Grand Canyon National Park opens self-guided river trip lottery

PHOENIX – Grand Canyon National Park has begun accepting applications for 2024 self-guided river raft trip permits on the Colorado River.

The park said 459 permits are available for assigned trips anywhere from 12 to 25 days long. The weighted lottery for those eligible started Wednesday and ends Feb. 21 at noon Arizona time, the park said in a press release.

2024 Main lottery open Feb-1-2023 through noon (MST) Feb-21-2023, standard and small size trips available, https://t.co/G7fdjS6Lfs -gg

— Grand Canyon River (@GCRiverPermits) February 1, 2023

Rafters who apply for a permit must be at least 18 years old and already skilled enough to handle technical whitewater rapids. They are limited to one recreational trip per year – self-guided or commercial – the park said.

Follow-up lotteries are held during the rest of the year if needed. That is when canceled or unassigned launch dates are reassigned. Public notices about the events are going to be made via email or social media.

Rafter accounts on the weighted lottery website are accessible all year but lottery applications are only accepted during the February window.

Anyone who prefers to take a professionally-guided river trip shouldn’t go through the lottery, the park said, but instead find a commercial company.

More details about the main lottery are available by contacting the River Permits Office at 1-800-959-9164, 1-928-638-7843 or grca_riv@nps.gov.

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