Album: Lees Ferry at Glen Canyon National Recreation Area

Glen Canyon National Recreation Area

Lees Ferry, located near the confluence of the Colorado and Paria Rivers in Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, was one of the few points of crossing the Colorado in the 19th and early 20th centuries. The landscape was an important location for the transportation of people and goods, and it influenced the growth and settlement patterns of northern Arizona. The ferry site was first used by early explorers of the region. It then became associated with John D. Lee, an excommunicated member of the Church of Latter Day Saints. Lee and his families built cabins, dug irrigation ditches, and planted fields to survive in the harsh and isolated frontier. The ferry and ranching operations shifted with technological advances of the era. The Navajo Bridge, completed in 1929, provided an alternative crossing, and the importance of the ferry diminished. As tourism and recreational use of the river increased, Lees Ferry and the associated Lonely Dell Ranch gained new attention.