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4.5
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Glen Canyon Dam

Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, Page, Arizona 86040 USA

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Open Now
Fri 12a-11:59p
  • Independent
  • Wheelchair
    Accessible
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“home of America's 2nd largest artificial lake”

Glen Canyon Dam is a concrete arch dam on the Colorado River in northern Arizona in the United States, just north of Page. The dam was built to provide hydroelectricity and flow regulation from the upper Colorado River Basin to the lower. Its reservoir is called Lake Powell, and is the second largest artificial lake in the country, extending upriver well into Utah. The dam is named for Glen Canyon, a colorful series of gorges, most of which now lies under the reservoir. The dam was proposed in the 1950s as part of the Colorado River Storage Project, a U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) federal water project that would develop reservoir storage on the upper Colorado River and several of its major tributaries. The project's main purpose was to allow the upper basin to better utilize its allocation of river flow as designated in the 1922 Colorado River Compact, and a second purpose was to provide water storage to ensure the delivery of sufficient water to the lower basin during years of drought. However, problems arose when the USBR proposed to build dams in the federally protected Echo Park canyon in Utah. After a long series of legal battles with environmentalist organizations such as the Sierra Club, they settled for a high dam at Glen Canyon.Construction of Glen Canyon Dam started in 1956 and was not finished until 1966. When the reservoir filled, the dam began to deliver a steady, regulated flow of water downstream and a supply of electricity to the region. In 1983, major floods nearly led to the dam's collapse, but disaster was averted by a close margin. By taming floods and other factors that once characterized the Colorado, the dam has led to major physical and ecological changes in the lower river. Controversy continues over the effects both positive and negative of the dam, which has also been antagonized in many literary works.

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Reviewed by
Daryn Hillhouse

  • 49 Reviews
  • 115 Helpful
July 12, 2014
Rated 4.0

There is a parking area just off the main road which passes over above the damn wall.... it has a cracking viewpoint and you’ll be able to see all the activity on the damn wall and below.

The scenery is just amazing, the natural rock colours: red, yellow, brown and orange make for incredible photos... and on a still day their reflection on the water is just awesome.

If you have a bit of time, make sure you take the full tour :)

2 people found this review helpful

Reviewed by
mzjenn84

  • 17 Reviews
  • 5 Helpful
May 31, 2021
Rated 4.0

This was a quit, pretty stop. Just FYI this town, Page, appears to be a boat/party town. Which might be great for people traveling with their boat and ready to party, we were doing neither. When I travel with my kiddo we will avoid that town because of all the drunk people in trucks with boats driving around.

1 person found this review helpful

Reviewed by
lorene.perotti

  • 12 Reviews
  • 2 Helpful
June 27, 2015
Rated 4.0

People always talo about houver dam but the Glen Canyon Dan is beautiful as Hoover Dam

1 person found this review helpful

Reviewed by
deannatrusty

  • 38 Reviews
  • 0 Helpful
August 29, 2023
Rated 5.0

Stop and see the dam! And get your passport stamped.

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  • 8 Reviews
  • 2 Helpful
July 27, 2022
Rated 4.0

Cool spot to check out

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Reviewed by
Jonathan

  • 3 Reviews
  • 0 Helpful
July 15, 2022
Rated

Ok for a quick stop, still not doing tours though -July 2022

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Reviewed by
nomadYaYa

  • 40 Reviews
  • 2 Helpful
October 15, 2021
Rated 3.0

I wouldn’t go out of my way to stop. It was okay. Can’t really get a good photo.

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Reviewed by
tinalau

  • 1 Review
  • 0 Helpful
December 31, 2019
Rated 5.0

The visitor center is a lot of fun! We didn't make it to a tour but the center's displays were informative and engaging. The views of the dam and the bridge were wonderful too!

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Reviewed by
C. Hackley

  • 10 Reviews
  • 1 Helpful
June 13, 2017
Rated 4.0

Very cool museum with observation window overlooking the dam. It was beautiful and it was cool to eat at the Dam Bar and Grille. I definitely had fun.

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Reviewed by
Denise Parks

  • 7 Reviews
  • 2 Helpful
August 20, 2016
Rated 5.0

Beautiful!!!!! We were unable to take the tour, but definitely well worth the stop!

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Glen Canyon Dam

Glen Canyon National Recreation Area
Page, Arizona
86040 USA
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Open 24 hours today
  • Sun - Sat: 12:00 am - 11:59 pm

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