Epic Travel → North America → Mountain States → Arizona → Lake Powell Area → Glen Canyon Dam

Location: Page, Arizona

Time Required: 30 minutes – 2 hours

Red Tape/Notes: The Carl Hayden Visitor Center is free to visit (open 8am – 4pm daily except major holidays, and with extended hours various times of the year – visit the nps website for more information) and you can also take guided tours of the dam, which are offered by the Glen Canyon Natural History Association. Tours are first come, first served, but can be reserved IN PERSON at Carl Hayden Visitor Center (no phone calls) 24 hours in advance. Tours are offered starting at 8:30am at various intervals depending on the time of year, last about 45 minutes, and cost $5 for adults. For more information visit this website.

What’s Nearby?: Toadstool Hoodoos, Lone Rock Canyon Kayaking, Horseshoe Bend

Considered as a prospect for a dam in the 1920’s, Glen Canyon was originally passed over in favor of the Black Canyon, the future home of the Hoover Dam. Thirty years later, rapid population growth in the Colorado River Basin created concern that additional reservoirs were necessary and led to the building of the Glen Canyon Dam and the creation of Lake Powell, from 1956 t0 1966. It was a hotly debated topic and was a major spark for the modern environmental movement (the original plan was to build a dam in Dinosaur National Monument, which was met with enough opposition that the government changed the site to Glen Canyon), but it continues to be heavily discussed today, with many people advocating for the dam’s removal. Critics point to the large evaporative losses from Lake Powell, the impact of the dam on the ecology of the Grand Canyon (which lies just downstream), and lament the loss of beautiful places like the Cathedral in the Desert and the Rainbow Bridge natural arch, which were covered in water after the dam was built. Declining water levels have made the Rainbow Bridge visible and accessible again,  and the Cathedral in the Desert fully emerged briefly in 2005, when water levels dropped to historic lows; outside of this unusual circumstance, the Cathedral is exposed to varying degrees, depending on the water levels. Proponents of course cite the reasons the dam was originally built – it provides water to thousands of people, preventing the necessity for rationing during droughts, in addition to being a source of hydroelectricity and a popular recreational area. Whichever side you fall on, it’s an interesting place to visit from an engineering standpoint; the visitor’s center has interesting information on the area and walking across the bridge provides nice views of the dam, Lake Powell, and Glen Canyon.

Epic Travel → North America → Mountain States → Arizona → Lake Powell Area → Glen Canyon Dam