Visiting The Magnificent Marble Canyon In Arizona

Found inside the Vermilion Cliffs National Monument located in northern Coconino County, Arizona, Marble Canyon is one of our favorite spots we have visited on our travels.

It is located near Lee’s Ferry and the Navajo Bridge and you can reach it right off Hwy 89A. It is managed by the Bureau of Land Management and offers free boondocking.

Marble Canyon marks the western boundary of the Navajo Nation and became part of the Grand Canyon National Park in 1975. It marks the beginning of the Grand Canyon at its most western point.

People often launch from Lee’s Ferry entering the Colorado River for fishing and rafting trips that take them through Marble Canyon and then into the Grand Canyon.

The canyon got it’s name from American geologist John Wesley Powell, because the Kaibab Limestone and Coconino Sandstone that the canyon is composed of looked like polished marble. If you study the rock walls you can see hints of white, gray, pink, and purple hues.

It’s quite stunning!

Marble Canyon is the only home of the endangered Pediocactus bradyi cactus.

This rare species of cactus is commonly called Brady’s pincushion cactus, Brady’s hedgehog cactus, and Marble Canyon cactus as well. It has been listed as an endangered species since 1979. Because of it’s endangered status all vehicles and bicycles traveling in Marble Canyon must stay on existing roads.

The GPS coordinates I listed above mark the entrance road to the canyon. Please be sure to close the gate after you drive through. You will continue straight on the road, but be warned 4WD is highly recommended. There are some sections of this road after you come to the fork that are rough.

I mean really rough.

I won’t lie, we took our truck and pop-up through it, but that was probably a mistake. It was really slow going and not a pleasant ride at all. We saw a couple others pull smaller rigs through this section of road, but truthfully I wouldn’t do it. The road to the right of the fork is much smoother and has camping as well.

That being said if you have 4WD there are epic boondocking opportunities awaiting you right on the edge of the canyon when you travel down this road. Though we didn’t camp this way we did take are truck back there multiple times to hike and explore. We spent hours sitting on the edge of the canyon watching the Colorado River flow below us.

We saw rafters multiple times during these hours and were green with envy. There have been so many places we have visited with epic kayaking opportunities, but we never have a second group to make it possible. I know we could pay someone to drop us off or pick us up at one end of the trip, but we cheap.

We really need to find some people to caravan with for a summer to make these trips a reality.

The area here is vast and there is a ton to explore. We did a lot of walking around as well and had a great time. The sunsets and sunrises are spectacular here and I mean the whole place is just incredibly beautiful. If you haven’t picked up on it yet we fell in love with this place.

All of Vermilion Cliffs National Monument is amazing and there’s a lot to see. If you happen to be traveling near the area and can spend a night or two I would. If you only have time to see a couple things at least take the scenic drive and stop by Marble Canyon. You won’t be disappointed.

I’ll be making a boondocking review on this area in a couple days and add the link to this post.