The 112,500-acre Paria Canyon-Vermilion Cliffs Wilderness is located approximately 10 miles west of Page, Arizona in Coconino County, Arizona, and Kane County, Utah.

Paria Canyon is renowned for its beauty and is known for its towering walls streaked with desert varnish, the massive red rock amphitheaters, sandstone arches, and terraces with wooded gardens. Vermilion Cliffs, a 3,000-foot escarpment dominated by thick Navajo sandstone walls, steep slopes littered with boulders, rugged arroyos, and a stark appearance, dominates the rest of the wilderness. Slot canyon hiking is one of the best things to do on the Colorado Plateau.

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You can also go hiking, take photos, and enjoy solitude in the wilderness. The scenic Coyote Buttes area is situated in the northwest part of the wilderness and features domes, aprons, fins, corridors, and picturesque sandstone sculptures carved from swirling cross-bedded color sandstone. As light and weather change, the rock formations within the wilderness exhibit a wide variety of colors and textures. There’s something amazing and wonderland-like about this colorful sandstone area.

An Oasis of Color

This colorful Wilderness snakes through northern Arizona pass along the magnificent Vermilion Cliffs to the northeast, and then passes along the not-to-be-missed Paria Canyon to the northwest, leading to Utah, where much less area is protected. Canyon backpacking in Paradise Canyon is considered one of the best in the world. There are soaring walls covered in desert varnish and narrow canyons that reduce the sky to a faded ribbon of blue. There are impressive red-rock amphitheaters here, as well as sandstone arches, intricate sculptures carved by erosion, woodland terraces, and forests cloaked in ferns and orchids. In addition to mountain lions, bighorn sheep, porcupines, beavers, rattlesnakes, red-spotted frogs, golden and bald eagles, violet-green swallows, and great blue herons, the area is home to a variety of wildlife. Visitors to this region are attracted to its raw beauty and return time and again. As the Navajo Sandstone face, boulder-bound slopes, and rugged arroyos of the Wilderness tower above the canyon, the massive and multicolored Vermilion Cliffs rise as much as 3,000 feet. There are elevations ranging from 3,100 to 7,100 feet within the Wilderness.

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Backpacking Paria Canyon

Some backpackers choose the more difficult Buckskin Gulch route to enter the main canyon from the Utah end of the Wilderness. White House is located about seven miles from this canyon, which is about 12 miles long. It is three feet wide at some points. Before entering Paria Canyon, climbers must descend a 30-foot rock wall. During flash floods, Buckskin may be hit by 20-foot walls of water. In order to travel safely in Buckskin, an accurate weather forecast is essential. Spring and fall are the best times to visit. However, hiking can often be done in the winter as well. It can be extremely difficult to hike in the summer due to the high temperatures. In some areas, there is also no water available. Summer temperatures range from 60 to 100 degrees Fahrenheit, while winter temperatures range from 20 to 45 degrees. Annual precipitation is only a few inches.

Paria Canyon requires a permit for overnight trips. Periodic and seasonal flooding of the Paria River is common. At Lees Ferry, Arizona, the US Geological Survey collects streamflow data from the Paria River.

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