Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument covers 1,048,321 acres of the Arizona Strip, the country between the Grand Canyon and the Utah line. The National Park Service and the Bureau of Land Management manage it together. NPS describes it as one of the most remote areas within the 48 contiguous states, and the BLM calls it a challenge to reach and to travel through. No town lies inside it. Every road into it is dirt.
Most routes to Tuweep, the corner of Grand Canyon National Park that holds Toroweap Overlook, cross the monument. The two places run under different rules. Parashant asks for no permit and no fee. Tuweep requires a permit bought in advance and allows no vehicle longer than 22 feet in total. This guide sets out what each agency publishes about roads, tires, camping and permits. Neither posts live road conditions for the Strip, so the phone numbers at the end matter.
Why go
Parashant was proclaimed in 2000 and is managed jointly: 812,581 acres by the BLM and 208,449 by the National Park Service. NPS says it is larger than the state of Rhode Island. It rises from 1,400 feet near Grand Wash Bay to over 8,000 feet on Mt. Trumbull, which means Mojave Desert and Joshua trees at the bottom, pinyon and juniper in the middle, and ponderosa pine on top.
What draws a driver is the emptiness and the rims. Twin Point, Kelly Point, Whitmore Canyon Overlook and Mt. Logan look into the western Grand Canyon from places few people reach. Between them are the Grand Gulch copper mine, the Tassi Ranch ruin, the springs at Pakoon and the petroglyphs at Nampaweap. The monument is also an International Night Sky Province, and NPS calls its night skies some of the darkest in the continental United States.
The brochure is clear about the cost of that. No towns or communities lie within the boundaries, the nearest towns are all more than an hour’s drive from the edge, and travel anywhere but the outermost fringe means slow driving over rough terrain.
Source 1
When to go
Season here is a matter of elevation. NPS says that from December through March rain and snow make roads above 4,000 feet mostly impassable, and it names Mt. Trumbull, Mt. Logan, Mt. Dellenbaugh and Twin Point. Such roads may be passable to high clearance 4x4s only when frozen, at night or in the early morning. Once the ice melts, vehicles get stuck or slide off, and on seldom traveled roads a stranded driver may not see another vehicle for days. For winter, rangers recommend the low desert in the west of the monument, around Pakoon Springs.
Summer reverses the advice. The NPS scenic drives page calls the Pakoon Basin a drive for October through April and does not recommend it in summer, when temperatures often exceed 110 degrees Fahrenheit. During the monsoon, June through September, the travel safety page says to travel in the morning, because storms usually arrive after 1 pm. Its plainest line covers every season: do not go if it looks bad or rain is forecast.
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The roads, and the vehicle NPS says each one takes
NPS says most roads in the monument should be explored, at a minimum, in a high clearance vehicle with all-terrain tires in good condition. Four-wheel drive is often needed in sand and loose rock, or if it rains. Some roads need what it calls very high clearance, a class that includes UTVs and 4x4s with suspension lifts and taller tires. A few are so rough or so tight that only UTVs can travel them. Its road guide rates each road by number.
Scenic drives as NPS rates them
- 01Mt. Trumbull Scenic Loop: the most popular drive, usually appropriate for any high clearance four-wheel-drive vehicle. It runs from St. George to Mt. Trumbull and Toroweap and ends at Pipe Spring National Monument.
- 02Twin Point: usually fine for any high clearance 4x4, though long bed crew cab pickups will struggle on tight turns near the point.
- 03Grand Gulch Mine: reachable by all high clearance 4x4s most of the year, unless Upper Pigeon Canyon has flooded.
- 04Whitmore Canyon Overlook: most high clearance 4x4s can make it from the Mt. Trumbull Schoolhouse, over miles of sharp lava. Bedrock steps stop some stock vehicles on the way to Whitmore Point.
- 05Tweeds Point: most high clearance 4x4s, except crew cab long bed pickups.
- 06Kelly Point and Copper Mountain Mine: very high clearance 4x4s and UTVs only. NPS says the Kelly Point road is gated and closed to motor vehicles from December through early March.
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Tires, spares and what your vehicle needs
Tires are the subject NPS returns to most. Its safety page says 10 ply tires, load range E, are the strongest, that lower load ranges are more susceptible to puncture and sidewall tearing on the rocky roads, and that two spare tires, not just one, are recommended. The BLM says the same: bring extra gasoline and at least two spare tires. NPS explains why. Most rescues involve vehicles with multiple flats where rocks tore up tires rated only for street use, and it has seen many double flats where a driver ripped a front and then a rear sidewall on the same rock.
It adds details worth knowing. Road sections with a clay base are impassable when wet, and mud-terrain tires do not help, because the clay packs into the tread. Rental 4x4s often come on street tires. Many drivers lower their pressures to well under 40 psi on rough roads and air up again at the pavement. Cars, minivans, crossover SUVs and RVs are not prohibited, but NPS calls them the wrong vehicles. A tow out of the monument, by its account, runs to four figures.
What NPS recommends you carry
- 01A return plan left with someone at home, with the monument’s phone numbers
- 02A shovel, and a jack with a base that works on rock or sand
- 03An all-terrain spare, and a second spare or a patch kit and compressor
- 04Extra food, water and medication to last several days
- 05Clothing for hot and cold weather
- 06A satellite phone or satellite messenger, because cell phones do not work here
Do not skipNPS: “You are responsible for your own safety and you must be able to self-rescue.” It says that, though very rarely, people have died here, that some roads see only a few drivers a month, and that an emergency response can take most of a day.
