have tumbled off the walls, sand dunes have formed high in the canyon.

Enjoy this section because as the canyon widens further, the hike takes on the feel of true desert hike. The trail leaves the creek for extended sections of hot slogging through loose, deep sand. The canyon remains stunning, but the cool waters of Paria Creek are sorely missed. The trail will cross the creek just enough to make it a truly welcome respite. Camping in the lower section of canyon is wide open.

Watch for rock art in this lower section where several nice panels can be found on rocks near the trail – proof that ancient civilizations used this canyon as a throughway.

By now, the high cliffs of Marble Canyon and the Vermillion Cliffs around Lees Ferry become visible, then the inevitable signs of civilizations – fences, power poles, signs. Then the cars and the parking lot, a most unwelcome sight. We did not linger on the asphalt, taking only the time to throw away the “wag bags” and my shoes. We loaded up and bee-lined back to White House Campground to retrieve our other vehicles. The trailhead was a welcome site. Time allowing, we would have done it all over again.

Vestal Basin Redux

Victory in Retreat