Day Three – This will be a day exploring a spectacularly rugged area called Marble Canyon that most tourists just pass by on their way to the Grand Canyon or Lake Powell. Marble Canyon is rich in history and is a phantasmagorical land of polished Redrock and wondrous nature, bordering the Colorado River. And you are going to see it ALL!
How to Get There
Drive SH 67 to Jacob Lake and witness the extensive damage from
the 2006 Warm Fire that turned the old growth Ponderosa Pine
forest into an emerging aspen forest. (45 miles)
Best Lodging
Marble Canyon Lodge ($90)
Camping
Lees Ferry Campground – 55 developed sites – no hookups
$16 per night / per site
Best Places To Eat
Breakfast at the Kaibab Lodge or the Jacob Lake Inn (check out
their cookies!)
Cliff Dwellers in Marble Canyon (Lunch)
Marble Canyon Lodge (Dinner – Navajo Taco!)
Best Things To Do
Check out the Jacob Lake Visitor Center operated by the U.S.
Forest Service and learn about this incredible national forest that surrounds the Grand Canyon.
Jacob Lake sits at the junction of U.S. Route 89A and SR 67. It was named after the Mormon explorer Jacob Hamblin, and is known as the “Gateway to the Grand Canyon”. Jacob Lake is really nothing more than the Forest Service Visor Center, a several private campgrounds, a horse and ORV outfitter, and the Jacob Lake Inn which features motel rooms and cabins, a restaurant, a very good gift shop with genuine Native American jewelry, bakery, a general store, and a gas station/garage.
How to Get There?
Take Highway 89A east to Marble Canyon. (40 miles)
Best Things To Do
Stop at the Marble Canyon Overlook.
When you stand at the amazing overlook, looking out over a vast expanse of red rock, the view is a little overwhelming. The canyon to your right is the inner gorge of the Colorado River. Page and Lake Powell are straight ahead beyond the red cliffs on the end of the horizon. Lee’s Ferry is nestled at the base of those same cliffs. The highway looks as straight as a Roman road. And the Vermilion Cliffs run along the left side of Highway 89. Marble Canyon is the northern edge of Navajo Land. There is no marble in Marble Canyon. It was named by explorer John Wesley Powell during his expedition down the Colorado River in 1869. Powell said he thought the polished limestone looked like Marble, so he called it like he saw it. Marble Canyon was also was the scene of a monumental environmental fight over the construction of yet another high dam along the Colorado River. The idea was eventually abandoned in 1968. Otherwise, everything you are looking at would have been several hundred feet under water.
Vermilion Cliffs – This 280,000-acre redrock monument encompasses the Paria Plateau, Vermilion Cliffs, Coyote Buttes, and Paria Canyon and ranges in elevation from 3,000 to 7,000 feet.
House Rock Valley
At the bottom of the Kaibab Mountain you will go a short distance until you come to an old ranch house complex on the left that looks abandoned. Turn left onto House Rock Road (wide dirt road safe for passenger cars and RV’s in all weather) and go several miles to the Condor Research Station where you might be able to spot some extremely rare giant condors in their Paria Plateau nests. (8 miles RT)
Cliff Dwellers – “Captivated by the Vermilion Cliffs and endless blue skies, it’s no wonder settlers chose to homestead in such a wild environment. The Arizona Strip, with its isolation and solitude, offered a unique way of life for travelers seeking the mythological freedom of the American West.
Before Cliff Dwellers was a vacation destination, travelers came because it was the only place where the Colorado could be crossed for hundreds of miles on either side.
This was no exception for Blanche and Bill Russell, the original homesteaders at Cliff Dwellers. They established a small trading post here in 1920 after crossing the Colorado, and their original home still stands at the end of the property. The pair established camp next to Soap Creek where they constructed the unique rock house for which the community received its name. The cowboys who drove cattle on the AZ Strip called the Russell homestead ‘Cliff Dwellers’ because of its proximity to the Vermilion Cliffs.
The next proprietor of Cliff Dwellers expanded their financial repertoire by starting one of the first river guide operations on the Colorado River. Beginning in 1943, Art Greene Senior and his family started one of the first river guide operations on the Colorado River. Beginning in 1943, Art Greene Senior and his family ran trips from Lees Ferry upriver to Navajo Bridge. The early river operations were primitive at best with Art Greene running the 60 mile trip in a 450 horse power everglades fan boat. His boat burned 30 gallons per hour, and it took him three days to reach the natural bridge. He took every other trip up river solely to stash fuel reserves. The Greene family continued to manage the trading post at the rock house until they expanded their operation and built the original lodge at Cliff Dwellers. The lodge continues to provide food and a place to stay for intrepid travelers heading to the Kaibab Plateau, and our guided fishing trips take adventure-seekers into the same spectacular reaches of the Colorado in which Art Greene ran his guide operation.”
