GRAND CANYON NATIONAL PARK — The National Park Service is accepting applications for private river trips through the Grand Canyon.
The Park Service will award 449 permits for 12- to 25-day noncommercial trips on the Colorado River. The permits are for specific launch dates in 2013.
Additional draws will be held for the self-guided trips that are canceled or left over after the Feb. 22 application deadline.
The main applicant must be 18 years or older, and at least one person on the trip must be experienced in whitewater rafting.
Those who are drawn can participate in only one commercial or private river trip per year.
The lottery system replaced a waiting list in 2006.
