Photo: Elliot Ross

Permits for noncommercial rafting trips in the Grand Canyon are competitive and pulled through a weighted lottery system run by the National Park Service. Many people apply each year; it may take multiple years of applications to receive a permit.

Among the requirements listed by the National Park Service, below are some important and frequently asked questions we encounter:

Age: You must be at least 18 years old and not already a member of other noncommercial or commercial trips launching within the applied for year.

Single Application: No one may be listed on more than one lottery application.

Noncommercial: Noncommercial (aka “private”) trips must be self-guided and may not hire guides.

Experience: The Colorado River through Grand Canyon is a highly technical river, not something for the inexperienced to try. At least one member of each trip must have the experience and skills required by the National Park Service.

Applying through the weighted lottery costs a nonrefundable $25 per launch year, and those who win a launch date must immediately pay a nonrefundable deposit of $400 for standard size trips and $200 for small size trip. The deposit applies toward final permit fees. Final permit fees are currently $100 per person and are due 90 days before launch.

Lottery applications are accepted at the Park Service’s website for the first three weeks of February each year. Lottery results are emailed to applicants as well as available online by the end of February. Afterwards, follow-up lotteries are then held as needed to reassign cancelled and/or left-over river trips.

Once awarded through the weighted lottery, noncommercial trip launch dates may not be changed, deferred, or traded.

A Potential Alternate Trip Leader (PATL) is a person who would be capable and willing to take over river trip responsibilities if the trip leader is unable to go. If the original trip leader becomes unable to go on the river trip and there are no PATLs on the application, the trip will be cancelled. PATLs can only be added to a river trip by the trip leader when they are submitting a lottery application. PATLs cannot be added to a trip after a launch date has been won—NO EXCEPTIONS.

Maximum allowable Non-motorized, non-commercial trip lengths from Lees Ferry to 
Diamond Creek:

• 16 days (15 nights) May 1 – August 31
• 18 days (17 nights) September 1-15
• 21 days (20 nights) September 16 – October 31
• 25 days (24 nights) November 1 – February 29
• 21 days (20 nights) March 1 – April 30

Maximum allowable trip lengths below Diamond Creek in May through September are 4 days (3 nights) to travel from Diamond Creek to Pearce Ferry.

If you don’t get a permit with the main lottery, don’t give up hope yet! You may have a chance through the Follow-Up Lotteries, held if there are any any trip cancellations or rescheduling.

Keep tabs on the Follow-Up Lotteries at NPS’s “Available Noncommercial River Launch Dates” page throughout the year.

For up-to-date information, visit the Grand Canyon NPS River Trips and Permits page

NPS River and Weighted Lottery Frequently Asked Questions (PDF)

National Park Service Grand Canyon River Permits Office
Call (Mon-Fri): 928-638-7843 or 800-959-9164

Photo: “Havasu” by David Marx