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| PARIA RIVER |
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| PARIA RIVER |
The Paria River hike is a peaceful stroll along and through the Paria River as it meanders back and forth between red rock canyon walls. The trail begins at the White House Campground and Trailhead, which is accessed via a 2 mile dirt road coming south off of Highway 89. The road was well maintained and was easily accessible to low clearance vehicles. The White House Campground is a great place to stay while visiting the area. The cost was only $5 when I stayed there in April of 2008. There were a few tables and fireplaces scattered around the area, but no officially designated spaces, so you were allowed to set your tent down anywhere you could find room. There was a restroom, but no running water. However water is available at the Paria Contact Station 2 miles to the north.
Many people backpack the Paria River to the confluence with Buckskin Gulch, and then hike Buckskin Gulch to Wire Pass or vice versa. This does require dropping one car off at the ending destination before starting. This would make a great hike, though I did not come down prepared for backpacking, so I just walked down the Paria River about three miles and back in the evening. It was a very pleasant walk. You do need to wade through the river at various points when it passes along cliff walls, but it is very shallow, and never came above my knees. It actually felt really nice wading through the water after spending the past few days hiking around in the desert.
I returned again to Paria in January of 2021, hoping to hike all the way to its confluence with Buckskin Gulch. However, I didn't quite come dressed warm enough to handle the prolonged walking in ice cold water, and turned around about a mile or two before the confluence. I had on some neoprene socks and a 45 degree wetsuit, which were fine for the first couple miles of shallow river crossings and intermittent wading, but once the the canyon narrowed and the water became deeper, without any dry ground to recover on, my legs became too cold to continue. The river was still covered in a lot of ice that you had to break through in many parts. While disappointed in not making it to the coolest parts of the canyon, it was still a beautiful stroll through some amazing scenery. Going in January, I also had the whole place to myself.
