River runners wait eagerly for a chance to challenge the canyon’s rapids themselves, choosing their own pace and campsites. If they have their own gear, it costs a fraction of the price of a commercial trip. But private trips have been hard to score on a river with strict limits on the number of annual visitors.

In order to keep a sense of the wild in this wilderness and protect the canyon’s fragile environments, the Park Service doles out a certain number of private-trip permits each year. The most coveted are for 12-to-25-day trips from Lees Ferry to Diamond Creek.

It’s easier to get a permit for 2–5-day trips through the Lower Granite Gorge, launching from Diamond Creek. “Diamond-Down” trips navigate about 15 miles of white water on a 54-mile length to Lake Mead’s South Cove. The Park Service issues permits for two trips a day, of up to 16 people each.

Applications are available online or from the River Permits Office (P.O. Box 129, Grand Canyon, AZ 86023, 800/959-9164, fax 928/638-7844, grca_riv [at] nps [dot] gov) and can be submitted up to a year in advance. The Park Service doesn’t charge for permits, but arrangements and fees must be handled with the Hualapai River Running Department (P.O. Box 246, Peach Springs, AZ 86434, 928/769-2210 or 800/622-4409) prior to the trip’s launch date.

Due to an ever growing waiting list for permits (upwards of 15 years out), the Park Service recently switched to a weighted lottery system for granting permits to noncommercial 12-to-25-day river trips launching from Lees Ferry. The weighted system increases the odds for those who haven’t been on a river trip during the past five years. Lottery applications can be submitted a year in advance for the 200-plus permits available each year.

The main lottery is held in February, with smaller lotteries throughout the year to fill cancellations or leftover trips. The application fee is $25, and you can be listed on only one application per year. If you win the lottery, a $400 deposit holds your reservation. Applications are available on the park’s website (https://npspermits.us). You must complete an online profile to apply for the lottery.

Even if you aren’t ready to apply for a trip, you can set up a profile and register online. There’s no charge, and you’ll receive periodic announcements via email regarding future launch dates and other river news.

Another option for getting on a private trip is to fill an opening on an existing reservation. The Grand Canyon Private Boaters Association (www.gcpba.org), a group of experienced river runners, shares information on its Web community, including occasional announcements about trip openings.

The downside of planning a private trip is, well, the planning—about 300 hours’ worth. It takes a lot of river savvy not only to navigate the canyon’s rapids, but also to keep groceries fresh down to the last ice block. Private trip leaders must have experience. If you’re leading a trip, you’ll want your passengers to have experience, too. On a private trip, everybody works.

You can also turn over the planning to a pro. Several companies specialize in outfitting private Grand Canyon trips, from equipment to menu-planning and shopping.

Among the rewards of planning a private trip are being able to gear the trip to the interests of you and your companions, perhaps planning layovers around longer hikes or technical climbs, stopping for photography or filming, or running the rapids in kayaks.

You can camp somewhere new and interesting every night, or spend a few nights on a single beach, pretending that you’re castaways living off the land (or off that enormous cooler stocked with everything from apples to zinfandel). Your journey, whatever the theme, will be memorable.