Lees Ferry

Lees Ferry is the only place in Glen Canyon National Recreation Area where you can drive down to the Colorado River. The Park Service says it is the only such spot in more than 700 miles of canyon country. It sits at the mouth of the Paria River, right where the Grand Canyon begins, and the first rapid is just downstream. Rafting trips through the Grand Canyon launch here. Anglers come for trout in the cold, clear water released from Glen Canyon Dam, 16 miles upstream.

The crossing gave the place its name. Mormon settler John D. Lee arrived in 1870, and his ferry formally started in January 1873. Lee had taken part in the 1857 Mountain Meadows Massacre. He was arrested, tried and executed on March 23, 1877. Ferries carried pioneers, miners and travelers across until 1928, when the ferryboat sank while hauling materials for the new bridge downstream. Lees Ferry has another role in western history. Since 1921 a stream gauge here has measured the river's flow. The Colorado River Compact of 1922 uses Lees Ferry as the line between the river's Upper and Lower Basins.

Three historic sites are close together. Just upstream from the launch ramp are the ferry crossing and several historic buildings. Two stone buildings, a steam boiler and the wreck of a paddlewheel steamboat are left from Charles H. Spencer's attempt to extract gold from the clay hills in 1910. The River Trail past them is about 2 miles round trip on mixed ground. The Spencer Trail branches off and climbs more than 1,500 feet up switchbacks to a view over the river. Near the Paria is Lonely Dell Ranch, home of the families who ran the ferry. A self-guided walk of about 1 mile round trip passes the orchard, log cabins, stone ranch house and pioneer cemetery. You may pick ripe fruit for your own use, up to 5 gallons per person a day.

There is little shade, and the Park Service advises against hiking in the heat of summer. Take drinking water to the ranch.

Boaters on the river between the dam and Lees Ferry need a free Lees Ferry backcountry permit, available at self-service kiosks by the launch area. Everyone in a hand-propelled craft must wear a life jacket. The campground's upper loop was closed for renovation when this guide was checked.