Grand Staircase-Escalante NM and Glen Canyon NRA, Southern Utah, Southwest USA

Glen Canyon National Recreation Area and Lake Powell

including: Lake Powell boating tips , Willow Gulch & Broken Bow Arch , Three Roof Ruin , Bishop Canyon , Davis Gulch , Llewellyn Gulch , Hole-in-the-Rock , Silver Falls to Harris Wash

Above: A tiny hiker (silhouetted in black) crosses beneath massive Broken Bow Arch, in Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. How to get there: In Utah, drive Highway 12 in Garfield County, to Hole-in-the-Rock Road into Kane County, 45 miles south to the trailhead. Hike 2 miles to Broken Bow Arch one way. 3 more miles takes you to Lake Powell, where you can start hiking from a boat, rented from Halls Crossing Marina or Wahweap Marina.

Lake Powell boating tips

After Glen Canyon Dam was built 1956-1966 for electricity generation and water control, the man-made Lake Powell took 17 years to reach high water mark. To the chagrin of environmentalists, thousands of ancient archaeological sites and classic features of southwest wilderness were flooded beneath the cold waters of Lake Powell. This push of "civilization" into one of the remotest corners of the United States spread recreational boating far into the Utah desert. I am sad for what was lost, and also impressed by what remains, which I may not ever have seen without easy boat access. However, a cheaper and more ecological option is to drive down the dirt Hole-in-the-Rock Road in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, then hike into fascinating areas, including Glen Canyon National Recreation Area.
     Renting a boat on Lake Powell provides a speedy (but fuel intensive) alternative to experience great southwest scenery, without abusing your car on dusty, rough roads. For example, the 100+ mile range of a powerboat can take you from Halls Crossing to Rainbow Bridge and back; or from Halls Crossing to Wahweap Marina, where you can refuel; or vice versa. You can bring camping gear in the powerboat and stay in a tent on land at night. If you are energetic, you can even kayak.
     Or you can enjoy the pricier but more comfortable beds and hot showers on a rented houseboat, as we did with our family group, sharing expenses. Our houseboat towed a powerboat for flexible access to shallow landings and daily hikes. In just 5 days, we explored an astounding variety of impressive canyons, arches, and Native American archaeological sites.
     Houseboat details: From Halls Crossing Marina on Lake Powell, our extended family of 10 adults (plus 2 toddlers) rented a 54-foot "sport houseboat", and an 18-foot powerboat (100+ mile range), costing $3616 for 5.5 days in April 2000. The houseboat included two bathrooms; 2 private double-bed staterooms with door; 2 double-bed staterooms separated by a curtain; and a queen sofa sleeper in the dining room. Facilities included gas range, oven, refrigerators, dishes, pots, pans, water heater, forced air heater, microwave, generator, and marine 2-way radio. We drove the houseboat for about 14 hours total over 5.5 days, at about 7 mph (4000rpm), consuming 176 gallons of gas (12 gallons per hour). Bring your own food and bedding. Bring wading or water shoes that can get wet and dry quickly.
     Ferry: The ferry from Bullfrog to Hall's Crossing cost $9 per vehicle (in 2000) for a 25 minute ride. In place of the ferry, you could drive 140 miles from Bullfrog Basin to Hall's Crossing in about 2.5 hours.

Willow Gulch and Broken Bow Arch

Left: We anchored our rented houseboat where Willow Gulch meets Lake Powell, in order to hike to Broken Bow Arch, in Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, Utah.

Above right: A hiker wades through a narrow slot in Willow Creek Canyon (or Willow Gulch), on the route from Lake Powell to Broken Bow Arch, in Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, Utah.

Left: Our family hikes in Willow Gulch, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. This hike up Willow Creek leading to Broken Bow Arch is accessible from a houseboat on Lake Powell, or from the long dirt Hole-in-the-Rock Road in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. How to get there: In Utah, drive Highway 12 in Garfield County, to Hole-in-the-Rock Road into Kane County, 45 miles south to the trailhead. Hike 2 miles to Broken Bow Arch one way. 3 more miles takes you to Lake Powell, where you can start hiking from a boat, rented from Halls Crossing Marina or Wahweap Marina.

Below right: A hiker is dwarfed by sandstone overhangs in Willow Gulch.

Left: Tiny hikers sit beneath massive Broken Bow Arch, in Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. You can also hike this from Hole-in-the-Rock Road in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.

Below right: Hikers at a picnic appear as silhouettes beneath gigantic Broken Bow Arch, in Glen Canyon National Recreation Area.

Left: A cactus blooms with a magenta flower in Willow Gulch, in Glen Canyon National Recreation Area.

Below right: A desert primrose blooms with a beautiful white flower in the desert of Glen Canyon National Recreation Area.

Left: Cottonwood trees reach up to sandstone walls streaked with black desert varnish, in Willow Gulch, in Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, Utah.

