Encompassing over 1.2 million acres, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area offers unparalleled opportunities for water-based & backcountry recreation. The recreation area stretches for hundreds of miles from Lees Ferry in Arizona to the Orange Cliffs of southern Utah, encompassing scenic vistas, geologic wonders, and a vast panorama of human history.

Photo: National Park Service 

Encompassing over 1.2 million acres, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area offers unparalleled opportunities for water-based & backcountry recreation. The recreation area stretches for hundreds of miles from Lees Ferry in Arizona to the Orange Cliffs of southern Utah, encompassing scenic vistas, geologic wonders, and a vast panorama of human history.

Photo: National Park Service 

In 1972, Congress established the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area “to provide for public use and enjoyment and to preserve the area’s scientific, historic, and scenic features.” The uniquely beautiful area encompassed within the NRA stretches for hundreds of miles from Lees Ferry in Arizona to southern Utah. The scenic landscape created by the clear deep blue water of Lake Powell set against the red and orange sandstone cliffs draws over three million visitors to this area each year from all over the world.

The Glen Canyon National Recreation Area offers over 1.2 million acres of unparalleled opportunities for water-based & backcountry recreation. Lake Powell has become a major destination for many activities, such as fishing, camping, backcountry hiking, water sports, and boating, particularly houseboating. A good variety of fish can be found in Lake Powell including bass, bluegill, walleye, black crappie, northern pike, and catfish while the clear cool water in the 15-mile stretch of the Colorado River below the dam to Lees Ferry supports a blue-ribbon trout fishery.

Photo: Arlene Walachy, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation