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Lake Powell Water Levels


racer808

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I was looking up Lake Powell water levels but the data isn't exactly helping me understand.  Is it still way down?  Do you gotta be extra careful with rocks & sudden changes in depth?  Anyone out there recently?  Last year they were saying it was way down?

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Full pool is at 3700' elevation.  Right now the lake is about 108' down.  Runoff will start soon, so this is probably about the lowest it will get this year.  I would guess the high water mark this year will be around 3620' elevation.

 

Long story short, there is still plenty of water in the lake.  With the exception of HIte, all the boat ramps are accessible, as is the Castle Rock cut.

 

I've been going to Powell all my life - first trip was in 1978.  We went 6 times last year, and I hope my first trip this year is towards the end of this month.  I would always advise caution with rocks and sudden changes in depth, especially once you get out of the main channel.  Regardless of lake level "whales" are always a danger there.

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Prop getters are abundant in that lake, especially as mentioned once out of the main channel.  The lake constantly changes with differences in elevation.   One of the most daunting things I have seen at Powell was where we stopped to do some cliff jumping.  There were perfectly carved prop spirals in the rock where some unfortunate person ran their boat over a 50 yard section when the water level was higher, but still submerged  just enough.

A few years back, I was cruising the main channel and it went from 400' to 10' and back very quickly.  I've also seen spires sticking up from the bottom in some of the finger canyons.  Best advice is to stick near the channel markers, and slowly investigate the finger canyons with a good spotter in front of the boat before ripping around.

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Being this would be our first trip out there.  We would be coming in at Bullfrog.  If I stick around Bullfrog is it rather safe?  May just do Navajo again, looks like it is way full already.

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As I said, the main channel is fine.  In the last 10 years, I probably have 35 - 40 trips out there.  Knock on wood, I have never hit a whale, but there is always a first.

Halls Creek Bay is one of the more popular areas on the north end, and there are a few to watch for there.  Hansen Creek also has a couple.  One are to watch for at the beginning of Rincon depending on water level.  Those are the main areas I would watch for on the North end.

Navajo isn't much further time wise than Powell.  Given that, there is no way I would choose it over Powell, but to each their own.

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18 hours ago, racer808 said:

Being this would be our first trip out there.  We would be coming in at Bullfrog.  If I stick around Bullfrog is it rather safe?  May just do Navajo again, looks like it is way full already.

That sounds like a wasted trip to lake powell.  Don't let people scare you, just be smart and you'll be fine.  Scout your riding area, if you're riding off the main channel, go slow into places you aren't familiar.  Yes powell can be dangerous if you act like a moron, but if you are careful you'll be fine.  Navajo is a waste compared to powell

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If the statements of 'don't let people scare you' being made are in reference to me, that isn't what I was trying to do.  Just like any unfamiliar body of water, proceed with caution.  Don't limit yourself to a certain part of the lake because of potentials.  There are lots of cool things to see if you are going to make the trip there.  I do advise that if you go sight seeing, to mind your gas gauge.  It is a BIG lake and you can burn through some fuel if you go cruising.  

On the Powell vs Navajo subject:  While I do spend a lot of time at Navajo since I'm 45 minutes from from it, there is no comparison to Lake Powell.  If Powell wasn't a 3.5 hour drive, I'd be going there every weekend instead.

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24 minutes ago, TheHardWay said:

If the statements of 'don't let people scare you' being made are in reference to me, that isn't what I was trying to do.  Just like any unfamiliar body of water, proceed with caution.  Don't limit yourself to a certain part of the lake because of potentials.  There are lots of cool things to see if you are going to make the trip there.  I do advise that if you go sight seeing, to mind your gas gauge.  It is a BIG lake and you can burn through some fuel if you go cruising.  

On the Powell vs Navajo subject:  While I do spend a lot of time at Navajo since I'm 45 minutes from from it, there is no comparison to Lake Powell.  If Powell wasn't a 3.5 hour drive, I'd be going there every weekend instead.

Sorry I didn't mean it to sound that harsh, just seemed like he was getting gun shy from everyone's warnings.

 

I've been going to powell for almost 28 years.  The last 8 we had a share out of wahweep, this year we switched to one out of bull frog(I couldn't take that drive any longer), it will be the first trip out of bull frog in 8 years.  Even right outside of bull frog there are dangers if you don't pay attention, but once you figure the lake out and are cautious you'll be fine.  2 years ago my buddy bought his 42' nor-tech out and we ran around the lake doing 85mph.  The lake changes a ton when you can get places at 85mph.  We went form antelope point to way up the san juan in like 45mins.  If a boat can do 85mph up and down the main channel you will be fine.  Just make sure you look for rocks and do your due diligence around where you camp and ride.

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On April 4, 2016 at 1:41 PM, racer808 said:

Being this would be our first trip out there.  We would be coming in at Bullfrog.  If I stick around Bullfrog is it rather safe?  May just do Navajo again, looks like it is way full already.

I have launched out of Bullfrog with my friend who goes 4-5 times a year, there really is no good places to ride in that area... my buddy always heads to Halls bay, you can get into the back arm and get away from the masses and get some nice water.  I have only been in September, apparently its pretty light on the traffic I heard during the summer the place is a zoo.  If you really want to take an awesome wakeboard run, goto Moki Canyon at crack of dawn and be the first one to ride back into the canyon.  It will be epic, you have to be the first one... it only takes one boat to turn that place into a washing machine.  Powell is a cool place, the only bad thing about it is a lot of the lake turns into a washing machine chopped up, you need to find some shoreline other than rocks to help absorb the waves to help calm down the water.  Make sure and explore there is a ton of fun stuff to discover!

