Floating and Boating in Glen Canyon

As some of you know, we have big plans for 2020 – we’ve booked a 15-day float trip through the Grand Canyon! The Colorado River flows from Glen Canyon into the Grand Canyon at Lee’s Ferry. We’re already excited about going and when we saw an opportunity to do the section of Glen Canyon from the dam to Lee’s Ferry we couldn’t resist. The Grand Canyon trip puts in at Lee’s Ferry, right where this trip pulls out, so we won’t miss an inch! Lol.

We booked our Glen Canyon float trip with Wilderness River Adventures.    In 1963, with the construction of the Glen Canyon Dam, Lake Powell was created and almost all of Glen Canyon was flooded with water hundreds of feet deep. This float trip covers the 15 remaining miles of canyon that isn’t under 400 feet of water.  

The trip started off with a bus ride from town, then through two miles of tunnel to bring us down to the river below the dam. The tunnels were built as part of the dam construction and it was interesting to see Glen Canyon Dam from the bottom up.  

A different perspective and yes, it looks really big from down here. 

Our boats were motorized rafts that held about 20 people. We somehow ended up on the kiddie boat (about half of our contingent was under 12), but the kids were nowhere near as annoying as the gal sitting directly across from me taking endless selfies. Sigh. Can you imagine what her photo album looks like? Page after page of gorgeous scenery out of focus behind her smiling face. Lol.

No selfies here, just gorgeous scenery.

Canyon walls reflected on the water.

The canyon is impressive, with towering red rock walls. We found out the same outfitters that took us downriver will take folks upriver with their equipment and drop them off below the dam. It’s an easy two-day flat water float.  We just need to bring our kayaks and teach Riley not to rock the boat! Something else to add to the list for next time.

Sheer cliffs tower above the river.

There are several picnic areas and campsites along the river.

It's a smooth flat-water float, can't wait to bring our kayaks!

We stopped for a break at one of campsites where we got to see petroglyphs made by ancestral Puebloan Indians, the Anasazi. Another fun element of the trip was floating around Horseshoe Bend and looking up at all the tourists looking down at us.

Horseshoe Bend from above and below.
Now we're the little white boats along the shore. 

Do you see the tiny tourists on top?

Anasazi petroglyphs.

As we approached Lee’s Ferry the terrain changed, instead of towering cliff faces there were grasslands and different types of rock formations.

Different colors and formations as we exited Glen Canyon.

A horse grazes on the open grasslands.

Approaching Lee's Ferry.

After we left the boats, the bus took us back to Page. Unfortunately, with the afternoon haze I couldn’t get a good picture of the Vermilion Cliffs. But we liked the Lee’s Ferry area so much we made plans to come back.

Off the boat and onto the bus.

The Vermilion Cliffs in silhouette. 

Our last day at Lake Powell was a trip to Rainbow Bridge National Monument. Today, the only way to reach Rainbow Bridge is by boat. Getting there is more than half the fun!

Rog boards our boat, upper deck all the way for us!

This beats paddling, at least when you're going 50 miles up and back!

Glen Canyon Dam impounds the Colorado River water to form Lake Powell. It took 17 years to completely fill the 186-mile-long lake. Although still controversial, no one can deny that Lake Powell is beautiful. Filling the convoluted Glen Canyon, the lake has 1960 miles of twisting shoreline. The water is a beautiful blue, framing the intricate rock formations.

  

Gunsight Butte

Rock formations form islands in the lake.

Minerals in the water leave a "bathtub ring" along the shoreline. 

You have to wonder what the canyon looked like before it was flooded.

The walls of Glen Canyon extend above Lake Powell.

We passed several marinas and got a fun peek at how the one percenters live. Some of the house boats were huge – over 6000 sq feet of living space with a floor below the water line! Can’t imagine what those would go for. We had fun reading all the clever boat names, “Bucket List” was a favorite.  There were lots of rentals available too, that might be fun to do and more in my price range. Lol.

Somebody crossed this one off their list. Lol.

Rainbow Bridge is located in a narrow side canyon. We were impressed by the captain’s skill as she maneuvered the boat through the tight, twisting turns. The lake level fluctuates, near capacity, the water goes right up to the base of Rainbow Bridge. Since levels were extremely low this spring, only 39% of full pool, we had over a mile hike to the Bridge.

Leaving the main channel.

Are you sure we'll fit??

Tight, twisty turns and we made it.

The location of the dock changes with the lake level.

On the hike, you can see where the water would be when the lake is higher.

The Rainbow Bridge is a spectacular stone arch that stands 290 feet high, spans 275 feet, and is 42 feet thick and 33 feet wide at the top. Long known to the native tribes, it was first “discovered” in 1909 by a group of explorers led by Paiute guides. Less than a year later, it was designated a national monument.

First glimpse of the bridge with Navajo Mountain in the background.

The spectacular Rainbow Bridge.

Greetings from Rainbow Bridge! 

We’re sad to leave our beachfront spot on Lake Powell, but our next stop is the campground at Lee’s Ferry. A gorgeous spot at the base of the Vermilion Cliffs and Riley gets to play in the Colorado River.