Colorado River Discovery float trip through Glen Canyon (Page, Arizona):
A relaxing cruise down the Colorado River.
Made the trip on Sunday, October 23, 2011; reviewed November 5, 2011 See this review on Trip Advisor.
A group of Trip Advisor regulars, spouses, friends and family descended on Kanab, Utah, for a few days of outdoor activities. One of these activities was the smooth water float trip on the Colorado River originating in Page, Arizona, and ending at Lee’s Ferry. We had 17 folks on the trip. I made the reservations several months in advance just to make sure that we could be accommodated. No issues there. The staff I dealt with when making the reservation were very helpful and professional. In fact, I contacted the folks at CRD several times to adjust the number of people on the tour and to discuss the logisitics of the trip; each time I got prompt support and good advice.
We took our trip in late October, so the departure was scheduled for 11:00 AM. We had to be at the CRD headquarters in Page at 10:30 for check-in and security and safety briefings. Again, the staff is very professional and efficient and they cover every step of the process in detail. Note that you are allowed to carry on coolers and backpacks onto the raft (for food, drinks, and any other gear you think you will need), but each bag is inspected prior to boarding the bus and there are several items that you are not allowed to take on the bus (most notably firearms or knives). The main reason for the security is that the launch point is directly below the Glenn Canyon Dam within the secure area of the dam.
The bus ride to the launch site is only about 10 minutes. The final stretch in through long, steep tunnel from the canyon rim to the base of the dam. Upon exiting the bus, you are issued a hardhat for the short walk to the rafts. The hardhats are a precaution against any objects/debris that could come from the bridge deck about 700 feet above. The hardhats are collected once you reach the end of the gangway just before boarding the raft.
Once at the raft, we met our captain, Frank. He was great; extremely personable and very knowledgeable of the river and the surrounding environment. He really made a nice trip a very special event. We were all aboard the raft just before 11:00. My wife and I were the last ones on and got spots at the front of the raft. I don’t think it matters where you sit as the views are big and you can probably see from anywhere, but being in the front did make it easier to take unobscured photos. Frank provided a safety briefing once on the raft. Note that there are personal floatation devices (life jackets) for everyone on the raft, but you are not required to wear it throughout the trip. The water is smooth, so no one is going to get bounced out of the boat. The raft is extremely stable, so it is easy to move about or stand-up to get a photo. However, it you are in the front of the raft, you could get a little wet, particularly when the captain kicks in the motor.
As we headed down the river, we were treated to excellent views of the canyon, the dam and the bridge. The trip was easy and slow paced, but extremely interesting and unbelievably beautiful. Frank told us stories of the history and nature of the canyon and kept us entertained the entire trip.
A group of Trip Advisor regulars, spouses, friends and family descended on Kanab, Utah, for a few days of outdoor activities. One of these activities was the smooth water float trip on the Colorado River originating in Page, Arizona, and ending at Lee’s Ferry. We had 17 folks on the trip. I made the reservations several months in advance just to make sure that we could be accommodated. No issues there. The staff I dealt with when making the reservation were very helpful and professional. In fact, I contacted the folks at CRD several times to adjust the number of people on the tour and to discuss the logisitics of the trip; each time I got prompt support and good advice.
We took our trip in late October, so the departure was scheduled for 11:00 AM. We had to be at the CRD headquarters in Page at 10:30 for check-in and security and safety briefings. Again, the staff is very professional and efficient and they cover every step of the process in detail. Note that you are allowed to carry on coolers and backpacks onto the raft (for food, drinks, and any other gear you think you will need), but each bag is inspected prior to boarding the bus and there are several items that you are not allowed to take on the bus (most notably firearms or knives). The main reason for the security is that the launch point is directly below the Glenn Canyon Dam within the secure area of the dam.
The bus ride to the launch site is only about 10 minutes. The final stretch in through long, steep tunnel from the canyon rim to the base of the dam. Upon exiting the bus, you are issued a hardhat for the short walk to the rafts. The hardhats are a precaution against any objects/debris that could come from the bridge deck about 700 feet above. The hardhats are collected once you reach the end of the gangway just before boarding the raft.
Once at the raft, we met our captain, Frank. He was great; extremely personable and very knowledgeable of the river and the surrounding environment. He really made a nice trip a very special event. We were all aboard the raft just before 11:00. My wife and I were the last ones on and got spots at the front of the raft. I don’t think it matters where you sit as the views are big and you can probably see from anywhere, but being in the front did make it easier to take unobscured photos. Frank provided a safety briefing once on the raft. Note that there are personal floatation devices (life jackets) for everyone on the raft, but you are not required to wear it throughout the trip. The water is smooth, so no one is going to get bounced out of the boat. The raft is extremely stable, so it is easy to move about or stand-up to get a photo. However, it you are in the front of the raft, you could get a little wet, particularly when the captain kicks in the motor.
As we headed down the river, we were treated to excellent views of the canyon, the dam and the bridge. The trip was easy and slow paced, but extremely interesting and unbelievably beautiful. Frank told us stories of the history and nature of the canyon and kept us entertained the entire trip.
The only stop we made was a little over an hour into the trip for the restroom, lunch and a look at the pretroglyphs. F rank again provided a nice history of the rock art. As for wildlife, in addition to the scores of ravens, we saw a couple Great Blue Herons, several ducks and rainbow trout. Frank also pointed out a place on one of the beaches were beaver frequent. We also had fun picking out shapes in the rocks and patterns in the desert varnish that decorated the canyon walls.
The trip from the dam to Lee’s Ferry took about 3.5 hours (we launched about 11:00 and landed at 2:30). Great trip overall. Again, we were on the trip in late October and the weather was perfect (blue skies and temperature right about 70 degrees F), but the conditions will be vastly different during other times of the year, so plan accordingly. The folks at CRD will be able to help with those details. Once at Lee’s Ferry, the CRD bus was waiting for us to take us back to Page. We made one quick stop at the balanced rocks on the park road just before getting back to the highway. The drive back to Page was slow, but scenic and took about an hour give or take.
This is a great trip. Definitely NOT an adrenaline rush, but rather fairly relaxing. The ride down the Colorado through the Glenn Canyon is very enjoyable and the scenery is quite lovely. I do not think that I would make this an event that I would repeat, but it was certainly well worth doing at least one time. |