lake Powell and Cathedral in the Desert - Lake Powell - Things To Do Reviews

Lake Powell has always been synonymous with houseboats, during the summer months they are everywhere. It is huge revenue and great fun, tow a couple of jet skies or a speed boat and spend the week exploring or playing. Dock at one of the many crystal sand beaches and spend the evening with a campfire and camping on the beach. With the depth of the water even on the hottest sultriest summer day going for a dip is both refreshing and easy, you just step off the boat or shore.
Lake Powell has slowly started the re-fill process and it is at a four year high, on the other hand it is still at a one hundred year low. For the boaters, recreational users, fishers, and commerce this is not great news. The photographers should use this opportunity to your fullest advantage; locations are available and have been for the past four-years that have not been seen fully visible for over one hundred years.
The majority of these sites are a short hike from a docked beach location. Here are a few of the more popular locations; Rainbow Bridge National Monument, Defiance House Ruin, Cathedral in the Desert, San Juan Goosenecks, Kaiparowits Plateau, Hole-in-the-rock crossing, The Rincon, Three-roof ruin, Padre Bay and Water pocket Fold.
I am going to focus mostly on Cathedral in the Desert; the Cathedral has become an icon for people who love Glen Canyon. They describe it as one of the world’s great treasures, a place so beautiful and serene it has a spiritual transcendence. A paradise lost beneath the waters of Lake Powell, but briefly re-emerged because extended drought drastically lowered the lake’s level.
Often, when you hear extensive hype about something before you see it, the actual experience does not live up to your expectations. (Take Tom Cruise movies) In this case we expected it to be great and it was exceptional. The Cathedral’s colorful sandstone walls arch upward to form a huge amphitheater with a narrow slit at the top. Hanging gardens grow from seeps in the stone walls and a small stream falls down the cliff face at one end. During the middle of the afternoon a narrow beam of sunlight finds its way into the Cathedral and hits the sandbar, illuminating the entire cavern with a rich and lustrous, warm gold light.
The easiest way to get the Cathedral is via boat right down from hole in the Rock Road. You can access this area via hiking but it is an extremely difficult trek requiring repelling and rope areas for safety. For those of you who love canyoneering it is the hike for you.
Out of the 96 named canyons in Lake Powell, and the many other interesting things such as the lake water, Anasazi ruins, rock art, arches, caves, slot canyons and stream hands-down the Cathedral will always be the ultimate spot that I have witnessed at Lake Powell. The speed boat ride wasn’t bad either and yes I am proof they will rent a boat to anyone who can pay. Apparently they didn’t read my write-up about Mexican Pepsi.
The second spot is not newly uncovered or even difficult to get to, if you’ve ever wanted to paddle in the red-rock country, Lake Powell is the place to do it. Lake Powell is also a huge lake so might I suggest an investment of something with an outboard on it. Vertical cliffs of red sandstone form much of the shoreline. You will see river-cut cliffs rising hundreds of feet from the water, some stained with desert varnish and others exhibiting the raw wounds of recent spalling. Overhanging alcoves will shade your boat and lend your voice a theatrical echo. Ruins of stone villages, granaries, and steps cut into the sandstone are there if you take the time to seek them out. These are mostly 800-year-old remnants of habitation by the Anasazi. A highlight of the forgotten canyon is a trip to remember to visit the Defiance house, which is a very accessible ruin. The Defiance House provides an excellent example of classic ancestral pueblo living. Consisting of a kiva, small house, and storage areas perhaps for grain, the ruin is thought to support about 12-20 people. In the past years an easy boat ride with a short walk would get you to the door, now you can plan on about a mile hike. It is not a difficult hike but, if it’s during the summer carry water.
Lake Powell is a man-made reservoir on the Colorado River, straddling the border between Utah and Arizona. It is the second largest man-made reservoir in the United States behind Lake Mead when full. Lake Powell was created by the flooding of Glen Canyon by the Glen Canyon Dam, which also led to the creation of Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. The reservoir is named for John Wesley Powell, a one-armed American Civil War veteran who explored the river via three wooden boats in 1869. Lake Powell and the surrounding areas is not lacking in any amenities, from resort style accommodation to the standard motel 6. You can get five-star dining or opt for Sonic drive-in. Page and Lake Powell are amazing travel sites and are the gateway to a plethora of other locations including the Grand Canyon North and Monument Valley.