Top 7 Tips for Planning a Lake Powell Boat Tour: Wahweap Marina

When I included Page, AZ into my Grand Canyon trip itinerary, I didn’t expect it to be a highlight of the trip…but it definitely was! My main priorities for visiting were to see Horseshoe Bend and Antelope Canyon, but I was really surprised by the number of tourist activities there were in this small town.  We could easily have spent several days here, but we crammed what we could into the two and ha alf days we stayed.  One of the really impressive parts about Page and the surrounding area is Lake Powell.

Lake Powell is a man-made reservoir that sits in both Utah and Arizona.  Lake Powell is not what you think of when you think of a typical lake/reservoir. Instead of a nice, round shape it snakes and spiderwebs along the border of the two previously mentioned states.  With beautiful aqua water and dramatic red canyon walls, it’s probably the most interesting “lake” I’ve ever been to! Beaches, swimming, boating, camping, hiking…you name the recreation, and it can pretty much be done here! While visiting Page we took a boat tour of Lake Powell that included a hike to Rainbow Bridge National Monument.

The boat ride through the canyons of Lake Powell was really incredible! So many awesome sights with towering rock walls and interesting natural shapes – even hearts! The tour guides were awesome and very willing to talk with us about whatever questions we had! They would also periodically point out interesting trivia, such as the location where a scene from the original Planet of the Apes was filmed!

Lake Powell Resorts and Marinas offer boat tours from two locations, one of which is located in Page.  Wahweap Marina offers several boat tour destinations, so click here to see a full listing of what they offer.  Some only last an hour and a half while others last 6-8 hours.  Mine lasted 8.5 hours, so a lot of the perspective of this post will be determined by that experience.

Once again, this information covers only boat tours from Wahweap Marina.

Cost: Varies depending on the tour you choose

When should I book: I would book at least 6 months in advance no matter what they tell you.  My trip was in September and I called in March to book, but they told me that it was OK to wait until a couple of months before my trip.  I ended up calling back in May (because with how far in advance I planned this trip, I really didn’t want to leave anything to chance), and it was a good thing I did because the date I wanted was sold out! I had to rearrange my reservations for Lower Antelope Canyon so we could still fit the boat tour into our itinerary.

Restrooms: There are restrooms on the boat and at the Marina.

Tips:

1. In order to access Wahweap Marina, you will have to pay to enter Glen Canyon National Recreation Area.  This fee was $30 at the time of my visit, however, if you have a national parks pass it will cover this entrance fee.  Passes are good for 7 days, so if you do buy one make sure and take advantage of it in other areas of the National Recreation Area!
2. Bring your own snacks and drinks. Depending on the boat tour you choose, it can be an all day excursion.  The boat I was on left Wahweap Marina at 7AM and we didn’t return until 3:30PM.  They did not offer snacks on the boats (just water, coffee, and lemonade) so make sure you pack yourself something so you’re not a hangry tourist!! The boat I was on did end up stopping at the Dangling Rope Marina where there was a dine in eating area and a convenient store, but that wasn’t until 1 in the afternoon and we were definitely hungry before then!
3. Bring a hat, sunscreen, and sunglasses for protection against the sun.  My tour boat featured an upper and lower deck.  The upper deck is open so people were fighting to sit up there for the unobstructed views.  However, this means that there is no protection from the sun. Lots of people who were fighting to sit on the upper deck on the ride out were trying to find seats in the lower deck on the way back to get some relief! I was on the lower deck there and back and still was able to get some great pics.
4. If you are known to have issues with sea-sickness, you may consider bringing dramamine.  I’ve had sea-sickness before on a Cruise, but I was fine on this boat ride.
5. Make sure you take the time to talk to your tour guide! Ours were very happy to answer any questions we had and offered a lot of interesting tidbits about various locations around the lake!
6. My parents opted to take the headphones for the audio tour.  It did offer some interesting information but they ended up taking them off not long into the boat ride. My personal opinion is you could skip it.
7. If you have a really full itinerary, you may want to budget an extra 1-2 hours for this activity.  Our boat tour to Rainbow Bridge National Monument was only supposed to take six hours.  Once we got on the boat they announced that they had to drop a package off at Dangling Rope, which added another two and a half hours to our estimated time. When I planned this trip, I already thought six hours on a boat ride with a 9 month old would probably be problematic, so you can imagine how awesome it was to hear about the extension of time. We didn’t have any other activities planned that afternoon, but if we did we probably wouldn’t have made them.

Tips for Traveling with Kids:

• Bring recreation and snacks for your kiddo’s – the boat ride is a long one depending on the tour you take!
• Inside the boat on the lower deck is pretty safe for kiddo’s.  A few safety hazards are the windows and obviously the back of the boat.  If a window is open it would be possible for a small child to climb out of it.  People open the windows and walk away, so keep an eye out!
• The lower deck is a great place to protect your kids from the heat and sun.

We saw a lot of people on private boats, houseboats, jet skis…literally, a ton of water adventures is to be had here! I think it’d be really cool to rent a houseboat one day!! Lake Powell Resorts and Marinas do offer houseboat rentals, but it’d probably be wise to shop around in this instance.

At the beginning of the tour, everyone on the lower deck was crowded onto the back.  Take your time and hold your seat – they’ll disperse pretty soon…right around when the scenery starts to get a lot better!

Every corner turned offered fresh views! I had literally hundreds of pictures I had to sift through once I got home!

My little Colorado Native was having a hard time with the heat…pretty much the entire time she was in the state of Arizona.

This jet skier hang with us for a while riding our wake

This was one of my favorite pics! I was hanging out the window trying to take a picture and my dad happened to be behind me at the back of the boat. Fun times!

So I’m not gonna lie to you…after the initial boat tour and hike to Rainbow Bridge, the boat becomes a little less exciting! After 8 hours on the tour, we all agreed that it was awesome and we were glad we did it, but we also agreed that we were more than ready to get off the boat!

Overall, we really enjoyed our boat tour…although with a nine month old, I probably wouldn’t do one that long again (although in my defense it was only supposed to be 6 hours!)

Well, I hope I convinced you to make a boat tour of Lake Powell part of your Page Itinerary! Don’t forget to leave me a comment and let me know what you think!

Until next time!