Grand Canyon Takeout: Diamond Creek or Pearce Ferry?

As an utter newcomer to running Grand Canyon in spring 2021, I didn’t really understand the implications of the two common take-out options: Diamond Creek or Pearce Ferry at Lake Mead. Now, as a veteran of one trip that took out at Pearce, I have some fresh observations about these take-out options. Every river party has their own dynamics, timelines, and various preferences, but these firsthand tips might come in handy for sorting through the take-outs for a private Grand Canyon river trip.

Grand Canyon Takeout Options: Diamond Creek, Pearce Ferry, and South Cove

First, the basics: Grand Canyon trips start at Lee’s Ferry (mile 0), and the first take-out opportunity (with road access so you can get your gear out) is at Diamond Creek at river mile 226. The next available takeouts are at Lake Mead: Pearce Ferry and South Cove. The River Runners for Wilderness web site has an excellent compilation of all the permit requirements, facilities, and logistics details for the three Grand Canyon take-out options. But in a nutshell, the Diamond Creek takeout is on Hualapai Nation Land, and the Hualapai have guidelines for put-in and take-out times, as well as access fees. The two Lake Mead takeouts are about 70 miles downstream of Diamond Creek. Because years of drought have left the original Pearce Ferry take-out on dry land, a new road and access ramp was built and has been in use since 2010. The new Pearce Ferry ramp also gives boaters a safer take-out than South Cove, which now requires navigating the dangerous Pearce Ferry rapid, a new feature that developed as the river level dropped and the river current re-emerged.

*It’s over: Pearce Ferry takeout at Lake Mead at the end of a Grand Canyon river trip*

So, given this brief sketch of the situation (again, check the excellent RRFW site for details), here are some points to ponder on taking out at Diamond or Pearce.

1. Actual trip length and perception of trip length

It’s obvious that taking out at Pearce Ferry rather than Diamond Creek makes for a longer trip in river miles. Some groups will dismiss the lower takeout option because they simply don’t have the time. But depending on the time of year, you could run a slow trip and take out at Diamond, or a quick trip (long river days, few hikes) and take out at Pearce. What I found interesting was that time seemed to really slow down after Lava Falls, in good and bad ways. For our group, so much focus and adrenaline were devoted to successfully running Lava Falls that everything after seemed anti-climactic. But in fact, some singular sights and rapids lie below Diamond Creek. More wonders await. So if your group does decide to float past Diamond, make sure everyone’s on board with gearing up again—physically and mentally—for challenging rapids like Killer Fang.

2. Separation Canyon!

If any or all group members have read John Wesley Powell’s account of running Grand Canyon, Separation Canyon at mile 239.8 is a cornerstone place. (This is the spot where Powell’s companions decided they were finished and hiked out, never to be seen again.) For some, beholding this geological marvel is as sacred as any in the Canyon.

*Separation Canyon, looking upriver from the cenotaph marking the breaking of the JWP fellowship*

3. Excellent, challenging rapids—including Killer Fang—await below Diamond

But maybe that’s not what your group needs. If you have a lot of Grand Canyon newcomers, rowers whose abilities have been tested daily for the previous 220-plus miles, people who tire physically or mentally, or a group that you’re not sure is going to remain civil for those extra miles (which are going to be the most strange and difficult in some ways in the entire trip), you might want to skip it.

4. Jet boat and helicopter activity will increase as you go downriver

It’s not as if jet rigs and raft parties don’t coexist on all stretches of the river, of course. But after Diamond Creek, the motor traffic picks up as customers are jetted from Pearce Ferry upriver to Separation Canyon in the summer for day trips. Key consideration: These boats typically don’t slow down much for non-motorized traffic because doing so creates hazards for them in sandbar areas, so rafters and kayakers in particular should be alert for big wake. Helicopters are only allowed below Diamond Creek; expect to see several on each day that you go below Diamond.

5. Travertine Canyon at mile 229.3 is as stunning as any place in Grand Canyon

It was a bit chaotic when we stopped: The take-out spot—just below Travertine Rapid—is tight. We had seven rafts to park, the Hualapai had their own trips stopping there, plus there was a film crew working on a project. Four of our boats weren’t able to navigate the stop. Some of us made the downstream bail-out spot but then had to hike up and over the cliff to get back to Travertine. After scrambling up the ingenious rope-and-wood ladders to the grotto above, we encountered a Hualapai religious ceremony and we suspected the participants would rather have had the place to themselves. But Travertine is undoubtedly a must-stop place if you’re doing the Diamond-down section. It is uniquely beautiful.

6. The “night float” to Lake Mead can get weird

The current from Separation Canyon at mile 239.8 to Lake Mead is very slow, so to avoid rowing miles and miles in the blazing sun, boaters traditionally have formed flotillas and just let the river deliver them slowly and gently to Lake Mead. But recent experience is not the same as it was 20 years ago, when (as the stories go) river runners lashed their boats together at sunset and floated through the night. They partied, set off fireworks, slept, played guitars, and sang. Eventually they drifted out onto Lake Mead and a motor rig came to pick them up. That scenario is now a thing of the past with the river current returning after years of drought. You don’t gently bob down the river to Lake Mead: You pretty much scream along, or at least it seems that way when it’s dark. The canyon walls give way to towering silt cliffs (I imagine they’ll be sandstone cliffs in about a million years), vast sheets of which crash down into the river at random moments, sometimes creating sand waves. There is no real way to stop your rafts once they are a barge unless there is a camp and several alert passengers to hold ropes, and the fear of hitting Pearce Ferry Rapid at night is real. This night was without doubt one of the most surreal in my life, equal parts terror and awe. Hulking silt canyons racing past on either side of the river. Spectacular star show above.

*Silt cliffs between Separation Canyon and the Pearce Ferry takeout*

7. Camping conditions are unpredictable below Separation Canyon.

Because the water level is in flux after years of drought, the options for camping are constantly changing. Camps that previously were easy to pull into now require a hike up a steep ledge to reach. It’s risky to count on being able to find a spot that will accommodate a 16-person group. In the RiverMaps Guide to the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon, authors Tom Martin and Duwain Whitis have added a note on every page of this section: “Camps in this reach are affected by the water level in Lake Mead and conditions may vary greatly.” In our experience in May 2021, virtually no camps would have worked past the 242.6 camp.

8. Trade-off option is available

With some additional planning and a relaxed view toward employing a motor, you can enjoy the best parts of the post-Diamond experience and skip the worst parts. Avoiding a hot, arduous daytime row-out is a reasonable pursuit. But trying to float out during daylight hours doesn’t work as it would take too long. And, as previously discussed, the camping options are dicey. However, Ceiba Adventures, a Grand Canyon private trip outfitter, can bring you a motor, a transom to fit an 18-foot boat, fuel tanks, and other resupplies for the post-Diamond stretch. You can still float out during the day, making it to Pearce Ferry at dusk. You still get Travertine Falls, Separation Canyon, and Killer Fang rapid. But you can avoid the night float and undesirable camps.

Savoring every mile of Grand Canyon

You never know how many opportunities you’ll have to run the Canyon, so planning to take out at Pearce rather than Diamond Creek is worth serious consideration. But because of the monumental drought-induced changes in the river corridor in the last decade, my take-away is that judicious use of a motor below Separation would let you experience the wonders of a full Grand Canyon trip while skipping the unpleasant realities of a night float or lousy camps.