Houseboating in Arizona

A desert state with a serious boating scene sounds like a contradiction until you see Lake Powell from the water. Arizona's lakes fill drowned canyons along the Colorado River system, and the result is boating against red rock and saguaro instead of pine and salt marsh. Lake Mead sprawls at one end of the scale; slot canyons pinch tight at the other. In between: high-speed open water, quiet coves for the anchor, and fishing that holds its own against any freshwater state.

Most of the marquee water sits along the western border, fed by the Colorado, with a second cluster in the central highlands. Lake Havasu City anchors Lake Havasu, a lively scene famous for the relocated London Bridge. To the north, Lake Powell straddles the Arizona-Utah line, its maze of side canyons the backdrop for the state's signature houseboat trips. These reservoirs stack up hundreds of miles of shoreline, backed by marinas that serve transient visitors and long-term slip holders alike.