Campground Overview:
Colorado River Primitive Camping includes six designated areas between Glen Canyon Dam and Lees Ferry. The camping areas are only accessible by boat. The designated areas are marked with signs and are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Upriver campsites are provided with toilets and fire pits. All campsites are located well above the river and require a short walk from your boat. This is to prevent camps from being damaged by high water releases.
A popular trip is to float down the river from the Glen Canyon Dam. Catch a power boat ride from Lee’s Ferry upriver to Glen Canyon Dam where you get dropped off to begin your float trip downriver back to Lee’s Ferry. From there, it’s about 15.6 miles of flat water floating with amazing and wondrous views of the canyons’ red sandstone walls rising up to 1,800 ft over your head and hanging gardens of flora. You can also stop to view the ancient Anasazi rock art or enjoy the sandy beaches. There are California condors, swifts, swallows and eagles. If you like to paddle a lot, the trip back to Lee’s Ferry can be done in one day. If you like to relax and enjoy the incredible scenery, this a 2 day float with one night of primitive camping at the rivers edge at Horseshoe Bend.
Important Information:
Do not boat below the cable downstream from the Lees Ferry launch ramp. There are dangerous rapids below the cable. Downstream waters are restricted. A permit is required from Grand Canyon National Park to float this section of the river.
Fires are permitted only in the fireplaces provided or in portable fire pans. No ground fires are allowed. If portable fire pans are used, all burned charcoal must be carried out. Collection of wood is prohibited. Carry out all litter and garbage. There is no regular garbage collection upriver. Plastic litter bags are available free of charge at the ranger station. Dumpsters are available at the launch ramps for garbage disposal. There are no fees or permits required to camp upriver.
Campground at a Glance
Level: |
Dispersed |
Season: |
Year-Round |
Nearby City: |
Page |
Fishing: |
Colorado River |
Campground Website: |
Colorado River Primitive Camping- Glen Canyon National Recreation Area |
Campground Map: |
Area Map Overview |
Reservations: |
First-come, first-served basis |
Location: |
Nearby Attractions and Activities:
Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, encompassing over 1.25 million acres, offers unparalleled opportunities for water-based & backcountry recreation. The recreation area stretches for hundreds of miles from Lees Ferry in Arizona to the Orange Cliffs of southern Utah, encompassing scenic vistas, geologic wonders, and a vast panorama of human history. The park offers opportunities for boating, fishing, swimming, backcountry hiking, and four-wheel drive trips. Outdoor activities are what Glen Canyon is all about. Whether you’re on your own or on a guided trip, there is something for everyone’s taste. Click here for the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area 2017 Visitor Guide and Foundation Brochure
This area of the United States is quite special because it includes access to millions of acres of recreational opportunities through numerous National parks, monuments, and public land. National park system units that share a border with Glen Canyon include: Grand Canyon National Park, Capitol Reef National Park, Canyonlands National Park, and Rainbow Bridge National Monument. Glen Canyon adjoins approximately 9.3 million acres of other federal lands administered by the Bureau of Land Management, including the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, Vermilion Cliffs National Monument, and the Paria Canyon-Vermilion Cliffs Wilderness.
Lake Powell the backbone of the Glen Canyon Recreation Area, is a reservoir on the Colorado River, straddling the border between Utah and Arizona. Most of Lake Powell, along with Rainbow Bridge National Monument, is located in Utah. It is a major vacation spot that around two million people visit every year. It is the second largest man-made reservoir by maximum water capacity in the United States behind Lake Mead, storing 24,322,000 acre feet of water when full.
Lake Powell was created by the flooding of Glen Canyon by the Glen Canyon Dam, which also led to the creation of Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, a popular summer destination. The reservoir is named for explorer John Wesley Powell, a one-armed American Civil War veteran who explored the river via three wooden boats in 1869. In 1972, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area was established. It is public land managed by the National Park Service, and available to the public for recreational purposes. It lies in parts of Garfield, Kane, and San Juan counties in southern Utah, and Coconino County in northern Arizona.
Lees Ferry Historic Site is the only place within Glen Canyon where visitors can drive to the Colorado River in over 700 miles of canyon country, right up to the first rapid in the Grand Canyon. A natural corridor between Utah and Arizona, Lees Ferry figured prominently in the exploration and settlement of northern Arizona. Lees Ferry is now a meeting of the old and the new.
just upstream from the Lees Ferry launch ramp is the ferry crossing site and several historic buildings. Different ferryboats and pioneers, miners, Indians, and tourists crossed hre from 1872 until 1928. Of special interest is Charles H. Spencer’s attempt to extract gold from the clay hills here in 1910. Two of the stone buildings, a steam boiler, and the remains of a sunken paddlewheel steamboat remain from his efforts.
Lees Ferry is 42 miles from Page via Hwy 89 south and Hwy 89A west. It is 85 miles from the North Rim of the Grand Canyon via Hwy 89A and Hwy 67. The Lees Ferry Junction and Park Entrance is just west of Navajo Bridge Interpretive Center. A paved road leads 5 miles to the Ferry area. Services available at Lees Ferry include a National Park Service campground, dump station and public launch ramp. There is a gas station, store, and post office at Marble Canyon, next to the park entrance. More services are found west on Hwy 89A.
Lake Powell Tribal Park- Antelope Canyon located near Page, Arizona is home to one of nature’s most wondrous creations – the slot canyon. Carved from the red sandstone for millennia by rain and wind, the canyons are narrow passageways that lead several hundred feet away from the mouth. The gorgeous sloping angles of the rocks – coupled with the shifts of light that make their way down from the rim of the canyon – combine for a scene that cannot be fully explained with words. Only 8 to 12 feet wide along the sandy floor, the slot canyons have been featured in Hollywood films and magazine publications around the world. But none of those images can match the one you’ll experience when you step into the canyons and see this wonder for yourself.
Upper Antelope Canyon is called Tsé bighánílíní, ‘the place where water runs through rocks’ by the Navajo. It is the most frequently visited by tourists for two reasons. First, its entrance and entire length are at ground level, requiring no climbing. Second, beams or shafts of direct sunlight radiating down from openings at the top of the canyon are much more common in Upper than in Lower. Beams occur most often in the summer months, as they require the sun to be high in the sky. Winter colors are more muted. Summer months provide two types of lighting. Light beams start to peek into the canyon March 20 and disappear October 7 each year.
Lower Antelope Canyon, is called Hazdistazí, or ‘spiral rock arches’ by the Navajo, is located several miles from Upper Antelope Canyon. Prior to the installation of metal stairways, visiting the canyon required climbing along pre-installed ladders in certain areas. Even following the installation of stairways, it is a more difficult hike than Upper Antelope. It is longer, narrower in spots, and even footing is not available in all areas. Five flights of stairs of varying step widths are currently available to aid in descent and ascent. At the end, the climb out requires flights of stairs. Additionally, visitors should be aware of sand which consistently falls from the above crack as it can make the stairs particularly slippery.
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