Arizona and Utah
Lake Powell to Rainbow Bridge
About this paddle route
Rainbow Bridge is 290 feet tall and 275 feet across, the largest natural bridge known, and for practical purposes the only way to see it is by boat up Lake Powell from Wahweap. The run is roughly fifty miles of flooded canyon each way. The lake level moves substantially year to year, and it determines how close a boat can get to the bridge and how long the walk in from the courtesy dock is.
Wahweap up-lake past Dangling Rope to Rainbow Bridge, the largest natural bridge in the world.
Highlights
What earns the trip
- Rainbow Bridge, 290 feet tall, sacred to several tribes of the region
- Fifty miles of drowned red-rock canyon to get there
- Side canyons off the main channel are worth days on their own
- A courtesy dock puts you within a walk of the bridge
Stops
- 1
Wahweap Marina
The main marina near Page, at the south end of the lake.
- 2
Dangling Rope
Traditional midpoint on the run up-lake.
- 3
Rainbow Bridge National Monument
Courtesy dock in Bridge Canyon, then a short walk in.
When to go
Best time to go
April through October. Summer heat is intense but the water makes it manageable.
Planner estimate for the mapped line: 2h 4m
Before you go
Know before you go
- Lake level changes the trip. Confirm current conditions and the length of the walk from the dock before you go.
- Fuel range is the planning constraint on a hundred mile round trip. Do not assume mid-lake fuel.
- Rainbow Bridge is sacred to Native nations of the area. The Park Service asks visitors not to walk under it.
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