Glen Canyon Dam. Perfect Pit Stop

ByEdward Pizzarello
a large concrete wall with a black sky

This is a tale of three canyons.  Chances are you haven’t heard of at least one and maybe two.

Here’s what I plan to cover in this trip report, mostly in order:

After a breathtaking trek through Lower Antelope Canyon, we had just enough time to catch the last tour of the day at Glen Canyon Dam and hit the road.  Side note: in the summertime they’ll cancel tours if it gets too hot on the surface of the dam.  Tours book up quickly.

Located in Page, Arizona it’s only about a 15-minute drive from Lower Antelope Canyon.  You can easily explore the small museum and do the tour in just over an hour if you time it correctly.

The tour starts with a ride down an elevator to the top of the dam.  I couldn’t help take a picture of the elevator display and chuckle a bit.  Yes, I’m a 12-year old at heart.

a close up of a sign

Once out of the elevator, there are a number of pictures in the hallway of the construction of the dam.  I caught a bit of glare but they were really interesting to me to see how massive a project this was.

a black and white circular emblem

a picture of a bridge

a poster of a man walking through a tunnel

an aerial view of a large canyon

a black and white photo of a building

a black and white photo of a construction site

a large dam in a canyon

Once on the surface of the dam, you can see for miles.  The rock bordering the river details the rising and falling water levels.  The river was quite low during our visit.  It wasn’t down to dangerous levels but was definitely concerning for the dam operators.  There were some artifacts from construction and repair on display.  And, if you looked real closely, you could see the double yellow line left over from when the dam was the main river crossing during the construction of the bridge.

a large metal object on a concrete surface

a body of water with rocks and blue sky

a concrete surface with a shadow

a large dam with a bridge over water

An elevator ride takes you down to the grass-topped surface of the dam’s hydroelectric plant.  We spent 10 or 15 minutes learning about how the dam operates and watched workers rebuilding one of the turbines.

a large dam with a red rock mountain in the background

a large factory with yellow machines

The Final Two Pennies

The tour guides were informative, walking us through the history of the dam.  They were ready to answer questions for the kids about construction, power, water flow and more.  We paid roughly $6 a head for the 45-minute tour.  If you’re looking for a short, educational activity that won’t bore your kids while at Lake Powell, Glen Canyon Dam fits the bill.

The post Glen Canyon Dam. Perfect Pit Stop was published first on Pizza in Motion

My goal in life is to fill my family’s passports with stamps, creating buckets of memories along the way. You’ll find me writing about realistic ways for normal people to travel the world, whether you’re on a budget or enjoy luxury. I also enjoy taking us on the occasional detour to explore the inner workings of the travel industry.

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