Glen Canyon National Recreation Area
Overview
Glen Canyon National Recreation Area (shortened to Glen Canyon NRA or GCNRA) is a national recreation area and conservation unit of the United States National Park Service that encompasses the area around Lake Powell and lower Cataract Canyon in Utah and Arizona, covering 1,254,429 acres (5,076.49 km2) of mostly rugged high desert terrain. The recreation area is named for Glen Canyon, which was flooded by the Glen Canyon Dam, completed in 1966, and is now mostly submerged beneath the waters of Lake Powell. Glen Canyon NRA borders Capitol Reef National Park and Canyonlands National Park on the north, Grand Staircase–Escalante National Monument on the west, Vermilion Cliffs National Monument and the northeasternmost reaches of Grand Canyon National Park on the southwest, and the Navajo Nation on the southeast.
Practical Info
Travel Tips
- This is a huge national protected area of over 1.25 million acres, covering all of Lake Powell, Horseshoe Bend, and the extremely magnificent desert canyon terrain along the Colorado River
- There's an extremely diverse range of activities in the recreation area, including hiking, camping, backcountry off-roading, boating, and fishing
- Because the area is vast and mostly uninhabited desert, be sure to download offline maps before wilderness adventures
- The preserve is directly governed by the U.S. National Park Service, so it perfectly supports the America the Beautiful Pass; single-entry fees are usually charged per vehicle
Reviews
- Extremely vast, with not only water but also endless red yardang terrain. Driving in with a National Park annual pass is very worthwhile, and the desert scenery along the way is grand and majestic—very much the feel of a road trip
- We experienced three days and two nights of houseboat life here, sailing to explore uninhabited canyons by day and lighting a bonfire on the beach at night—truly away from the noise of modern society
- Because the area is so vast, the distances between sights are great; without clear planning it's easy to waste all your time driving in circles, and phones have no signal at all in many deep-canyon areas