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Tuweep and Toroweap Overlook: the permit and the 22-foot limit
Tuweep is Grand Canyon National Park, not the monument, and its rules are stricter. NPS requires an advance permit, either a day permit or a backcountry permit, plus a park pass, photo ID and a highway license plate. None of it is available on site. All of it must be bought before the trip, through the recreation.gov links on the NPS Tuweep page.
Groups may travel with no more than 4 vehicles and 11 people. The maximum total length, end to end, is 22 feet. Driving muddy roads is prohibited. NPS tells drivers to stay under 30 mph and reduce tire pressure to avoid flats. The day use gate is open from sunrise to 30 minutes past sunset, and NPS asks day visitors to arrive an hour before sunset.
Three routes reach Tuweep, and NPS allows 3 or more hours one way on dirt for each. The Sunshine Route leaves AZ 389 8 miles west of Fredonia and runs 61 miles over sharp rocks, washboard and dust. NPS asks drivers not to stop on tribal land. The Clayhole Route leaves Colorado City, runs 56 miles, and is impassable when wet. The Main Street Route from St. George is 90 miles, and NPS describes it as impassable in winter because of snow and mud.
Tuweep Campground has nine sites for one to six people and two vehicles each, and one group site. A backcountry permit must be obtained online at least 5 days ahead and cannot be issued at Tuweep. There are picnic tables and composting toilets but no water, fires and charcoal are prohibited, and the stay limit is seven nights. Camping is prohibited on the land next to the park and at the airstrip.
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Camping in the monument
Parashant has no designated campsites, and the BLM says general visitor activities need no permit or fee. The NPS camping page publishes no stay limit. It asks instead that you move camp every two to three days, or before signs of your presence become noticeable.
Choose a durable surface such as gravel, away from any wash or drainage, and off the cryptobiotic soil crusts. The safety page puts it more sharply: never park or camp in a dry wash, because a flash flood can take many hours after a storm to reach you.
Stoves are strongly recommended. If you do have a fire, know the fire restrictions before you leave, use an existing ring, and burn wood no thicker than about 2 inches so it burns to ash. Wash at least 100 feet from water. Go at least 200 feet from any water source for a toilet, dig a hole 6 to 8 inches deep, and pack out paper. Some roads cross private land: stay on the road and leave gates as you find them.
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Fuel, water, services and who to call
The BLM’s page is short on this point: there are no services on site, no first aid station, and the nearest food, supplies and hospital are in St. George, Utah. General visitor activities need no permit or fee. The monument lies 30 miles southwest of St. George, reached by River Road to the state line and then BLM Road 1069.
On the Mt. Trumbull loop NPS counts about 150 miles of unpaved road, with no gas or services after St. George until you reach AZ 389 at the Kaibab Reservation or Colorado City. Start with a full tank and confirm fuel at the far end before you depend on it. At Tuweep there is no water, gas, food, lodging, Wi-Fi or cell service.
NPS says more than 6,000 miles of unpaved road cross the Arizona Strip and that navigation systems may not show which are open, so buy the BLM Arizona Strip Visitor Map. Both agencies point to one desk: the interagency Public Lands Information Center at 4001 East Aviator Drive in St. George, 435-688-3200, answered Monday to Friday from 8 am to 4:30 pm. The 24-hour emergency line, at Lake Mead dispatch, is 702-293-8998.
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Questions people ask
Do I need a permit to visit Grand Canyon-Parashant?
Not for the monument. The BLM says general visitor activities do not require any permits or fees, and NPS says camping needs no fee or reservation. Tuweep, inside Grand Canyon National Park, is different and requires a permit bought in advance.
What do I need to drive to Toroweap Overlook?
NPS requires an advance day permit or backcountry permit, a park pass, photo ID and a highway license plate, none of which can be bought on site. Groups are limited to 4 vehicles and 11 people, and a vehicle may be no longer than 22 feet in total.
What tires does the Park Service recommend?
All-terrain tires in good condition at a minimum. NPS says load range E, or 10 ply, tires are the strongest and recommends two spare tires, not one. It warns that mud-terrain tires do not help in the Arizona Strip’s clay.
Can I camp at Toroweap?
Only at Tuweep Campground with a backcountry permit obtained online at least 5 days ahead. NPS says permits cannot be issued at Tuweep, there is no water, fires and charcoal are prohibited, and the limit is seven nights.
Is there fuel or phone signal in the monument?
No. NPS says there are no developed facilities, stores, ranger stations or paved roads, and that only satellite phones and messengers work. The BLM says the nearest food and supplies are in St. George.
When are the roads hardest to travel?
NPS says roads above 4,000 feet are mostly impassable from December through March because of rain and snow, and that during the June to September monsoon storms usually arrive after 1 pm. It advises against going if rain is forecast.
Bureau of Land Management (BLM)
US Forest Service (USFS)
National Park Service (NPS)
US Fish and Wildlife (USFW)
Bureau of Reclamation (USBR)
Department Of Defense (DOD)
Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA)
Other Federal
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Alaska Native Lands (Patented or Interim Conveyed)
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Road
Primitive Road
Road
Primitive Road
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Roads open to all Vehicles, Yearlong
Roads open to all Vehicles, Seasonal
Roads open to highway legal vehicles only, Yearlong
Roads open to highway legal vehicles only, Seasonal
Special Designation, Yearlong
Special Designation, Seasonal
Trails open to all vehicles, Yearlong
Trails open to all vehicles, Seasonal
Trails open to vehicles 50" or less in width, Yearlong
Trails open to vehicles 50" or less in width, Seasonal
Trails open to motorcycles, Yearlong
Trails open to motorcycles, Seasonal
Special Designation, Seasonal
Trails Open to Wheeled Vehicles Only < 50" in Width, Yearlong
Trails Open to Wheeled Vehicles Only < 50" or Less in Width, Seasonal
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