Ask anyone who has visited Page for a first impression.  The response will range from “incredible” to “awesome.”  Page is a thriving Arizona tourist community of 6,200 visited annually by over 3 million travelers who come to enjoy the water recreation features of Lake Powell and other tourist attractions in Northern Arizona and Southern Utah.  Stunningly beautiful red canyon walls tower above the blue-green crystal clear water of the lake.  The cloudless Arizona sky and abundant sunshine add to the idyllic scene.  Climbing toward  Page on highway US89, the panorama suddenly appears.  Looking down on Glen Canyon Dam, from this the far eastern rim of the Grand Canyon, one sees the astonishing beauty of Lake Powell spread out in the rocky abyss below.

Page was named for John Chatfield Page, the commissioner of reclamation who devoted many years to the development of the upper Colorado River. Page, Arizona provided a base of operation and housing center for the huge number of construction workers and their families engaged in building the gigantic Glen Canyon Dam in the Colorado River between Arizona and Utah. The dam created Lake Powell, the largest man-made lake in America.

The town is now a center for outfitters who provide trips into the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. Scenic flights over Lake Powell and the surrounding Navajo country as well as to the Grand Canyon depart from the Page airport. Lake Powell boat trips and Glen Canyon raft trips can be arranged through the Page Chamber of Commerce.

Lake Powell stretches for hundreds of miles.  Its beaches, canyon walls and floor reveal countless geological wonders and thousands of years of ancient Native American history.   Glen Canyon Dam is immense. It rises 710 feet above the Colorado River bedrock with a 1,560 foot long crest. It is 300 feet thick at the base and holds back some 9 trillion gallons of water. The dam conserves water from a 246,000 gallon watershed and provides electricity for the Pacific southwest and the Rocky Mountain areas. 

Page has a busy airport, visitors’ center, museum, library and eleven churches standing side by side on one street.  At the Carl Hayden Visitor Center, an illustrated history of the construction of the dam unfolds along with exhibits giving interesting details about the project.  A guided tour of the generating plant provides further information.  Nearby is a small museum dedicated to Major John Wesley Powell who explored the Colorado River, despite losing his right arm in an earlier Civil War battle.  Powell wrote passionately about the wonders of the River and canyons.  He made a return trip in 1871 and further documented his amazing journey.  Exhibits focus on Native American artifacts discovered in the area.  

Ancient history is evident throughout Lake Powell with petroglyphs created over 2000 years ago by the Anasazi nation who farmed along the Colorado River. There are many archeological sites on Lake Powell including the ruins of Defiance House in Iceberg Canyon. The Anasazi disappeared about 700 years ago.  Today the Navajo, Ute and Paiute Indian tribes have established their homes  in the vicinity.

Lake Powell has a reputation for providing some of nature’s best backcountry hiking and four-wheel excursions. Houseboat vacations are extremely popular because the expansive lake offers deep bays and canyon-lined fingers that can take many days to explore and enjoy. The rose-colored beaches are ready for exploration and relaxation.

Other recreational opportunities include boat tours to the world's largest natural stone arch, Rainbow Bridge National Monument;  overland tours to a slot canyon;  antelope sightings, and trout fishing below Glen Canyon Dam on the Colorado River.  There is hiking; a smooth water float trip between high sandstone canyon walls; scenic flights giving an overview of this immense mesa and plateau country; scuba diving through the canyons of Lake Powell;  mountain biking the pink and red sandstone slickrock bowls; an eighteen hole championship golf course with incomparable views of the lake and Glen Canyon Dam.  These are just a few of the activities visitors enjoy.  There are a variety of restaurants offering choices from patio dining to superb cuisine.  There are also gift shops, galleries and antique stores.