– Cliff Dwellers Brochure
How to Get There
Drive Highway 89 toward Page and follow the signs to Lee’s Ferry
on your left (30 miles).
Save Money!
- Annual Pass – Don’t forget to use the Annual Pass you purchased at Zion. This will get you into the park for free. This is your third National Park.
Insider Tip!
- Remember that you are now in the high desert where the temperatures can reach 100 degrees, so make sure you carry and drink lots of water. If you get overheated, the quickest and best way to cool down is to get into water as quickly as you can. If there is no water, then find some shade, put water on your bandanna, and place it on the back of you neck and on your head. You need to keep your head cool!
Best Hikes
Cathedral Wash – After turning off Highway 89A onto the Lee’s Ferry Road, you go 1.3 miles. The trailhead is located in a pullout on the left with an interpretive geologic sign. Park, cross the road, and enter the drainage. This is a moderately technical hike that first begins with a flat walk in the bottom of the open canyon, but as the walls close in you will come to numerous boulder drops that will require you to navigate the route down along the sides of the canyon (look for muddy footprints on the side walls for the right route), traversing ledges, climbing down through boulders, and trying to avoid mud holes. The hike ends at the Colorado River where you can clean off and even go swimming if you can handle very cold water. (2.5 miles RT – 3 hours)
* If the weather is wet (or has been wet recently) you should avoid this canyon because of the narrows, mud holes, and slippery slopes.
River Trail – This rocky trail runs upstream from the boat beach along the Colorado River. Mostly flat natural surface. There is no end point, so you can go as far as you like, keeping in mind that you have to walk back and it is usually very hot. (4 miles RT)
Lonely Dell Historic Park – See how the infamous John D. Lee and his many wives and children lived in the 1800s. (1 mile RT)
Lee
’s Ferry
Lee’s Ferry is one of only two places along the Colorado River where Indians and Anglos could get across the river for hundreds of miles, steep cliffs line the river, making it impossible to find a safe crossing. In the 1860s, Mormon pioneer Jacob Hamblin and his men built a raft at the mouth of the Paria and made the first successful crossing at the point on the Colorado that would become Lee’s Ferry. The Mormons were having trouble with Navajo raiding parties so they erected a small stone building and corral and named “Fort Meeks” in 1869. This outpost served as the Mormon’s only line of defense against Indian attacks upon the small settlement at “Pahreah Crossing” (Lees Ferry). During this period in American history, as the Civil War was raging in the eastern and southern part of the United States, the Pahreah Crossing served as the only way for Mormons to cross the Colorado on their way to the Temple in St. George, which at the time was the only place where Mormon couples could be married west of the Mississippi River. Remnants of the historic Lee Homestead and subsequent mining operations litter the landscape around Lee’s Ferry, offering tantalizing glimpses into frontier life in one of the Southwest’s most isolated regions.
Boatmen’s Beach – At the end of the park road you will come to the Colorado River boat beach where you can check out the many different rafts and wooden dories leaving for their 7-21 day float trips through the Grand Canyon.
Best Lodging
Marble Canyon Lodge – “The historical building housing a restaurant and store at Marble Canyon Lodge, burned to the ground in the early hours of June 19, 2013. The building dates to 1926 and was part of a string of trading posts operated by John Lorenzo Hubbell. It was a family business for many years and is essentially a landmark of the area. The lodge is on U.S. 89A about 125 miles north of Flagstaff. The property consists of the historical structure plus newer motel units. An adjacent building has a gas station, post office and convenience store. Only the original building burned. No injuries were reported. The lodge is just across the river from the Navajo Reservation and employs a number of tribal members.
We offer 60 rooms and 8 suites, as well as apartments for up to 6 people. Rooms are available with one king bed or two double beds, and we also offer nonsmoking rooms and wheelchair accessible rooms. Guests also enjoy free parking and space for buses, RVs and trucks.”
– Marble Canyon Brochure
Camping
There is a very nice campground run by the National Park Service at Lee’s Ferry. It offers 54 designated sites that sit atop an exposed mesa with unforgettable views of the Colorado River and surrounding canyons. There are no hookups. There are goofy metal picnic tables with sun shades because it definitely can get very hot between June and August. There are grills, but open fires are prohibited. There are modern bathrooms, potable water, and RV dump station.
Insider Tip!
- Lee’s Ferry is one of the best places on earth to snag a rainbow trout. Fishing equipment and guide services can be found at the nearby Marble Canyon Lodge. You will need to buy an Arizona fishing license at the Marble Canyon Lodge.
- There are dirt roads along the left side of Highway 89 between Cliff Dwellers and Marble Canyon Lodge that will lead you to very primitive camping areas on BLM land (you just stop and camp along the sandy dirt path). The right side of the highway is managed by the National Park Service and they discourage camping except in designated camping areas. There is a dirt path that will require opening and closing the gate, just past the Dominguez-Escalante interpretive sign. This is very primitive camping. Remember to close the gate, both coming and going!