Below right: A tiny frog sits cupped in two human hands. Willow Gulch, in Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, Utah.

Three Roof Ruin

Left: This view is inside the restored kiva (ceremonial room) at Three Roof Ruin, on Escalante River Arm of Lake Powell, in Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. A wall has been breached to allow visitors to enter, but traditionally, the sunken round kivas were entered from the hole in the roof.

Below: This Anasazi kiva (ceremonial room) has been restored at Three Roof Ruin, on Escalante River Arm of Lake Powell, in Glen Canyon National Recreation Area.

Above right: We moored our motorboat and climbed up the sandstone to Three Roof Ruin, located 14 miles up the Escalante River Arm of Lake Powell, in Glen Canyon National Recreation Area.

Bishop Canyon

Left: Bishop Canyon has impressively steep sandstone sides, on Lake Powell in Glen Canyon National Recreation Area.

Left: A hiker explores the sculpted narrows of Bishop Canyon, accessible via boat from Lake Powell, in Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, Utah.

Below right: Still water reflects the steep sandstone at the upper end of Lake Powell's reach into Bishop Canyon, a branch of Willow Gulch, in Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, Utah.

Left: A fresh water crayfish (or crawfish) crawls in Bishop Canyon, in Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, Utah.

Below right: Hikers reflect in a pond at the base of a dry waterfall in Bishop Canyon, in Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, Utah. This area can only be hiked from Lake Powell.

Left: We return to Lake Powell over muddy pools through the narrow Bishop Canyon.

Below right: We hike through the sculpted narrows of Bishop Canyon, in Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, Utah.

Davis Gulch

Left: LaGorce Arch appears at an impressive bend of Davis Gulch on Lake Powell, in Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, Utah.

Below right: LaGorce Arch, 100 feet wide and 75 feet high, is dwarfed by the surrounding steep cliffs.

Left: LaGorce Arch (100 feet wide and 75 feet high), on Davis Gulch on the Escalante Arm of Lake Powell, in Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, Utah.

Below right: Cathedral of the Desert in Clear Creek Canyon has been flooded by Lake Powell, in Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, Utah.

Llewellyn Gulch

Left: We moored our rented houseboat here in the Llewellyn Gulch branch of Lake Powell, in Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, in April 2000. When full, Lake Powell is the second largest man-made reservoir in the United States (after Lake Mead).

Below right: Maidenhair ferns are nourished by water seeping through sandstone cracks in Llewellyn Gulch.

Left: A lizard with a black collar warms itself in the sun, in Llewellyn Gulch.

Above right: The yucca (in the agave family, Agavaceae) and cottonwood trees are typical of desert canyon vegetation found in Utah desert and southern Utah. Llewellyn Gulch, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, Utah.

Left: Ancient petroglyphs of long horned ungulates are chipped into the rock of Llewellyn Gulch.

Below right: Ancient petroglyphs of bighorn sheep are chipped into the rock of Llewellyn Gulch.

Left: A royal arch cuts into the side of Llewellyn Gulch, as seen from Lake Powell.

Below right: Colorful nobby sandstone swirls in Llewellyn Gulch, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, Utah.

Hole-in-the-Rock

Left: From the man-made reservoir of Lake Powell, we hiked up the historic road carved by Mormon settlers in 1879 (the San Juan Mission) to the notch of Hole-in-the-Rock. The only breach for many miles through the vertical cliffs of Glen Canyon was Hole-in-the-Rock, through which settlers could cross the Colorado River, and reach the then unsettled lands in southeast Utah. Faced with a 45-foot vertical cliff, the Mormons worked for 6 weeks before cantilevering a rough wagon route downwards to the Colorado River. The lower 300 feet of the historic route are now submerged below the cold waters of Lake Powell, which was created behind Glen Canyon Dam, built 1956-1966. The old Mormon approach along the plateau now survives as the Hole-in-the-Rock Road, in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. The spectacular western tributaries of the Escalante River can now be explored via hikes from Hole-in-the-Rock Road, or hikes from boats on Lake Powell.

Below right: The notch in the sandstone cliffs here is historic Hole-in-the-Rock, as seen from the stern of our houseboat, looking towards our motorboat, on Lake Powell, in April 2000.

Left: From the historic Hole-in-the-Rock Trail, you can see across to Cottonwood Canyon, which shows the white ring marking the highwater line of the man-made reservoir of Lake Powell.

Silver Falls Creek to Harris Wash

Below right: Backpackers cross the Escalante River on an easy and rewarding overnight traverse from Silver Falls Creek to Harris Wash through Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. We found chunks of petrified wood scattered in Silver Falls Creek, which we left for future explorers to admire but not take. We began and ended this one-way traverse by spotting cars (run as a shuttle) in the adjacent Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, Utah.

Southwest USA Page 4 of 9: Southern Utah

Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, Utah

Lower Calf Creek Falls

Willis Creek

Bull Valley Gorge