Paddling Glen Canyon

Jul 28, 2001 - © Jill Bean Florio

Fifteen miles is all that's left of the majestic Glen Canyon. The rest is submerged beneath the still, cold waters of Lake Powell.

But you can still boat the Glen, the part undrowned, below the dam. If you like high red sandstone cliffs, Anasazi Rock Art, sandy beaches, cool water and lovely, free campsites with side canyon hikes galore, then this is the trip for you.

And the birding is outstanding: California Condors, swifts and swallows and eagles await.

Grab your flotation device of choice - kayak, canoe, ducky or raft - and head up to Lee's Ferry, Arizona. It's easily accessible from Flagstaff or Page (both in Northern Arizona) from Highway 89.

The interesting thing: you have to start at the end of the journey. Park at the boater's lot at Lee's and then get yourself up canyon to the Dam. You can't start from Page because the dam road (a cool long tunnel with periodic views bored through the road for air exchange) is privately-owned. Only commercial trips get to use this road. More on this later.

A great tip for getting up the river is hitching a ride with the commercial trippers as the ymake the return leg back to the dam. Of course, you could paddle upstream, as the current is navigable with no rapids or riffles. Keep in mind it's 17 miles to the top, but you can camp wherever you like enroute.

The Wilderness River Adventures Company doesn't mind running your boat and gear up the Colorado once they have unloaded passengers at Lee's Ferry. Be polite and ask if they'll take you up. It's certainly appropriate to tip them five or ten bucks for their efforts.

Call ahead for times: 1-800-992-8022, or visit their site at riveradventures.com

Alternatively, you can just relax and let someone Wilderness River Adventures plan the details. Half-day trips with guides run $53 for adults, or $45 for children. Full day trips with buffet lunch cost $75 and $67, respectively.

These trips don't really provide for a wilderness experience, but it's a good way to get to know the river and a primer on local history, ecology, geology and Anasazi pictographs.

I enjoyed my downriver journey with them after having boated the stretch on my own several times. It deepened my knowledge and appreciation of the seventeen-mile flatwater stretch.After all, this is the only place to see the Glen Canyon as Powell may have, with high red walls and enticing side canyons, with the rest of the canyon buried under untold tons of cold water and silt.

The copyright of the article Paddling Glen Canyon in Southwest Outdoors is owned by Jill Bean Florio. Permission to republish Paddling Glen Canyon in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

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