Dear fellow Arizonian 4-wheelers

I am planning a vacation this July/August (my stepdaughter is visiting from Russia) and I decided to take a route through Arizona and Utah. My preliminary plan is:

1) July 25 and 26 - camping at Toroweap / Tuweep overlook in Northern Grand Canyon;
2) July 27 and 28 - exploring the north shore of the Lake Powell;
3) July 29, 30, 31, Aug 1 - camping in Goblin Valley State Park and exploring the vicinity, on foot and in the vehicle (I already booked the campsite).

I have a question: how manageable the heat in Northern Grand Canyon this time of the year ? Who has the experience camping near GC and/or Lake Powell in summer ?

I've been several times to Arizona, but all my travels happened in the winter.

Can anybody give me some advises how to spend two days around the Lake Powell ? I was thinking about Alstrom Point, and/or Grand Bench, and/or Hole-in-the-Rock, and/or Bullfrog marina. How is the heat there ? How the lake is accessible for the swimming from those places ? I know that the lake is mostly in Utah, but there is no dedicated Utah section here, and you guys probably is very familiar with Utah.

May be, you can give me advises how to plan these 8 days better.

Thanks a lot in advance !

Sure I spend lots of time up there, some of my favorite places!!

The elevation of the north rim, while much higher than the expected hot parts of arizona (phx, yuma, etc) is still very hot - as is the area around the shore of Powell. If you plan to drive Smoky Mtn Road from around Big Water up toward Escalante, for example... the stretch across the moon is going to be just miserable heat (and stunningly beautiful) - biggest thing to keep an eye on there is engine heat. Climbing a 15% grade in a 100+F canyon oven is tough on any car's cooling system.

I have to admit driving from the north rim all the way up to goblin valley is a bit hurried, lotta driving time in between those two whether you take the highway or the scenic route. Big Water to Escalante on Smoky Mtn Rd. is a full day's drive, and if you had planned to take left hand collet canyon road down to see the hoodoos... better have 2 very good 4x4's - that route has deteriorated badly and there is no safe way down it without 2 serious vehicles. . The other main routes across that area are fine though. From Escalante to Goblin Valley is basically another full day's drive, the roads up there aren't exactly 75mph highway belts and there is a ton of beautiful stuff that hasn't yet been closed, to explore along the way.

The shores of Powell are hot hot hot that time of year, no 2 ways around it. Water's awesome though! If a little swampy sometimes up north of the marina. You can find lots of camping around there, no need for a designated campsite since you won't be leaving a mess behind - just drive out on the lake shore and set up tent. That time of year a lot of "I'M ON A MF BOAT!" yahoos are out.. sometimes it's quieter to camp somewhere else than near one of the marinas.

The ferry ride is awesome! It leaves when it leaves, and I think it's around 16 bucks IIRC which is reasonable, nice fun half hour ride across the lake and the best swimming is over near the south end of the ferry, good camping around the general area of the south end too. Can't go wrong either way

I wouldn't recommend any dry, deep canyons to hike at that time of year.. if everyone in attendance has a strong constitution and the good sense to bring more water than they need it should be OK but like the numerous signs out there say, "DESERT CANYONS DON'T CARE IF YOU DIE"

Oh and in case you weren't aware.. don't let this scare you but it's a "better safe than sorry" thing - importing out of state alcohol into utah carries a mandatory minimum sentence, you'll be spending the night in jail. I've never had a negative experience with law enforcement in Utah, but be advised that they do have an adequate number of patrolmen on the highways and they do take speeding laws seriously - enjoy the scenery at a safe pace and you're good

Thanks for the information !

One more thing: I know that I can access the water for swimming in Bullfrog marina. But can I hike to the water in other places: Alstrom point, end-of-262 road, Hole-in-the-Rock point ? Some web sites are telling that the cliffs are too steep and you cannot access the water there.

That's not an easy question to answer because the answer changes based on the water level in the lake, how willing you are to scramble down narrow ledges, etc. The north crack of hole in the rock is usually accessible by foot, though depending on the water level it can be a pretty long walk down (and back up) a <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/evil.gif" alt="" /> very hot crevasse.

There isn't a whole lot of reasonable water access from Smoky Mtn Road or anywhere on that northwest side of the lake.. the only places flat enough for any sort of a road, are several hundred feet above the water elevation and mostly separated with a good amount of sheer vertical. Possible to walk down of course, but we're talking an hour or more each way, blazing trail in full exposure to a very hot sun and hoping you can find a safe route down where there really aren't many established paths.

If you want to get to the lake shore somewhere between Big Water and Bullfrog, your best bet is going to be taking Smoky Mtn or Cottonwood Canyon road up toward Escalante, then cutting over to 50 mile road (aka hole in the rock road) and taking that down to the crevasse. That way the route to the water is clearly visible and relatively short, you'll be able to tell pretty easily whether or not it's walkable from the top before you set out. Plus all that stuff is crazy beautiful and awe inspiring with tons of stuff to gawk at along the way.. hey that ain't bad eh? <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/kewl.gif" alt="" />

Don't take any dumb risks, you can be out there for a few days and not see anyone - forget about cell signal, just turn it off and save battery.

Have an awesome trip! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/patriot.gif" alt="" />

Thanks a lot... I'll be thinking about my options.