Paria Canyon-Vermilion Cliffs Wilderness

The Paria Canyon-Vermilion Cliffs Wilderness was set aside in 1984, 112,000 acres of the desert Southwest left deliberately raw. There are no trails, no signs, no campsites, no facilities inside its boundary. Backpackers spend three to six days working down Paria Canyon from trailheads like Wire Pass, which also opens onto the sculpted sandstone of Coyote Buttes. Permits are required and conditions shift with the weather. It is country meant to be entered on its own terms, by people who can navigate primitive backcountry without a marked path.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Antelope Canyon — 12 mi
  Tsé bighánílíní — where the water runs through the rock

More markers nearby

• Lonely Dell Ranch — steps away
• 1872 Founding Family — steps away
• 1925 Polygamist Cabin — steps away
• Lees Ferry Fort — 0.5 mi