We recently took a little day trip out to the Paria / Pahreah ghost town, which is located in Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument, near Kanab, Utah. There isn’t much left of the old ghost town, after repeated flooding of the Paria river over the years finally erased most traces of habitation there. All that remains today, is a small cemetery with about 20 graves – along with some historical markers that were placed by the Bureau of Land Management to tell the story of the town and its history.
The town of Paria or Pahreah (its original spelling) thrived for a while in the early 1860’s, after it was founded by Mormon pioneer Peter Shirts. Later, it was abandoned for a time during the Blackhawk War in the late 1860’s. Paria then began to grow again throughout the 1870’s, as settlers dug irrigation canals and diverted water from the Paria River to grow crops. The end of the town came sometime in the 1880’s, as several consecutive years of flooding finally forced most residents to leave.
Hollywood Discovers Paria
In the 1940’s, Hollywood discovered the unique looking ghost town and began to film several movies there over the next few decades. Buffalo Bill was filmed in 1943, followed by Sergeants 3 in 1961 and finally The Outlaw Josey Wales in 1976. Like the early day settlers, film crews battled with frequent flooding on the Paria river, and eventually they moved on to do their filming where such problems could be avoided. The old Pahreah movie set – which had been rebuilt by the Bureau of Land Management after more flooding in the 1990’s – was destroyed by a fire (suspected arson) in 2006.
If Nothing Remains – Why Visit The Paria Ghost Town?
You may ask: “Why go there if there’s nothing left of the ghost town?” The answer is to see the stunning natural beauty of the Paria river and canyons surrounding the site of the old ghost town of Pahreah. This area of Grand Staircase Escalante has some of the most colorful rock outcroppings – combined with peace and solitude found in few other places these days. The road is a bit rough and wash-boarded in places, which keeps the number of visitors lower, but if you don’t mind a few miles of bumpy, dusty road, then it’s well worth the drive.
At the visitors’ center in Kanab, a nice lady provided us with some maps of the area. “Be sure to let me know what colors you see.” she told us. Apparently the vibrant colors of the canyon walls appear in many different hues and shades, depending on what the weather and atmospheric conditions are on any given day. We were lucky – as seen in our drone footage of Paria ghost town – as we saw the full spectrum of red, brown, pink, yellow and purple hues in the rock, with even some green tones from copper-bearing formations.
Is It OK To Bring Your Dog To The Paria Ghost Town?
When we visited we brought along our 11 year old dog Stevie Ray, who is a Border collie – Australian shepherd mix. Temperatures were nearing 100 degrees, so he mostly stayed in the cool air-conditioned backseat of the truck as we drove around the site of the old ghost town. We took him down to the Paria river to walk in the water – but were careful not to let him drink any of it. Dogs are required to be on a leash at all times in the Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument. On very hot days you should avoid letting your dog walk on the hot desert earth, as this can cause severe burns on the pads of their feet.
4K Drone Video Of Paria Ghost Town
On our trip this summer we took some 4k GoPro and drone video, which we compiled in the segment below. Drone filming is currently allowed in this part of Grand Staircase Escalante, with pilots being required to follow all FAA altitude rules. This may be subject to change, so we suggest you check with the BLM office in Kanab for any new restrictions which may have been put in place since our visit.
We also enjoyed a hike to the nearby Toadstools hoodoos in Grand Staircase Escalante, which you can watch in the short video below. You can also read our article about hiking to the Toadstools.
