Spending time on Lake Powell near Tower Butte can make anyone excited.
Encompassing over 1.25 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.
Glen Canyon National Recreation Area is taking proactive steps to maintain uplake boating access at Lake Powell during the 2026 summer season. With lower water levels expected throughout the summer, the park and its partners are adjusting facilities to ensure visitors can continue accessing services in the Bullfrog and Halls Crossing areas. The land-based services at Bullfrog remain open.
Glen Canyon National Recreation Area is preparing for projected low water levels at Lake Powell in 2026. In collaboration with concessioners and state partners, park staff are committed to sustaining visitor access and high-quality services throughout the upcoming season. While lower lake levels are expected, the park and its partners are actively implementing strategies to maintain access, and lake access is not anticipated to be lost this summer.
A new National Park Service report shows that 4.72 million visitors to Glen Canyon National Recreation Area and Rainbow Bridge National Monument in 2024 spent $518.2 million in communities near the park units. That spending had a cumulative benefit to the local economy of $635.4 million.