Glen Canyon National Recreation Area

Understand

Glen Canyon is a mind-bogglingly vast canyon in deep red rock country, which has been filled with North America's largest man made lake, Lake Powell. Surrounded by nothing but red slick rock, the crystal blue lake is strikingly out of place and looks like it belongs on Mars. Lake Powell would be totally deserted were it not for its popularity with house-boat owners, who sail around this dead and beautiful expanse. The desert surrounding the lake is mostly uninhabited except for grazing long horn steer, jackrabbits, and lizards.

History

Landscape

Flora and fauna

Climate

Visitor information

• Park website

Get in

Getting into Lake Powell pretty much requires a boat launched from a local marina, as the lake is surrounded by steep sandstone cliffs—that is, unless you are very ambitious.

Fees and permits

Entrance fees for a private vehicle are $15, while individuals (on foot, on bike, or on motorcycle) must pay a $7 entrance fees. All entrance fees are good for seven consecutive days. The Glen Canyon NRA Annual Pass is $30 and provides entrance for one year.

Get around

By guided tour or boat rental

A number of companies provide guided tours of Glen Canyon National Recreation Area and Lake Powell that include transportation from the surrounding areas. Some companies will provide bus travel from nearby towns while others begin in the Glen Canyon/Lake Powell Area. Some will provide just a brief tour with small stops, while others may take you on a hike, and arrange all your meals. Another option includes renting boats or houseboats at or near the lake and charting your own excursion. Because many companies provide rentals you can find a variety of boats and price levels.

• Invert Sports, +1-888-205-7119. Luxury vacation rentals and guided watercraft tours including; boats, jet skis, waverunners, houseboats, stand up paddle boards, wakeboards, water skis, water trampolines, other water toys, water sport lessons, and private tours. Servicing all marinas at Lake Powell: Wahweap marina, Antelope Point Marina, Bullfrog Marina, and Halls Crossing Marina.
• Hydros Adventures Tours, +1 928 310-8141. Offers one day and overnight hiking, rafting, backpacking, and adventure tours to Lake Powell/Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, the Grand Canyon, Northern Arizona, and Southern Utah. Pickups in Phoenix, Las Vegas, and the Grand Canyon area.
• Offshore Marina, +1 435 788-2142, provides rental powerboats and waverunners in the Lake Powell Bullfrog and Halls Crossing Marina area, while Aramark Corporation provides houseboat rentals at both Bullfrog Marina and Wahweap Marina.

Stay safe

Glen Canyon National Recreation Area has a severe desert climate and it is very dangerous to head out into this wild expanse without proper preparations and gallons of water. If you are the least bit unsure as to what constitutes "proper preparations," visit a National Park Service visitor center before heading into the backcountry.

If driving in the area, carry extra gas and plan your route to take into account the very long distances between gas stations. If driving on dirt roads, be aware of your limits (and your car's), and prepare for the possibility that either the road could wash out in the case of a storm, or that your car could break down dozens of miles from civilization, with no cell phone service, in the unforgiving desert climate.

As with most of Canyon Country, flash floods are a sporadic, but ever-present danger. Be sure to avoid parking in a wash and never head into a canyon before checking the current weather report—far-off rainstorms will flood canyons even if they are miles away from the downpour.

Go next

• Head northwest into Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, north to Capitol Reef National Park, or northeast to Canyonlands National Park.
• Head south to Monument Tribal Park and Navajo Nation.
• If you haven't already, visit Glen Canyon Dam