The soft red Navajo sandstone rocks near Page harbor several of the most beautiful slot canyons in the Southwest.

Seven miles north of the state boundary at the village of Big Water is the turn-off for the Smoky Mountain Road, a long, unpaved, cross-country route that follows close to the shoreline for several miles then turns northwards, eventually reaching Escalante. Even the distinctive smoking spires of the Navajo Power Generating Plant, 10 miles southeast, seem at home amid the red rock landscape. About a mile south of the marina along US 89, a short road leads to a viewpoint on top of a small hill, with a full 360 degree panoramic view - over Page, the lake and the resort, with a backdrop of steep cliffs and submerged pinnacles at one side, and the distant plateau of the Paria Canyon-Vermilion Cliffs Wilderness Area to the other. The lake has several interesting and easily accessible tributary canyons hereabouts, including Blue Pool Wash, Stateline Canyon and Jacobs Tanks Draw, though anywhere on the shoreline near Wahweap is quite scenic and relatively easily reached. There is a popular overlook of Glen Canyon a few miles south of Page at Horseshoe Bend, reached by a half mile hike from US 89 apart from this, about the only recognized viewpoint is at the end of the Spencer Trail starting at Lees Ferry.Ĭamping for no charge is possible on several side tracks west of the highway, such as one starting 1.7 miles south of the AZ/UT boundary. Both dam and town are surrounded by vast areas of red sand and slickrock, with hardly any grass, bushes or trees. The dam itself is a few miles from the town, across a deep, narrow river gorge - the only remaining section of Glen Canyon, which continues southwards in its original state 15 miles to Lees Ferry where the cliffs open out temporarily before closing in once more at the start of the Grand Canyon. Facilities include an airport (hosting scheduled flights from Las Vegas and Phoenix, plus sight-seeing tours over the lake), a library, hospital, golf course, jeep and boat rental outfits, several museums, and a decent selection of hotels, restaurants and supermarkets.

Since then it thrives largely on the tourism industry and power generation.

Situated close to the southwest end of Lake Powell, and two miles from the northern edge of the Navajo Indian Reservation, Page was founded in the 1950s as a town to house the thousands of construction workers building Glen Canyon Dam.

Easily accessible slot canyons utah