Lake Powell

[vt650]

I'm pretty sure this isn't the true Lake Powell camping experience but my wife and daughters aren't exactly roughing it people and this ensures everyone has a good time.

No, It's the perfect Lake Powell experience! And it's what I will do next time, now that I know.

 

[sysinu]

No, It's the perfect Lake Powell experience! And it's what I will do next time, now that I know.

The true LP experience is relative to the people going. There are people who say the true LP experience is burying yourself deep in the San Juan arm and camping out of a tent on a fishing expedition for 2 weeks. Then for others (like me), it's taking a houseboat up lake and zooming around to the other destinations site seeing in between wakeboarding/surfing/tubing/etc. Then for others they want the lake, they don't want the houseboat hassle (trust me, it's a hassle sometimes) and they don't mind the crowd or they don't mind getting away from the crowd to go play on the water. It's all whatever works for you and is the most fun for you, your family, and your friends!

Similar to vt650... I might do this as well next year later in the year now that I know about it. We have our normal weeks on our HB south end of the lake, and this would be a great way to experience the north end of the lake for not a huge cost.

 

[lashburn1]

T-minus 5 days and Counting.......I work every day until I leave!!!

 

[Raphael]

T-minus 5 days and Counting.......I work every day until I leave!!!

Are you heading to Paige? Take your sunscreen it's gonna be toasty

 

[Raphael]

T-minus 5 days and Counting.......I work every day until I leave!!!

The water is up quite a bit so you should be able to explore some of the hidden caverns

 

[lashburn1]

Yes, we will be launching in the southern part at Whaweap marina, renting two house boats from there for a week.
We were there last July/August or a week. It was not very hot though.

We did not rent a houseboat last year, we just went to and from the marina motel every day.

We have okay desert camping experience.
But the houseboat rental is new to us.

Looking forward to "not" driving to the marina every day

 

[Raphael]

Yes, we will be launching in the southern part at Whaweap marina, renting two house boats from there for a week.
We were there last July/August or a week. It was not very hot though.

We did not rent a houseboat last year, we just went to and from the marina motel every day.

We have okay desert camping experience.
But the houseboat rental is new to us.

Looking forward to "not" driving to the marina every day

Awesome if you want to guarantee your kids catch fish buy some anchovies (cut into 3 parts and use the head and tails for bait, chum with the body)and have them fish in the morning, you can't miss at Powell right now.

 

[mrlanemeyer]

We are loaded up and heading out to Powell for 2 weeks. I'll wave to all the Yamaha's I see in case it's any of you guys.

 

[sysinu]

Have fun! The fishing is pretty good right now, lots of boils/slurps if you're interested in fishing striped bass, just throw something shiny (like a kastmaster) into a boil.

 

[GiddYupJoe]

Just saw this online. A couple jetskiers running through the canyon. Pretty intense at times.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/travel_news/article-2736912/Breathe-Daredevil-jet-skier-captures-terrifying-footage-speeding-perilously-narrow-Colorado-River-canyon.html#v-3753801071001

 

[mrlanemeyer]

Thanks Adam! . We'll see what service does.

Cathedral in the Desert is just up the Escalante arm above the San Juan arm. The picture Adam posted recently is Horseshoe Bend which is nearer to Wahweap on the south end of the lake.

Cathedral in the desert: http://www.utah.com/nationalsites/cathedral_in_the_desert.htm

The Cathedral is located at the back of Clear Creek Canyon, on the Escalante Arm, about 23 miles down-lake from Bullfrog. I marked these waypoints on my GPS:

Mouth of Clear Creek Canyon: N 37 deg 18.050; W 110 Deg 54.464
Cathedral mouth (closest point where I could get a fix): N 37 deg 17.410; W 110 Deg 54.860


It is quite the drive up from Wahweap, but is still doable... it will just chew up quite a bit of gas.

It should be noted too that Cathedral is technically underwater at this lake level. Here's a picture from this July with our boat parked on top of it. There is a second waterfall above it that's pretty similar but the canyon walls aren't as closed in. Still worth a visit.

 

[sysinu]

While I hope for another high runoff year, that does put a damper on things. Maybe it's an excuse to bring the snorkel gear (I know, the murky water)

 

[txav8r]

I see all the tight runs in the canyons and see your boat there @mrlanemeyer almost touching the bottom and that is rock it looks like. While it looks, "funner than all get out"...I sure don't know how everyone gets that close without scratches and gouges in the gelcoat! When we get to do Powell, and we will, I am going to have to have some poles to use as standoffs when we wander the canyons! And I don't think I am going to go into a decreasing canyon that I have to try to back out of But what fun and beauty, thanks for sharing more of the reason I want to visit!

 

[mrlanemeyer]

I see all the tight runs in the canyons and see your boat there @mrlanemeyer almost touching the bottom and that is rock it looks like. While it looks, "funner than all get out"...I sure don't know how everyone gets that close without scratches and gouges in the gelcoat! When we get to do Powell, and we will, I am going to have to have some poles to use as standoffs when we wander the canyons! And I don't think I am going to go into a decreasing canyon that I have to try to back out of But what fun and beauty, thanks for sharing more of the reason I want to visit!

Its actually all sand at the bottom in that picture and deep enough in the middle that the boat was floating. Buy yeah some places did get a little hairy. Immediately after taking this picture my wife had to run to the back of the boat and kick the wall to keep us from hitting. Its hard to turn a 23.5ft boat around in a canyon that's 24ft wide .

 

[txav8r]

Its actually all sand at the bottom in that picture and deep enough in the middle that the boat was floating. Buy yeah some places did get a little hairy. Immediately after taking this picture my wife had to run to the back of the boat and kick the wall to keep us from hitting. Its hard to turn a 23.5ft boat around in a canyon that's 24ft wide .

Note to self...bring tape measure!!!

 

[sysinu]

Yeah, no kidding! That and a few changes of underpants.

I don't usually boat up those slot canyons, but man they are cool. There are 2 that I particularly like. 1 you don't go to with a boat, and it's on reservation land - that's Antelope Canyon. This is the one that's picturesque and if you hit it between 10:30 and 1:30 it looks like this:

The other is Labyrinth Slot Canyon, when the water is higher, there's a lot of the same landscape as in Antelope Canyon, but it's not on reservation land (no guide needed) and you can get to it from the lake via boat.


But all of those tight slot canyons, I walk in or swim in. "Never have I ever" boated in them.

 

[txav8r]

Amazing...

 

[Williamsone46]

I'm going back down next month w/ the new 15' I can't wait!

 

[txav8r]

Don't scratch it'

 

[Williamsone46]

Don't scratch it'

No kidding right... I'm going to be super conservative for the first couple months.