floods regularly scour the riverbed. At mile 7.2, Buckskin Canyon enters from the right through a narrow slot. You also cross the state line back into Arizona at this point, a fact that seems pretty irrelevant deep within the canyons.
Tip: In a pinch, you can hike about 0.25 mile up Buckskin Canyon to a broad alluvial terrace, which is the only spot in the Narrows section where you could escape rising water.
The Paria River is sometimes dry from the trailhead to Buckskin Canyon, but it usually flows downstream of this point. Buckskin Canyon offers an optional side hike.
Another 3 miles of hiking leads out of the narrows, which ends gradually as the canyon grows steadily deeper and wider. The first sign that the character of the canyon is changing is the appearance of Fremont cottonwood trees on alluvial terraces on the insides of bends. Watch for the first springs along the canyon walls. Although it still should be treated, the spring water is cleaner and certainly tastes better than the Paria River water. These terraces offer reasonable campsites safely above possible flood waters.
As you continue downstream, the canyon increases in depth and width. More sunlight finds its way to the bottom of the canyon, allowing cottonwoods and other vegetation to flourish. Watch for several rincons perched above the riverbed. Rincons are old canyon meanders that have been cut off from the main canyon. In a rincon, the now-abandoned river channel curves around a central sandstone butte. A particularly accessible rincon is located just above Judd Hollow, at mile 17.7. Judd Hollow marks a place where early ranchers attempted to pump water from the Paria River to the dry plateau above, in order to water their cattle. A few artifacts remain from this failed endeavor.
At mile 20 Wrather Canyon, a major side canyon, enters from the right. The canyon itself is a huge opening in the right wall of Paria Canyon, but the actual bed of the canyon enters the Paria through a narrow slot. Wrather Canyon offers an optional side hike.
After Wrather Canyon, Paria Canyon continues to grows wider, and the constant meanders decrease as the Paria River wanders generally east.
Tip: You can expect to find the last spring at around mile 25, so you may want to pick up water for camp farther down the canyon.
At mile 28, the canyon widens significantly, and the Paria River enters an open valley that leads down to Lees Ferry and the Colorado River.
Tip: You’ll find little shade in this section. In hot weather, it’s a good idea to camp near Water Pockets Canyon, at mile 28.5, and get an early start in order to walk the lower canyon in the cool of morning.
Below Water Pockets Canyon, an unmaintained trail offers an alternate route. As you near Lees Ferry you’ll pass the ruins of the historic Lonely Dell Ranch, operated by John D. Lee and his wife. She supposedly exclaimed, “Oh, what a lonely dell!” when she first set eyes on her new home. Lee operated a ferry across the Colorado River just upstream from the mouth of the Paria River until the late 1920’s, when Navajo Bridge replaced it. Even today, Colorado River crossings are far apart—the next bridged crossings upstream are at Page, 17 miles upstream, and Narrow Canyon, 200 miles above Lees Ferry. Downstream, the next bridged crossing is at Hoover Dam, 300 miles away.
At mile 34, the obscure Dominguez Pass Trail climbs 2 miles and 1600 feet to the east rim of the Canyon. Although it offers fine views of lower Paria Canyon, this trail is not often hiked because most backpackers have their sights set on Lees Ferry and a shower by this time.
Paria River, Paria Canyon
Canyon Formation
Deep, narrow canyons form on the Colorado Plateau for several reasons. First, the entire plateau has been raised high above sea level, creating a huge amount of erosive power from the precipitation that falls on it. Second, an energetic Colorado River system is fed by copious snowfall in the Rocky Mountains, creating a master canyon and drainage to the sea. Third, the soft sandstone is eroded more rapidly by stream action than from local rainfall, so the canyon deepens quickly but widens slowly.
BUCKSKIN CANYON OPTIONAL SIDE HIKE Buckskin Canyon is 16 miles long, its width varies from 3 to 15 feet, and is up to 500 feet deep. A recommended side hike from Paria takes you 3 miles up the canyon. You’ll encounter a boulder jam about 2 miles above the confluence with the Paria River. Steps cut into the rock form a bypass and you will need a rope to haul packs. A full-length hike of Buckskin Canyon is a more serious undertaking than the Paria, because you’ll probably have to swim deep, cold pools.
WRATHER CANYON OPTIONAL SIDE HIKE A side hike of 0.6 mile and 200 feet elevation gain up Wrather Canyon takes you to a view of Wrather Arch, a spectacular hole through a fin projecting from the north wall of the canyon. Arches of this type are created when weathering erodes both sides of a fin, eventually cutting through at the base and forming an arch. Arches, in contrast to natural bridges, do not span stream courses.
UNMAINTAINED TRAIL ALTERNATE ROUTE Below Water Pockets Canyon, an unmaintained trail stays on the alluvial banks above the Paria River. You can either follow this trail or continue along the Paria River bed.
Tip: This trail can speed up the descent of the final stretch considerably, as it avoids several rocky sections of the riverbed.
2 Rainbow Bridge
MAPS Rainbow Bridge, Chaiyahi Flat U.S.G.S.
SEASON March–November.
BEST April, October.
WATER Seasonal in Cliff Canyon, permanent in Bridge Canyon and Lake Powell.
PERMITS Required.
RULES None.
CONTACT Navajo Nation, Recreational Resources Department, Box 308, Window Rock, Arizona 86515; (928) 871-6647, or (928) 871-4941. Rainbow Bridge itself lies in Rainbow Bridge National Monument, which is administered by Glen Canyon National Recreation Area.
HIGHLIGHTS Rainbow Bridge is the world’s largest natural bridge, and one of the most graceful—a frozen rainbow of stone. Although most people now reach the bridge by boat on Lake Powell, the hike around Navajo Mountain is scenic enough in its own right—the bridge is frosting on the cake.
PROBLEMS The Rainbow Bridge Trail, though originally constructed for pack stock, is no longer maintained. Until you reach the bridge and the lake, you are in a very remote corner of the Navajo Reservation. All but experienced desert hikers should avoid this route from mid May through mid September, because of temperatures that reach 100˚F. Lake Powell is the only dependable water source during the summer months.
HOW TO GET THERE From Tuba City on U.S. 160, drive 40 miles northeast, and turn left on Arizona 98. Drive 13 miles, and turn right on Navajo 16. This road is paved for about 15 miles, to Inscription House Trading Post, and then becomes a graded, sandy road. Turn left 29 miles from Arizona 98, onto the Rainbow Lodge road, which is usually unsigned. Drive 5 miles, and look for a dome-shaped rock formation, Haystack Rock, ahead. Take the road that goes to the right of Haystack Rock. Unless you have a high-clearance four-wheel-drive vehicle, park at the fork at Haystock Rock. The trailhead lies 1.8 miles up the
