Lake Powell boat tours: the 2026 guide

The tour most people come to Lake Powell to book is not currently running. The scheduled full-day boat tour to Rainbow Bridge from Wahweap Marina is listed by its own operator as unavailable until further notice, because the lake sits too low for the dock at the monument to reach land. Plenty still runs, and one route to Rainbow Bridge still exists, but it costs a different kind of money. This guide gives you what is bookable today at both marinas, the real 2026 rates, and where the same canyon costs $30 less per adult depending on which dock you leave from.

Two marinas, two operators, different prices

Lake Powell has two marinas close to Page and they are run by different companies. Wahweap, 12 minutes north, is operated by Lake Powell Resorts & Marinas under the NPS concessioner contract for Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. Antelope Point, 10 minutes east, sits on Navajo Nation land and is run independently. Most guides treat Wahweap as the whole story, which is how people end up paying more than they need to: both marinas sell a Navajo Canyon tour and both sell a way into Antelope Canyon by water, at prices that are not close.

Rates read from lakepowell.com and antelopepointlakepowell.com on 27 October 2026. Add $30 on top at either marina: the Glen Canyon park pass at Wahweap (one vehicle, seven days) or the Navajo Nation entrance fee at Antelope Point. Wahweap publishes a duration for the dam cruise but not for its Navajo Canyon tour.

Two things in that table are worth sitting with. The first is that Wahweap has suspended both of its canyon-destination tours, Rainbow Bridge and Antelope Canyon, leaving the dam cruise as its main scheduled product. The second is the price gap on Navajo Canyon: $105 from Wahweap, from $75 from Antelope Point, and $73 against $45 for a child. A family of four saves around $120 by driving ten minutes east instead of twelve minutes north. The catch is the calendar, because Antelope Point runs a reduced schedule outside summer.

The Utah-side marinas at Bullfrog and Hite are a 3-hour drive around the lake and serve houseboat customers rather than day-trippers, though Bullfrog and Halls Crossing are where Wahweap's north-lake private charter departs from.

Rainbow Bridge: the scheduled tour is suspended

Rainbow Bridge is the reason most people put a boat trip on their Lake Powell plan. At 290 feet tall and 275 feet wide, it is the largest natural stone arch in the world, and there is no road and no trail to it. The surrounding terrain on Navajo Nation land is managed as a sacred site, and the NPS courtesy dock at the head of Forbidding Canyon is the access point for visitors arriving by water.

That leaves two ways to stand under the arch: your own vessel, or a private charter. Antelope Point Marina sells a roughly 6-hour private expedition with a captain, reserved for your group alone, at $2,995 for up to five guests. That is $599 each with a full boat and $1,498 each for a couple, which is a different proposition from a $167 seat and worth saying plainly. If Rainbow Bridge is the single reason for the trip and you are five people, the maths is less brutal than it first looks. If it is a nice-to-have, it is not the year for it.

Self-guided boats cannot reach the bridge on a half-day rental either: the round trip is roughly 100 miles and takes most of a day even in a fast powerboat.

Glen Canyon Dam Cruise (90 minutes, $99)

With the canyon-destination tours suspended, this is Wahweap's main scheduled product. The Glen Canyon Dam Cruise runs 90 minutes through Wahweap Bay to Glen Canyon Dam, the second-largest concrete arch dam in the United States, with narration on how it was built and what it flooded. Coffee, water and lemonade are on board. It costs $99 adult and $45 child (ages 3 to 12), before the $30 park fee.

Seeing the dam from the water is a genuinely different thing from seeing it from the overlook on US-89: from below, the scale of the arch and the canyon it plugs reads properly for the first time. It is also the easier option for families with young children, and at 90 minutes it fits around Horseshoe Bend or an Antelope Canyon slot without losing the day.

Navajo Canyon: the same canyon at two prices

Navajo Canyon is the long side canyon east of the dam, with high walls, calm water and a view out to Tower Butte. Both marinas run a tour into it, and the gap is the single clearest saving on this page: $105 adult and $73 child from Wahweap, against from $75 adult and $45 child from Antelope Point for a 2-hour trip.

The reason to check dates before celebrating is that Antelope Point runs its Navajo Canyon tour on a restricted schedule outside the summer, down to a couple of fixed afternoon departures a week in late October. Wahweap runs more consistently. If your dates fit the Antelope Point calendar, take it; if they do not, Wahweap is the one that will actually be sailing.

Antelope Canyon by water, and kayaking it yourself

The Antelope Canyon Waterway is the flooded lower extension of the slot-canyon system, a narrow winding corridor with 80-foot sandstone walls that you can reach without a Navajo permit or a timed slot. With Wahweap's boat tour into it suspended, there are two ways in: the 1-hour boat tour from Antelope Point at $50 adult and $30 child, or your own paddle.

Paddling is the better experience, and it is the one most people underestimate. The water is shallow, sheltered and calm, which makes it fine for beginners, and the walls are close enough that you will instinctively reach out to touch them. Bring a dry bag for your phone. Guided trips pair the paddle with a hike up into the canyon itself, which is the part a boat tour cannot give you.

