Lake Powell

[gwpowell]

I have seen an article in our Australian Water Ski mag on Lake Powell. It looks brilliant out there. So I was wondering if anyone had any ideas on the best places to stay on land or water (house boat) and the best place to hire a ski boat.

I am thinking of coming over there for holiday next year. Maybe you might have better places than Lake Powell to suggest.

[coz]

I have seen an article in our Australian Water Ski mag on Lake Powell. It looks brilliant out there. So I was wondering if anyone had any ideas on the best places to stay on land or water (house boat) and the best place to hire a ski boat.

I am thinking of coming over there for holiday next year. Maybe you might have better places than Lake Powell to suggest.

Once you've been there you might not want to go back down under :D
Great lake with all kinds of thing to do and see http://lakepowell.com/index.cfm
http://lakepowell.com/media/images/lakePowell/photogallery/photos/adventurerscenic.jpg

[Itsme]

Lake Powell is a fantastic place to vacation!!!

We reccomend that you bring a Mastercraft to pull with and at least one PWC to explore.

We used www.lakepowell.com houseboats for our trip - very professional and really nice equipment.

Good luck!!

[Sodar]

Powell is gorgeous. If you have the means, I would recommend renting a privately owned houseboat. When we went, my parents and a few of our family friends really did it up and got the most incredible houseboat for about the same price as the rental companies were renting their 72' for. Our houseboat had 2 PWC slides/ramps up the stern (Not having to TOW PWCs is a god send!) and an upper deck with a wetbar, spa and ceiling fans. Boat also had Sat TV, which made it nice to keep up with current events when you are out in the middle of no man's land!

[craig3972]

one item to note... when there are a few boats running around it can get quite rough .... the vertical rock walls (stunning and breath taking) bounce the wake wash right back out.
Dont forget to visit Rainbow bridge .. worlds largest natural rock bridge- amazing!

[gwpowell]

Thanks guys.

Sodar do you have the details of the private houseboat you hired?
Did it come with the PWC included on the ramps?

[ncsone]

I second Sodar's recommendation. We rented from the company (not private rentals) at Wahweap 2 times and had houseboat issues both times. I am guessing that a private HB would be a lot better maintained than the ones at Wahweap.

It is a spectacular place to go, though. Others are right when they say that it can get rough between those rock walls. Fortunately, it only seems to be really bad on the first few miles out of the Wahweap area.

[swchopper]

If you want the whole Lake Powell experience, renting a houseboat is the way to go. Just look online.
You can also just stay at a hotel in Page, Arizona. I have young kids and so we do that every year. With an infant, it's nice to get out of the hot weather, shower, and eat at a good restaurant.
Lake Powell CANNOT be beat! Enjoy:D

[kgrove]

Anyone with experience camping on Powell? Houseboats there are pretty damn expensive to rent. We've thought about just packing tents and camping gear, but that's alot of stuff to put on my little (relatively speaking) MC.

[FrankSchwab]

kgrove -
We camp every year. My buddy has a PS190 that carries all his and his wifes gear; I carry my wife and kids in my Maristar 200. You can pack a lot of stuff in an MC, because most of it doesn't weigh that much.

My recommendation:
1. Tent. If you're going in July, August, or September, it should be a strong one. Late afternoon thunderstorms are likely, accompanied by 50 mph winds. You don't want to be trying to fish your tent out of the bottom of the lake. Make sure you have good staking supplies; sand anchors work well if you can find a sandy beach, otherwise enough rope to tie off to whatever rock crags you can find is necessary.
2. Sleeping pad. Get a $30 Queen-size airbed from Wally world. Discard after use, as the valves never seem to seal well the second time.
3. Sleeping bags. Not particularly necessary; in late summer, mid-70's may be as low as you see at night.
4. Water. Bring several 2.5 gallon jugs per person.
5. Food. You're on your own; I'd be happy with seven days worth of sandwiches for breakfast, lunch, and dinner; but everyone else seems to want to spend their days either preparing meals or cleaning up after them.
6. Porta-potty, and unless you're really intimate with those around you, a tent to put it in. No burying your turds at Lake Powell.
7. Gas. The only gas is at the marina's - Wahweap/Antelope Point, Dangling Rope, Bullfrog, Halls Crossing, Hite. It can be 60 miles between Marinas, so if you have a PS190 with a small tank, you might want to bring along half a dozen 5 gallon jugs. They ride quite nicely on the swim platform.
8. Shade. There's not much on the lake; a couple of EZ-Ups (staked down well) are life savers. Oh, bring sunscreen.
9. Water toys. Lots of water toys. Bring something you've never done before and learn it. We had a blast renting an Air Chair, and spending a week learning to ride it.
10. A map. The Stan Jones map (http://www.go-utah.com/Stan-Jones-Lake-Powell-Map/) has a lot of fans.
11. A GPS. Even a $100 hand-held cheapy (what I use) is immensely useful, but you can get by by reading the mile markers on the channel buoys.

That's pretty much all you need. We tend to camp near Gunsight, which puts you reasonably close (~20 miles) to both Dangling Rope and Antelope Point marinas.

If you have a small MC, leave Wahweap early (like, 5 AM early). The main channel can get extremely choppy later.

And that's probably all you need to have a blast there.

/frank

[h2oskifreak]

Anyone with experience camping on Powell? Houseboats there are pretty damn expensive to rent. We've thought about just packing tents and camping gear, but that's alot of stuff to put on my little (relatively speaking) MC.
Sand camping is an option. It does get a little tougher to cook and you will need some shade for sure. Another option is to spend the day on the lake, rent a slip or pull the boat out in the evenings and stay at the hotel. Rooms arn't 4 or 5 star, but there is a rest. and a shower.

[norcalx7]

Where would be the best place for smooth water? I am sure any place on the lake you could get glass but where would the most consistent places be? Gunsight? Rock Creek? We are thinking about renting a houseboat next year and trying to get as much info as possible. Would be coming from Wahweap.

[h2oskifreak]

Where would be the best place for smooth water? I am sure any place on the lake you could get glass but where would the most consistent places be? Gunsight? Rock Creek? We are thinking about renting a houseboat next year and trying to get as much info as possible. Would be coming from Wahweap.

I am not used to spending time at that end of the lake but Powell gets a lot of traffic. I would guess the best chance for glass is the same as my end (Bullfrog) and that would be early am and just before dusk. Good Luck

[russlars]

Another consideration for Lake Powell is the time of year you go. The two times I have been there have been in July and it is very crowded and we always had the monsoons in the afternoon which made the water so rough we tied up for most of the afternoon. My brother goes in September when it is still warm but the crowds have died down and there is less wind.

[h2oskifreak]

Agreed, July & Aug. are also very hot. Water temp is good n warm in Sept. and not so brutally hot then.

[vegashomeexpert]

DO NOT GO TO LAKE POWELL! Just kidding. We go every August. You can find glass in any of the thousands of arms and side canyons that lead from the main channel. The monsoons only last an hour or two and add some memorable adventure to the trip. From dead calm to puff, puff, 50+ mile an hour winds in seconds. It has the perfect combination of air and water temperature, and the most dramatic scenery you will find anywhere. DO NOT cliff jump! You will be tempted to but this is the number one cause of death every year. Oh, and leave your quagga and zebra mussels at home. The rangers do a thorough job of checking before you launch. Last thing: No obsticles in the water are marked unless somebody tied a milk jug to it. Watch for submerged rocks as later in the season the water can drop half a foot a day. What was a clear path a few days ago can now cause some serious hurt to your underwater gear.