Where was the ferry at Lee's Ferry

Remains of the historic Mormon Wagon Road (Honeymoon Trail) on a steep rocky ascent. flickr

Dangerous wagon road used a century ago to arrive at Lees Ferry, the only way to cross the Colorado River. flickr


In my many trips to Lee's Ferry, I had never focused on exactly where the ferry crossed the river. The present road ends in a parking lot and a boat ramp, mostly used by river outfitters to start trips down the Colorado River. The National Park Service brochure describes the location of the ferry as "just upstream from the Lees Ferry Launch Ramp." But the old pictures are not that helpful. One of the landmarks mentioned by many crossing the ferry was "Lee's Backbone," See the pictures above and below.

“Wagon Ruts at Lee’s Backbone” photo by Gary Ladd.

For most travelers on the trail to Arizona this was the worst stretch of road. I thought maybe if I looked at a lot of maps I could find a mention of the location of the ferry. Finally, in a technical publication of the USGS "Map Showing Quaternary Geology and Geomorphology of the Lees Ferry Area, Glen Canyon, Arizona By Richard Hereford, Kelly J. Burke, and Kathryn S. Thompson 200" I found a reference to the exact location of the ferry across the river. It is located a few hundred yards upstream from the boat launching ramp. In the aerial photos, the road shows clearly. Early photos confirm the location. Now I am interested in going back to Lee's Ferry, yet another time to take photos of the actual ferry location.