Campground Overview:
Lee’s Ferry Campground is the only place within Glen Canyon National Recreation Area where visitors can drive right up to the Colorado River. Spend the day fly fishing, climbing the red-orange cliffs, and exploring historic buildings, and return to the campground for a night underneath the stars. The campground sits on a bench above the river and has no natural shade. Even with the provided shade structures, expect hot days throughout much of the spring, summer, and fall.
Lee’s Ferry is a historic river crossing that was used from 1872 to 1928. Today, commercial and private boaters begin their trip through the Grand Canyon, launching their fleets of boats at the ramp here. Backpackers finish their multi-day hike through Paria Canyon here, and day hikers explore desert ridges.
Campsites:
Lees Ferry Campground has 54 designated sites. No hookups. RV dump station. Grills provided, no open fires. Quiet time 10 pm-6 am. Modern bathroom/comfort station. Potable water available. Launch ramp within 2 miles. Gas and supply store at Marble Canyon, about 5 miles away. No reservations. $20 per site per night.
From Highway 89A, turn right onto the road to Lee’s Ferry. The junction of 89A and Lee’s Ferry Road is on the west side of the new Navajo Bridge, which crosses the Colorado River about 125 miles north of Flagstaff, AZ. Drive for about 4.5 miles and turn left following signs to the campground.
Campground at a Glance
Level: |
Developed |
Season: |
Year-Round |
Nearby City: |
Page |
Fishing: |
Colorado River |
Campground Website: |
Lees Ferry Campground- Glen Canyon National Recreation Area |
Campground Map: |
Lees Ferry Campground Map /Area Map Overview |
Reservations: |
First-come, first-served basis |
Location: |
Nearby Attractions and Activities:
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
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. T
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.
Vermilion Cliffs National Monument is a 294,000-acre monument geological treasure, containing Paria Plateau, Vermilion Cliffs, Coyote Buttes and Paria Canyon. Paria Canyon-Vermilion Cliffs Wilderness Area is nationally known for its beauty. The Paria Canyon has towering walls streaked with desert varnish, huge red rock amphitheaters, sandstone arches, wooded terraces, and hanging gardens. The 3,000-foot escarpment known as the Vermilion Cliffs dominates the remainder of the wilderness with its thick Navajo sandstone face, steep, boulder-strewn slopes, rugged arroyos and stark overall appearance. Some of the best slot canyon hiking opportunities on the Colorado Plateau are found here.
Pictures courtesy of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Arizona -Vermilion Cliffs National Monument.
Coyote Buttes and Paria Canyon’s outstanding scenery, desert wildlife, colorful history, and opportunities for primitive recreation will remain free from the influence of man and are protected in this condition for future generations. Its 112,500 acres beckon adventurers who yearn for solitude, scenic splendor, and the chance to explore one of the most beautiful geologic formations in the world. Permits are required!
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