Grand Canyon National Park guide · 2 min read
Rafting the Colorado: One Day to Three Weeks
The gentlest way onto the Colorado River here involves no rapids at all. Calm floats lasting either a morning or afternoon or a whole day carry visitors from Glen Canyon Dam downstream to Lees Ferry.
Page, Arizona, is where these outings begin, roughly 140 miles by road from Grand Canyon Village, and any lodge in the park can set one up, including the ride to the dam. To book, stop by the Transportation Desks at Bright Angel, Maswik or Yavapai Lodge.
Whitewater begins at Lees Ferry, the launch point for trips through the canyon itself. The classic run ends 226 river miles downstream at Diamond Creek, and depending on the trip you choose, you could spend as few as three days or as long as three weeks on the water. On a motorized trip, plan on a week or more before you pull out at Diamond Creek. Half trips are another option, with rafters joining or leaving the river on foot by way of Phantom Ranch.
More than a dozen outfitters hold park authorization to guide rafters down the canyon. Their commercial trips last from three to eighteen days, and the craft you pick shapes the experience. You can ride a big motorized raft, sit back while a guide rows an oared raft, grab a paddle and pull your weight in a paddle raft, or travel by dory. Spots go quickly, so reserve far ahead.
Private groups can also run the river on their own with a noncommercial permit. For whitewater trips through Grand Canyon, these permits come through a weighted lottery, which replaced a wait list that once stretched 12 to 20 years. A shorter route puts in at Diamond Creek and ends on Lake Mead, a run that usually takes two to five days. Permits for that stretch are handed out first-come, first-served.
