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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.