Cadillac Desert
A foundational book on Western water development, dams, irrigation politics, and the long struggle over the Colorado River and the arid American West.
Beginner
Glen Canyon Tailwaters
Below Glen Canyon Dam, the Colorado runs cold and clear down to Lees Ferry, where Grand Canyon river trips begin. The water is drawn from deep in Lake Powell, so it stays cold in every season and feeds a trout fishery the Park Service calls world class. Between the dam and the ferry the river loops through Horseshoe Bend, a 270-degree turn 1,000 feet deep, seen here from the water instead of the overlook.
Boats come at it from below: every trip starts at Lees Ferry and works upstream before floating home, and river travel stops at the closure buoys a quarter mile below the dam. The rest of Glen Canyon lies above the dam, drowned by the reservoir that keeps this water cold.
15.5
miles
1
day typical
Flows & Hydrology
The Lees Ferry gauge reads the dam's releases, which set the flow on this reach. The water comes off the bottom of Lake Powell and runs cold: about 45–54°F when the lake is full, warmer when it is low.
Reference Gauges
Colorado River at Lees Ferry, AZ
At Lees Ferry, the launch for Grand Canyon river trips, at the foot of the tailwater below Glen Canyon Dam.
USGS #09380000Current flow
USGS
—
Reading the Water
Low water
Below 8,000 cfs. The dam's minimum release is 8,000 cfs from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. and 5,000 cfs overnight, so the river can drop below 8,000 cfs at night.
Medium water
8,000 to 25,000 cfs: the dam's normal operating range. 25,000 cfs is the most a normal release may carry.
High water
Above 25,000 cfs: an experimental, emergency or equalization release. The planned high-flow experiments push Paria River sand onto Grand Canyon beaches; the April 2023 release held about 39,500 cfs for 72 hours, and the river rose and fell quickly as it started and ended.
Hazards by season
- Spring
- cold water, wind
- Summer
- extreme heat, motorboat traffic (anglers and backhaul boats), afternoon thunderstorms
- Fall
- wind, cooling temperatures
- Winter
- cold temperatures, cold water
7-Day Forecast
Seasonality
Jan
Feb
Mar, shoulder
Apr, best
May, best
Jun, best
Jul
Aug
Sep, best
Oct, best
Nov, shoulder
Dec
Floatable year-round; the flow follows Glen Canyon Dam's releases. Check the day's outflow with the Bureau of Reclamation before launching.
- Spring
- cold water, wind
- Summer
- extreme heat, motorboat traffic (anglers and backhaul boats), afternoon thunderstorms
- Fall
- wind, cooling temperatures
- Winter
- cold temperatures, cold water
Reading the Rock Record
Rock sequence of Glen Canyon Tailwaters
↑ Rim
- Navajo Sandstone
- Kayenta Formation
- Moenave Formation
- Chinle Formation
↓ River level
History
This reach became a tailwater in March 1963, when Glen Canyon Dam's diversion tunnels closed and the reservoir began to fill.
Lees Ferry, at the bottom of the reach, was a Colorado River crossing before it was the launch for Grand Canyon trips. In 1910 Charles H. Spencer tried to extract gold from the clay hills there.
Layers of Human Presence
- Indigenous homelands
- Navajo Nation, Hopi Nation, Southern Paiute Nation
- Historical layers
- John Wesley Powell exploration (1869), Glen Canyon Dam construction (first blast 1956, last concrete 1963, dedicated 1966)
Logistics
There is no put-in at the dam. Every trip launches at Lees Ferry: a backhaul boat carries paddlers upstream and they float back, or Wilderness River Adventures runs a guided smooth-water float from Lees Ferry to Horseshoe Bend and back. Boaters self-issue a free Backcountry River Permit at the launch ramp. Five designated camps upriver are free and first-come, with toilets and fire pits, 14 days at most.
Getting There and Getting Out
Permit
Boating between Glen Canyon Dam and Lees Ferry needs a free Backcountry River Permit, one per group, filled out at the self-serve kiosk above the Lees Ferry launch ramp (since June 1, 2023). Passengers on a concessioner float, and anyone hiking or fishing from the bank, do not need one. The Glen Canyon entrance fee applies. River travel stops at the closure buoys about a quarter mile below the dam. Everyone on a hand-propelled craft wears a Coast Guard approved life jacket while underway.
- Required
- Yes
- Agency
- National Park Service — Glen Canyon National Recreation Area
- Lottery
- No
- Source
- nps.gov · machine-assisted review, not yet checked by hand
Trip realities
- Gateway towns
- Page, AZ, Marble Canyon, AZ
- Groover
- Recommended
- Managed by
- National Park Service — Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, Bureau of Reclamation
Service Providers
- Wilderness River Adventures Carries kayaks, canoes and paddleboards up to 16 feet on its rafts 15 miles upriver from Lees Ferry to Glen Canyon Dam, March through October; paddlers float back. Also runs a guided smooth-water float from Lees Ferry to Horseshoe Bend and back. Wilderness River Adventures
- Kayak the Colorado Runs a backhaul from the Lees Ferry boat launch up the Colorado for paddlers, who float back down. Kayak the Colorado
Reading the River
Books that shape the science, history, and stories behind this place.
Canyonlands Country
An accessible introduction to the rock layers, canyon formation, and landscapes of the Colorado Plateau and canyon country.
Cataract Canyon
An in-depth environmental and human history of Cataract Canyon and the rivers of Canyonlands, exploring Indigenous presence, exploration, dam impacts, river ecology, and the evolution of modern river running.
Desert Solitaire
Edward Abbey's classic portrait of canyon country, solitude, and wilderness, influential to the identity and mythology of the Colorado Plateau.
Down the Great Unknown
The dramatic story of John Wesley Powell's first expedition through the Grand Canyon and the birth of river exploration in the American West.
Fluvial Processes in Geomorphology
A foundational scientific text on river geomorphology, covering sediment transport, channel form, fluvial dynamics, and the physical processes that shape river systems.