Campground Overview:
Lake Powell Shoreline Camping is available along the shores of Lake Powell in the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. Every year over 2 million people from around the globe will travel to Lake Powell. The Lake is the second largest man-made reservoir and has hundreds of miles of shoreline to explore. There is no camping fee or permit required to camp on the lake in undeveloped areas. However, entrance fees and vessel use fees apply. You can camp anywhere on the shorelines of Lake Powell except in developed marinas.
When planning a camping trip by boat or 4-wheel-drive road in Glen Canyon, it is best to buy a map beforehand. These show the side canyons, good hiking spots, points of interest and marinas, explain the navigation system, and may provide fishing information. In an emergency you will need to report your location on Marine Band 16 or call 911.
Important information:
All campsites are required to have a portable toilet unless toilets are available on the vessel or within 200 yards of the campsite. Regular water-quality checks are conducted to ensure compliance with sanitation laws. Pets are allowed on beaches as long as waste is cleaned up. Dispose of waste properly. Burying waste of any kind on the beach is prohibited. Waste may not be contained in a plastic bag unless it is an NPS-approved Waste Bag Containment System, which must be deposited in the trash.
When anchoring multiple houseboats on the same beach, park at least 100 feet apart to help reduce carbon monoxide buildup. It is not a good idea to tie powerboat or personal-watercraft lines to houseboat-anchor lines, as they can cause the anchor lines to come loose. Do not camp under overhanging rocks, as downpouring rain can sink a vessel. Campfires are only allowed below the high water line. Fires must be no more than 4 feet wide and 4 feet high. Fireworks are illegal.
Campground at a Glance
Level: |
Dispersed |
Season: |
Year-Round |
Nearby City: |
Page |
Fishing: |
Lake Powell |
Campground Website: |
Lake Powell Shoreline Camping- Glen Canyon National Recreation Area |
Campground Map: |
Area Map Overview/Glen Canyon National Recreation Area |
Reservations: |
First-come, first-served basis |
Location: |
Nearby Attractions and Activities:
Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, encompassing over 1.25 million acres, offers unparalleled opportunities for water-based & backcountry recreation. The recreation area stretches for hundreds of miles from Lees Ferry in Arizona to the Orange Cliffs of southern Utah, encompassing scenic vistas, geologic wonders, and a vast panorama of human history. The park offers opportunities for boating, fishing, swimming, backcountry hiking, and four-wheel drive trips. Outdoor activities are what Glen Canyon is all about. Whether you’re on your own or on a guided trip, there is something for everyone’s taste. Click here for the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area 2017 Visitor Guide and Foundation Brochure
This area of the United States is quite special because it includes access to millions of acres of recreational opportunities through numerous National parks, monuments, and public land. National park system units that share a border with Glen Canyon include: Grand Canyon National Park, Capitol Reef National Park, Canyonlands National Park, and Rainbow Bridge National Monument. Glen Canyon adjoins approximately 9.3 million acres of other federal lands administered by the Bureau of Land Management, including the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, Vermilion Cliffs National Monument, and the Paria Canyon-Vermilion Cliffs Wilderness.
Lake Powell the backbone of the Glen Canyon Recreation Area, is a reservoir on the Colorado River, straddling the border between Utah and Arizona. Most of Lake Powell, along with Rainbow Bridge National Monument, is located in Utah. It is a major vacation spot that around two million people visit every year. It is the second largest man-made reservoir by maximum water capacity in the United States behind Lake Mead, storing 24,322,000 acre feet of water when full.
Lake Powell was created by the flooding of Glen Canyon by the Glen Canyon Dam, which also led to the creation of Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, a popular summer destination. The reservoir is named for explorer John Wesley Powell, a one-armed American Civil War veteran who explored the river via three wooden boats in 1869. In 1972, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area was established. It is public land managed by the National Park Service, and available to the public for recreational purposes. It lies in parts of Garfield, Kane, and San Juan counties in southern Utah, and Coconino County in northern Arizona. T
Rainbow Bridge National Monument is one of the world’s largest known natural bridges. The span has undoubtedly inspired people throughout time–from the neighboring American Indian tribes who consider Rainbow Bridge sacred, to the 85,000 people from around the world who visit it each year. The Monument was established in 1910 to protect a large and exceptionally scenic natural bridge and its surrounding area. At 160 acres, the monument is bounded by Glen Canyon and the Navajo Nation lands. Rainbow Bridge is sacred to several American Indian tribes, including the Hopi Tribe, Kaibab Paiute Tribe, Navajo Nation, San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe, Pueblo of Zuni, and the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe (White Mesa Band). The stone arc of Rainbow Bridge is composed of Navajo sandstone on a base of Kayenta sandstone. Rainbow Bridge spans 275 feet, reaching a height of 290 feet above Bridge Creek and ranging from 33 to 42 feet thick.