 

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Not scared off, more concerned with a lot of the issues stated above:  Getting fuel, not being able to explore more than the immediate bull frog bay area.  Seems like without a house boat or someone with knowledge of the lake a first time trip seems a little intimidating & everything cool is far away.  Not sure it is worth the 8 hour drive to just see Bull Frog & the immediate areas.  Although, being I've never been, just getting a whiff of the place sounds cool.  We would be there during the week so I am not too concerned with crowds and all my local lakes are zoo's anyway so I am used to that.    The other concern is how quick storms can move in.  Also, due to how much crap I would have to bring, we would be camping or hotel in Bull Frog, so again, I would only be able to see a small portion of the lake.  At the end of the day, all we want is glass everyday & some where good to sleep or camp.  I will note (as you will see in another thread) my new boat purchase may make summer vacations local mini vacations as I am not going to want to spend a ton of money on trips, rather I won't be able too

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15 hours ago, racer808 said:

Not scared off, more concerned with a lot of the issues stated above:  Getting fuel, not being able to explore more than the immediate bull frog bay area.  Seems like without a house boat or someone with knowledge of the lake a first time trip seems a little intimidating & everything cool is far away.  Not sure it is worth the 8 hour drive to just see Bull Frog & the immediate areas.  Although, being I've never been, just getting a whiff of the place sounds cool.  We would be there during the week so I am not too concerned with crowds and all my local lakes are zoo's anyway so I am used to that.    The other concern is how quick storms can move in.  Also, due to how much crap I would have to bring, we would be camping or hotel in Bull Frog, so again, I would only be able to see a small portion of the lake.  At the end of the day, all we want is glass everyday & some where good to sleep or camp.  I will note (as you will see in another thread) my new boat purchase may make summer vacations local mini vacations as I am not going to want to spend a ton of money on trips, rather I won't be able too

I think you're over thinking this whole thing.  You can go a long ways away from bull frog, you just have to make sure to either watch your fuel on the way out so you know how much you need to get back, or take some gas cans.  We camped all the way up in good hope bay(40 miles north of BF) one year with a houseboat with no toy tank.  Every morning we would drive to BF fill the boat up and drive back.  It took a 1/4 tank each way and we had 1/2 a tank to play and also took 20 gallons of gas in cans.  Good hope bay is a ways out, you don't have to go that far out to find great camping and riding spots, you don't have to go more than 5-15 miles from BF to do that.  If you stay at the hotel there you can go out and explore then come back, but I find it uses a lot of gas and kind of misses half the fun of the lake.  I've only done that once and it was my first trip there at 12 years old.

Doesn't matter if you go on the weekend or weekdays, the lake isn't a weekend type lake, people go there and stay an avg of a week, so it's usually the same all week long, but it's big and you can usually find a secluded spot no matter what.  Mid summer is going to be more crowded than late summer.

Storms can move in, but you usually can see them coming, this is more of an issue if you stay at the hotel, if you're camping you usually just go back to camp.  The key to this is to make sure you camp in a cany0on off the main channel so it's protected, and you don't want to camp directly under a cliff in case you get a water fall. 

What do you bring when you usually boat camp?  That's what you need to bring here.  Nothing special, except if you go mid summer you're going to need lots of ice. It can be 120 degrees in late july early august.  Every time you make a gas run buy crap ton of ice too

You can get glass all day everyday all over the lake, you just have to find the right canyon and not over run it and cause it to be a mess.  The best is to find two spots and run them back to back, so one clears each time.  The last few years we stayed in last chance(southern part of the lake, about 60 miles from BF) and could find glass all day long.  The main channel is what really gets to be a mess due to all the boats traveling it and bouncing wakes off the walls.

Edited by CJAY
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Read up this site, should help you quite a bit understanding lake powell.  http://www.wayneswords.com/index.php Has all sorts of info and a forum where people help each other out.  You can do all sorts of research to help make this easier.  We spend about 2 months researching and planning before we launch.  I do google earth map looks and compare the water level data to dates in the past on google earth that are close to figure out where the beaches will be and what to look out for.  Scouting is key

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Fuel is a real issue.  No two ways about that.  But you can make it work, just have to plan ahead.

I think the first thing you really need to do is decide if you are going to camp or stay in the lodge.

If camping, either bring some gas cans or fuel barrels (my buddy bought some 25 - 45 gallon plastic barrels we use with a fuel transfer pump).  You will also be required to have some sort of a port-a-potty.

If staying in the lodge, fuel should not be as much of a problem because I would hope your boat has enough fuel to go a full day without worry.

We have a houseboat in the Bullfrog slips.  While we do multiple trips per year, I will only take the houseboat out on one or two trips (lots of reasons I can go into detail if needed).  There are advantages to staying close to Bullfrog, and you can still have a good time, you just have to be willing to put in some travel time.  Be prepared to go north towards Good Hope Bay, or south towards Rincon.  The marinas post a weather report each day which are very accurate.

Powell is my favorite place.  Anyone that is within 20 hours of the lake, has a boat, and has never been is doing themself a disservice.

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