Lee's Ferry is not really a destination point, but rather it is a departure point. Fisherman fish the Colorado locally or launch their boats to fish up stream toward the Glen Canyon Dam. But more significantly, the boat launch ramp at Lee's Ferry is the put-in point for all river rafting trips through the Grand Canyon.

Summary

Details

The Historic area of Lee's Ferry is a "use fee" area and the campground also has a nightly fee. Parking is not permitted overnight except for the campground and the long-term lots for the boat trailers. Water and restrooms are available above the boat ramps.

Lee's Ferry is the trail head for Spencer's Trail, a strenuous, historic, 1 1/2 mile trail to the top of the the north side of the canyon. Spencer's Trail was posted (summer 2001) as a high risk because it is in poor condition - travel at your own risk signs were in evidence. Another trail, the Paria Canyon Wilderness Area trail, ends at nearby Lonely Dell Ranch. The Paria Canyon can be hiked in either direction but most adventurous trekkers follow the canyon down 38 miles from Utah to the Lonely Dell Ranch.

History

Lee's Ferry is a highly significant historical area in the history of Arizona and the Colorado River. Until the Navajo bridge was completed in the late 1920s, the ferry was the only passage across the mighty Colorado for many miles in both directions. In 1871, the Mormon church sent John D. Lee to establish a ferry across the Colorado in the area of now known as Lee's Ferry. The Lonely Dell Ranch at the mouth of the Paria Canyon is the original homesite for the Lee family. The ferry operated until 1928. A small fort was constructed in the area in 1874 and a post office was added in 1879, operating until 1923.

In the 1900s Charles Spencer came to search for gold in the formations above Lee's Ferry - his was a most energetic but doomed enterprise. Several pieces of equipment are scattered around from his efforts, and one, a paddlewheel boat's remains are sunk in shallow water near the the north bank. Only one of six bunkhouses built by Spencer remain, along with a storage building.

It is beyond the scope of this work to offer a more complete history of the area but suffice to say it has a very interesting history. At the time he was sent to establish the ferry, John Lee was a fugitive associated with the Mountain Meadow Massacre. He was later executed for his involvement. There a number of books on Lee.