Do you have a place you love so much you find yourself talking about it all the time and making plans to return? For us, that place is Lone Rock, UT.
It sits on the Utah/Arizona border, just outside of Page, AZ, and offers primitive lakeside camping on Lake Powell. It’s a part of the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area operated by the National Parks Service.
I first found out about it from a fellow RVer’s post on Instagram. Luckily, they tagged the location of their beautiful, lakeside campsite and I quickly rearranged our travel plans to get us there.
There are no designated campsites, you just pick a spot that looks good to you and set up camp. On our first impromptu visit, we only stayed two nights before we had to head off to another reservation, but we enjoyed every minute of it.
We kayaked out to the Lone Rock, for which the park is named, and found a cave in the side of the rock. When we went back a year later, the water levels were much lower. While we weren’t able to walk into the cave this time, there was now a cool sandy beach out on the rock! There are plenty of canals and out-of-this-world rocks to explore off of the Lone Rock Campground. Many people
who saw our photos thought we were in Greece!
Lone Rock Campground is reason enough to make the trip out west. However, the nearby adventures in Page, AZ will give you plenty of opportunity to make the trip even more memorable.
Iconic Horseshoe Bend is just 15 miles away in Page, AZ. For me it was a must see, however, there were a lot of crowds so plan accordingly. As of 2019, it now costs to park, $5 for motorcycles and $10 for passenger vehicles and RVs.
Antelope Canyon was another site we were eager to see. There are a few different tour options for both the Upper and Lower Canyon. We visited the Lower Canyon while we were there, but I would still love to see the Upper Canyon. Both are just 20 miles from Lone Rock. Costs vary by tour company but they run all day almost every day so no real pre-planning is needed.
Head 20 miles north into Utah and you will find the Toadstools Trail. This was one fun little hike with some really cool hoodoos at the end. It’s perfect for kids as the trail feels more like a race track than a hike. This one is free to park and hike.
Glen Canyon Float Tour, and for us, the Backhaul Service, offered some of the best kayaking we’ve ever done. If you don’t kayak and just want to float in a guided tour boat, grab the float tour. We originally booked a full-day tour but after talking to a fellow camper, we changed it to a half-day tour. It’s essentially the same tour, just slower and with more time at the stop.
The float tours take off from a location in Page, AZ and drives you to Glen Canyon Dam where you get on the large raft. After your float down the river, you disembark at Lees Ferry and board a bus back to your car. The backhaul service is something we learned about while on the float tour.
With the backhaul service, you bring all your gear, kayaks, and equipment to Lees Ferry and after everyone is off the raft from their tour, you load up and are brought back up river, however far up you’d like to go. You can then float down the river back to Lees Ferry.
You can also camp at one of the 5 primitive tent campgrounds on the Colorado River between Glen Canyon Dam and Lees Ferry. The backhaul service will even allow you to leave some supplies at a campground and then continue bringing you up the river with just your watercraft. These tours and services are seasonal and require pre-booking.
Lone Rock Beach Campground offers a dump station and seasonal, potable water, restrooms, and outdoor showers. While our AT&T service was spotty at best, we had 3 bars of Verizon LTE.
If dry camping or boondocking just isn’t your thing, nearby Wahweap RV & Campground offers 139 full hook-up sites in addition to many more amenities of a full-service campground. While it was just a little bit up the road, both our AT&T and Verizon internets were slow, with only 1 bar each.
To see more of our time at Lone Rock Beach, check out my YouTube video at youtube.com/NikkiKirk.
