Before you arrive at Lake Powell, prepare for a landscape unlike any you've seen before. The lake's spectacular shoreline is almost moon-like, strangely beautiful, slightly eerie and completely fascinating.
You'll find almost barren ground, narrow beaches of rust-colored pebbles, and harsh red earth punctuated by scrub brush and delicate wild flowers.The lake's clear blue water reflects mountains rising steeply along the shore. Narrow channels zig-zag between sheer red-rock walls tapestried with yellow and black outcroppings.
Before 1963, if you wanted to vacation here you had to take a river raft or ride in on horse back. Back then, Lake Powell was Glen Canyon, a huge, beautiful wilderness carved out by the Colorado River. The more famous Grand Canyon is downriver to the southwest.
The decision to dam the river at Glen Canyon's lower end was controversial. Environmentalists felt it unwise to tamper with the river's flow; historians objected to the destruction of archaeological sites.
Nevertheless, construction of the dam began in 1955, and its gates were closed in 1963. By 1980, the 186-mile-long lake had filled to capacity, reaching its maximum level of elevation (3,700 feet).
Now the dam's generators produce electricity to light Phoenix and Lake Powell. Straddling the Arizona-Utah border, it's a thriving tourist destination, popular with families and people who want to get back to nature.
Tourists come to sunbathe, swim, water-ski, dive and fish. The area is open year-round, but summer is high season.
Visitors can hike up into the hills and camp out. They can also book at lakeside RV parks, or stay in hotels, lodges and housekeeping units at several resorts around the lake - Wahweap in Arizona, Bullfrog, Hall's Crossing and Hite in Utah.
Land-based visitors can dabble in water sports around pools and beachfronts. Boat excursions include sunset dinner cruises, and day-long adventures across the lake to ancient Indian ruins or to spectacular Rainbow Bridge National Monument, a 290-feet-high natural arch.
Best of all are slow-cruising houseboats that provide mobility and comfortable accommodations. ARA's houseboats sleep six, 10 or 12 persons, and have complete kitchen facilities, toilets and showers.
All visitors to Lake Powell are expected to observe the basic environmentally-correct rule for tourists: Take only pictures, leave only footprints.
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IF YOU GO: Motel and lodge rooms and housekeeping suites at Wahweap, Bullfrog, Hall's Crossing and Hite cost $35.25-$165.25 a night for a single, depending on location and time of year.
Week-long houseboat rentals are $727-$1,950, depending on time of year and boat size. Two-, three- and four-day rentals are also available. Powerboats and water toys (waverunners, wavecutters, kneeboards, etc.) are also rented by the day or week.
Boat excursions cost $8.75-$62.95 for adults, $6.25-$39.95 for children.
For reservations and-or further information call ARA Leisure Services at 800-528-6154.
Because not all visitors comply with the "Take only pictures, leave only footprints" rule, the National Park Service runs five-day Lake Powell Trash Tracker voyages. These offer free houseboat berths to people who are willing to clean up the waste others have left behind. Places for this year's April to mid-November program are filled, but 1993 slots are being assigned as applications are received. For applications, write the National Park Service, P.O. Box 1507, Page, AZ 86040 or phone 602-645-2471.