• Distance: 38.5 miles one-way
• Duration: 4–6 days
• Elevation change: 1,300 feet
• Effort: moderate
• Trailhead: Whitehouse Campground
• Directions: The trailhead is two miles south of the Paria ranger station on a dirt road near a campground and old homestead site called White House Ruins. The exit trailhead is in Arizona at Lonely Dell Ranch of Lee’s Ferry, 44 miles southwest of Page via U.S. 89 and 89A (or 98 miles southeast of Kanab on U.S. 89A).

Allow 4–6 days to hike Paria Canyon because of the many river crossings and because you’ll want to make side trips up some of the tributary canyons. The hike is considered moderately difficult. Hikers should have enough backpacking experience to be self-sufficient, because help may be days away.

Flash floods can race through the canyon, especially July–September. Rangers close the Paria if they think a danger exists. Because the upper end has the narrowest passages (between miles 4.2 and 9.0), rangers require that all hikers start here in order to have up-to-date weather information.

The actual trailhead is two miles south of the ranger station on a dirt road near a campground and old homestead site called White House Ruins. The exit trailhead is in Arizona at Lonely Dell Ranch of Lee’s Ferry, 44 miles southwest of Page via U.S. 89 and 89A (or 98 miles southeast of Kanab on U.S. 89A).

You must register at a trailhead or the Kanab BLM office (318 N. 100 East, Kanab, UT, 435/644-2672, 8 a.m.–4:30 p.m. Mon.–Fri. year-round). Permits to hike the canyon are $5 per day per person; backpackers should get a permit at the ranger station, but day hikers can just register and pay the fee at the trailhead. The visitors center and the office both provide weather forecasts and brochures with map and hiking information. The visitors center always has the weather forecast posted at an outdoor information kiosk.

The hike requires a 150-mile round-trip car shuttle. For a list of shuttle services, check the BLM website or ask at the Arizona Strip Interpretive Association (345 E. Riverside Dr., St. George, UT, 435/688-3246), Paria Contact Station, or Kanab Field Office. Expect to pay about $100 for this service.

All visitors need to take special care to minimize their impact on this beautiful canyon. Check the BLM Visitor Use Regulations for the Paria before you go. Regulations include no campfires in the Paria and its tributaries, a pack-in/pack-out policy, and that latrines be made at least 100 feet away from river and campsite locations. Also, remember to take some plastic bags to carry out toilet paper; the stuff lasts years and years in this desert climate. You don’t want to haunt future hikers with TP flowers!

The Paria ranger recommends a group size maximum of six; regulations specify a 10-person limit. No more than 20 people per day can enter the canyon for overnight trips. The best times to travel along the Paria are about mid-March–June and October–November. May, especially Memorial Day weekend, tends to be crowded. Winter hikers often complain of painfully cold feet. Wear (or bring) shoes suitable for frequent wading.

You can get good drinking water from springs along the way (see the BLM hiking brochure for locations); it’s best not to use the river water because of possible chemical pollution from farms and ranches upstream. Normally the river’s only ankle-deep, but in spring or after rainy spells, it can become waist-deep. During thunderstorms, levels can rise to more than 20 feet deep in the Paria Narrows, so heed weather warnings! Quicksand, which is most prevalent after flooding, is more a nuisance than a danger—usually it’s just knee-deep. Many hikers carry a walking stick to probe the opaque waters for good crossing places.

Wrather Canyon Arch, one of Arizona’s largest natural arches, lies about one mile up a side canyon of the Paria. The massive structure has a 200-foot span. Turn right (southwest) at mile 20.6 on the Paria hike. (The mouth of Wrather Canyon and other points along the Paria are unsigned; you need to follow your map.)