Arizona, New Mexico & the Grand Canyon Trips (Lonely Planet, 1st Edition) - Aaron Anderson [103]
SLEEP
Grand Canyon Lodge
Comfortable, quiet cabins with private baths and heaters. 877-386-4383; www.grandcanyonforever.com; North Rim; r $107, cabins $111-156; mid-May–mid-Oct;
Jacob Lake Inn
The peaceful, sweet cabins are a better deal than the perfectly comfortable motel rooms. Located 44 miles north of North Rim. 928-643-7232; www.jacoblake.com; r $108-147, cabins $84-136;
Kaibab Lodge
Acceptable alternative if you can’t get a booking at Grand Canyon Lodge and don’t want to stay as far as Jacob Lake. Located 18 miles north of North Rim. 928-638-2389; www.kaibablodge.com; cabins $85-155; mid-May–mid-Oct;
North Rim Campground
Has a general store, a gas station, a coin-operated laundry and ponderosa-shaded campsites. 928-638-7814; http://reservations.nps.gov; North Rim; campsites $25;
USEFUL WEBSITES
www.grandcanyon.org/fieldinstitute
www.kaibab.org
LINK YOUR TRIP www.lonelyplanet.com/trip-planner
TRIP
5 Rim-to-Rim Canyon Hike
35 Written in Stone: Utah’s National Parks
33 Lazing on Lake Powell
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Return to beginning of chapter
Lazing on Lake Powell
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WHY GO Controversy be damned, Lake Powell provides a cool respite from the desert heat. Paddling the lake in a kayak is ideal for exploring its small coves and side canyons – or let a guide do the paddling on a smooth-water float on the deep green waters below Glen Canyon Dam.
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TIME
3 days
DISTANCE
190 miles
BEST TIME TO GO
Apr – Oct
START
Page, AZ
END
Marble Canyon, AZ
ALSO GOOD FOR
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Even as you approach the lake, a glimpse of its sapphire-blue water through the undulating heat waves is almost enough to cool you down a smidge. Sliding a foot over the side of your kayak feels magnitudes better, and a quick, brave dip in the Colorado will take the edge off any heat-singed soul, as the water temperature hovers around a deliciously shivery 47°F year-round.
Ease onto the water with someone else at the oars with Colorado River Discovery in Page. Running smoothwater floats on motorized or rowed rafts, these trips leaving from Lees Ferry are a relaxed introduction to the steep canyon walls and swirling eddies of the Colorado. Expert guides relate the rich history and geology of the canyon as you drift. Get your land legs back with a midday hike to Horseshoe Bend, about 4 miles south of Page. The payoff is huge, with the trail only three-quarters of a mile and leading to a sudden dropoff at the crazy bend in the river that gives this lookout its moniker.
Backtracking to the dam, browse the interpretive displays at Carl Hayden Visitor Center for some fascinating background on Lake Powell – completion of the enormous Glen Canyon Dam in 1963 culminated in the controversial flooding (and thus demise) of its eponymous canyon, creating Lake Powell in its place. Hour-long tours of the dam depart throughout the day, but if engineering isn’t your thing, just wander out back for a look at the dam, and ponder how one ecosystem was created as another was destroyed, and how the controlled release of its water impacts communities and ecosystems from the dam to the ocean hundreds of miles away.
As the day’s heat dissipates by degrees, check into one of the mom-and-pops on Page’s “Old Motel Row”. Debbie’s Hide A Way is one favorite, with homey, fully-equipped suites and a slightly loopy garden peppered with tikis out back, an inviting spot for evening beers. For dinner, stroll over to Lake Powell Blvd and snag a terrace table at Fiesta Mexicana for Mexican comfort food and margaritas. Though both branches on the boulevard serve good chile rellenos, be careful which branch you choose, as the terrace-less one doesn’t serve booze.
But don’t overdo it with the powerful margaritas, because next morning you’ll be perfecting your power-paddle on Lake Powell. The easiest