Lees Ferry Historic Site is the only place within Glen Canyon where visitors can drive to the Colorado River in over 700 miles of canyon country, right up to the first rapid in the Grand Canyon. A natural corridor between Utah and Arizona, Lees Ferry figured prominently in the exploration and settlement of northern Arizona. Lees Ferry is now a meeting of the old and the new.
just upstream from the Lees Ferry launch ramp is the ferry crossing site and several historic buildings. Different ferryboats and pioneers, miners, Indians, and tourists crossed hre from 1872 until 1928. Of special interest is Charles H. Spencer’s attempt to extract gold from the clay hills here in 1910. Two of the stone buildings, a steam boiler, and the remains of a sunken paddlewheel steamboat remain from his efforts.
Lees Ferry is 42 miles from Page via Hwy 89 south and Hwy 89A west. It is 85 miles from the North Rim of the Grand Canyon via Hwy 89A and Hwy 67. The Lees Ferry Junction and Park Entrance is just west of Navajo Bridge Interpretive Center. A paved road leads 5 miles to the Ferry area. Services available at Lees Ferry include a National Park Service campground, dump station and public launch ramp. There is a gas station, store, and post office at Marble Canyon, next to the park entrance. More services are found west on Hwy 89A.
Lake Powell Tribal Park- Antelope Canyon located near Page, Arizona is home to one of nature’s most wondrous creations – the slot canyon. Carved from the red sandstone for millennia by rain and wind, the canyons are narrow passageways that lead several hundred feet away from the mouth. The gorgeous sloping angles of the rocks – coupled with the shifts of light that make their way down from the rim of the canyon – combine for a scene that cannot be fully explained with words. Only 8 to 12 feet wide along the sandy floor, the slot canyons have been featured in Hollywood films and magazine publications around the world. But none of those images can match the one you’ll experience when you step into the canyons and see this wonder for yourself.
Upper Antelope Canyon is called Tsé bighánílíní, ‘the place where water runs through rocks’ by the Navajo. It is the most frequently visited by tourists for two reasons. First, its entrance and entire length are at ground level, requiring no climbing. Second, beams or shafts of direct sunlight radiating down from openings at the top of the canyon are much more common in Upper than in Lower. Beams occur most often in the summer months, as they require the sun to be high in the sky. Winter colors are more muted. Summer months provide two types of lighting. Light beams start to peek into the canyon March 20 and disappear October 7 each year.
Lower Antelope Canyon, is called Hazdistazí, or ‘spiral rock arches’ by the Navajo, is located several miles from Upper Antelope Canyon. Prior to the installation of metal stairways, visiting the canyon required climbing along pre-installed ladders in certain areas. Even following the installation of stairways, it is a more difficult hike than Upper Antelope. It is longer, narrower in spots, and even footing is not available in all areas. Five flights of stairs of varying step widths are currently available to aid in descent and ascent. At the end, the climb out requires flights of stairs. Additionally, visitors should be aware of sand which consistently falls from the above crack as it can make the stairs particularly slippery.
Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument is located north of the campground. Grand Staircase-Escalante spans many acres of America’s public lands and contains three distinct units, Grand Staircase, Kaiparowits, and Escalante Canyon. The Monument was the last place in the continental United States to be mapped.From its spectacular Grand Staircase of cliffs and terraces, across the rugged Kaiparowits Plateau, to the wonders of the Escalante River Canyons, the Monument is a diverse geologic treasure speckled with monoliths, slot canyons, natural bridges, and arches.
The Monument is an outstanding biological resource, spanning five life-zones – from low-lying desert to coniferous forest. Deep within this vast and austere landscape, the Anasazi and Fremont cultures made contact in the period AD 950-1100, leaving behind rock art panels, occupation sites, campsites and granaries. Stepping further back in time, fossil excavations have yielded more information about ecosystem change at the end of the dinosaur era than any other place in the world. The Monument’s size, resources, and remote character provide extraordinary opportunities for geologists, paleontologists, archeologists, historians, and biologists in scientific research, education, and exploration. This unspoiled natural area remains a frontier with countless opportunities for quiet recreation and solitude.
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