Lake Powell

Lake Powell stretches over 300 kilometres north into Utah and has some 3,000 kilometres of shoreline, much of it accessible only by water. At its best — and the lake can still be that at certain levels — it offers boat access to side canyons, sandy beaches, and rock formations you cannot reach any other way. Houseboating and kayaking are the main activities; rental boats are available from Wahweap Marina, just north of the dam.

Rainbow Bridge National Monument, accessible only by water, is one of the largest natural bridges in the world and was a sacred site to the Navajo long before the reservoir. It can be reached by boat tour from Wahweap in a full day. The ongoing drought conditions mean the water level at the time of your visit will affect what's accessible — check current conditions before booking a tour.

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A story
Lake Powell is the second-largest reservoir in the United States by volume when full, but it has not been full since 1999. By 2022 it had dropped to 25% of capacity — low enough to expose rock formations and ancient canyon walls that hadn't been visible since the 1960s. The situation has created an unexpected benefit for those interested in the pre-dam landscape, at the cost of everything the reservoir was built to provide.

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