TourTheSouthwest.com LLC
         Your Source for "Custom Designed Private Tours" of the West & Southwest USA

Powell Custom Private Escorted Tours Including Antelope Canyon, Glen Canyon, and Navajo Lands

Glen Canyon Dam & Colorado River, photo by David F Menne, all rights reserved
 

Glen Canyon Dam & Colorado River
All Rights Reserved

Points of interest near Lake Powell include:

At Lake Powell and the Glen Canyon Visitor Center, you can tour Glen Canyon Dam and its' hydroelectric generating station.  It took eight years of construction by the US Bureau of Reclamation to build the Glen Canyon Dam. The dam's crest rises 583 feet above the river water at its base. Waters of the Colorado River backed up behind the dam creating a lake 186 miles long and a shoreline of over 2000 miles, longer than the entire West Coast of the US. When the lake is full, first achieved on June 22, 1980, the deepest portion is immediately back of the great dam at 568 feet deep. The lake has ninety-six named navigable tributary canyons and dozens of smaller nameless waterways, eight major bays and two long riverbed arms. The scenery up and down the lake is no less than spectacular. The cliffs and monuments reflect in the water with a shimmering golden orange glow that has captured the attention of countless photographs and artistic renderings.

A trip across the Navajo Bridge by foot at Marble Canyon allows for a vertical view of the great Colorado River. Here you may even see rafts floating under the bridge or the newly released California Condors soaring above the Vermilion Cliffs. At Lee's Ferry you can visit the ruins of the early settlers in this region. You will take a short walk to the "Lonely Dell Ranch" in the Lee's Ferry historic district at the mouth of the Paria River. Across the river to the south are the jagged Echo Peaks. On October 21, 1871, three men from John Wesley Powell's second expedition climbed the peaks and, out of curiosity, shot a pistol at the river 2500 feet below. The sharp report was followed by a 24-second silence when a rattling echo was hurled back - hence the name. Most early travelers were southbound Mormons from Utah coming over the Kaibab Plateau through Houserock Valley from the west to Lee's Ferry. Once across the river, they traveled south into Arizona to colonize there. Others came with hopes of building a railroad down the canyons of the Colorado. Still other optimistic souls came to try gold mining. It is now the launching point for the thousands who come each year to discover the thrills of white water rafting through the Grand Canyon. The Glen Canyon stretch is also famous for its trout, where others finish a leisurely float trip from the dam, and still others complete a hike through the Paria Canyon wilderness.

As time allows, we may also walk out to the overlook of Horseshoe Bend in Glen Canyon. This is the only true gooseneck turn in Glen Canyon or the Grand Canyon below Lake Powell.

A paddlewheel boat can carry you into the crimson and azure world of Wahweep Bay. Other optional trips are available if pre arranged to Rainbow Natural Bridge, Navajo Tapestry, or a float trip from the dam to Lee's Ferry. This is a flat water, no rapids, float trip through Glen Canyon on the Colorado River. It takes at least one extra day by boat to visit Rainbow Natural Bridge. There is an extra charge for all optional trips and activities.

View Photographs from this Tour

Click HERE for Custom Private Tour information