Hiking and Exploring the Paria River

The Paria River begins at Bryce Canyon National Park and nearby high plateaus, and flows almost due south across the Utah-Arizona state line ending at the Colorado River and Lee's Ferry. After the Grand Canyon, Zion Narrows and the Escalante River system, this river basin has more visitors than any other canyon drainage on the Colorado Plateau. If you like narrow canyons, including the single best slot canyon in the world (the Buckskin Gulch), this is the place for you. You can take day-hikes in some of the shorter tributaries, or go on a week-long marathon walk in the lower end of the Paria Canyon. The northern half of the area covered by this book is now included in the western part of the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.