Kayaking is best between May and early October. Beyond the waterway, the open water is heavily used by powerboats in summer and a solo kayak is not always visible to fast traffic, so stick to the side canyons and the no-wake zones. Antelope Point has lockers, a small café and clean restrooms on site, and a complimentary golf cart runs you from Guest Services down to the marina.

The Canyon Princess dinner cruise ($135)

Lake Powell's sandstone catches the last hour of daylight in a way that justifies its own outing, and the operator's evening product is the Canyon Princess dinner cruise from Wahweap: a plated dinner on board over roughly two hours, at $135 per adult before taxes and fees, plus the $30 park fee. Departure times shift with sunset through the season, running late afternoon into the evening.

Two things to know before you plan an evening around it. The winter departures only sail if at least 25 passengers are booked 48 hours ahead, so an off-season booking is provisional until that threshold is met, and the operator asks you to call and check the status of your trip inside that 48-hour window. And at $135 this is a dinner out rather than a cheap way onto the water: if you want the evening light and not the meal, the 90-minute dam cruise at $99 covers similar ground.

Private charters and pontoon rentals

Both marinas rent motorised boats, pontoons and jet-skis to visitors who want to explore independently, and both sell captained private charters, which is a different product: you get the boat and someone who knows the lake driving it.

Wahweap publishes $280 per hour for its north-lake private charter, up to 6 guests, departing Bullfrog or Halls Crossing on Sundays, Mondays, Fridays and Saturdays at 9am, noon and 3pm. Its south-lake charter leaves from Wahweap seven days a week with flexible timings and is priced on request. Antelope Point's private Rainbow Bridge expedition, covered above, is the charter most people are actually looking for at $2,995 for up to five guests.

For a self-drive rental, a valid government-issued ID and a credit card for the damage deposit are required. No boating licence is needed in Arizona, but a short orientation on navigation rules and the no-wake zones around the marina is mandatory. Pontoon rentals make the most sense for groups who want a slow morning in the lower canyons, a swim stop on a sandstone beach and lunch at anchor, not for covering distance.

How early do you need to book?

In summer (June to August) the Wahweap departures and the guided kayak trips fill two to four weeks out on popular dates. July 4 week and any holiday weekend should be treated as blocked unless booked a month or more ahead. In May, September and October you can often book three to five days ahead without a problem.

From November to March the calendar is the real constraint rather than capacity. Antelope Point drops its Navajo Canyon tour to a couple of fixed afternoons a week, and the Canyon Princess only sails if 25 passengers are booked 48 hours out. A winter booking is provisional until that number is met, so build a fallback into the day rather than planning the evening around it.

Cancellation terms differ by operator and are worth reading before you pay. Wahweap refunds in full if you cancel at least 24 hours before departure, and forfeits the ticket inside that window. Antelope Point wants 48 hours and refunds the ticket price but not the booking fees. The Viator kayak trips cancel free up to 24 hours before, which is the most forgiving of the three if your dates are still soft.

Water level: why the Rainbow Bridge tour stopped

Lake Powell's level has swung hard since 2020 under the prolonged Colorado River drought, and it is the variable that decides what is bookable here. The route to Rainbow Bridge runs up Forbidding Canyon to an NPS courtesy dock, and when the lake drops the channel gets too shallow for tour boats and the dock stops reaching the shore. The Park Service currently states plainly that at present levels the dock at Rainbow Bridge does not reach land, and the operator's own page describes a 2-mile round-trip walk to the monument.

This is not theoretical and it is not new: the route was suspended or modified during the severe low water of 2022 and 2023, recovered somewhat into 2025, and the scheduled tour is suspended again now. A dry winter on the Colorado headwaters moves it in one direction and a heavy snowpack in the other, which is why no date for a restart has been announced.

Two sources worth checking before you build a plan around the lake:

• NPS Glen Canyon conditions page at nps.gov/glca, updated regularly with marina status, boat ramp availability and route restrictions.
• Bureau of Reclamation Lake Powell data, which gives the current daily elevation. Above 3,540 feet is comfortable; below 3,520 feet is the range where access to the up-lake canyons starts to break down.

Getting to Wahweap Marina from Page

Wahweap is 12 miles north of Page centre: a 12-minute drive. From the junction of US-89 and Navajo Drive in downtown Page, head north on US-89 toward Utah. After about 7 miles you cross the bridge over Glen Canyon Dam; 5 miles after the dam junction, turn left onto Lakeshore Drive. The NPS entry kiosk (where you pay the $30 vehicle fee) is shortly after the turn; the marina and tour departure dock are another mile beyond.

Antelope Point Marina is a separate facility: from Page, take Highway 222 East for 8 miles. The turnoff is signposted but the final approach road is unpaved: high-clearance is not required but a standard sedan handles it better when dry. If travelling by rental car, confirm the road surface conditions in wet weather before heading out.

Neither marina is accessible by public transport. A rental car or a taxi/rideshare from Page is the only practical way to reach either one for most visitors.

Frequently asked questions

About this guide

Written by Diego Fresno, travel writer and independent publisher specialising in the American Southwest. Lake Powell research based on a July 2025 visit to Wahweap Marina and Antelope Point, plus NPS and Bureau of Reclamation water-level data reviewed June 2026. Verified quarterly: last review April 2026. About the author →

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