Question 1

How warm is the water in Lake Powell?

Accepted Answer

There is no live surface-temperature sensor on Lake Powell, so temperatures are seasonal estimates: July and August surface water runs about 78 to 83°F, September to early October 65 to 72°F, and the comfortable swim season is roughly June through early October. The only live gage nearby, at Lees Ferry below the dam, measures the dam's cold deep-water release, around 60°F even in summer, not the lake surface.

Question 2

How full is Lake Powell right now?

Accepted Answer

As of October 21, 2026, Lake Powell is at 3,521.76 ft, 1.86 ft above the all-time record low. By the widely quoted live-storage measure, Lake Powell was about 23.7 percent full in July 2026, roughly 5.5 million acre-feet of live storage against about 23.3 million acre-feet of live capacity. Total capacity at full pool, 3,700 feet, is about 25.1 million acre-feet including roughly 1.7 million of dead storage, so percent-full figures differ depending on which accounting is used.

Question 3

What is happening to Lake Powell in 2026?

Accepted Answer

Water year 2026 is historically dry: April to July inflows were forecast at about 15 percent of average, with essentially no spring rise. Reclamation cut the Glen Canyon release from 7.48 to 6.00 million acre-feet and plans drought releases from Flaming Gorge. The June 2026 24-Month Study projects Powell dipping below minimum power pool, 3,490 feet, around March or April 2027, which would be unprecedented.

Question 4

What is the lowest Lake Powell has ever been?

Accepted Answer

Since first filling, the record low is 3,519.9 feet, set on April 13, 2023. In 2026 the lake is about 35 feet lower than on the same date a year earlier, is expected to set new calendar-date lows through the rest of the year, and the most probable projection puts a new all-time low in early 2027. The lake first reached full pool, 3,700 feet, in June 1980, 17 years after the dam gates closed in 1963.

Question 5

What fish can you catch in Lake Powell?

Accepted Answer

The marquee species is striped bass, with no limit and harvest actively encouraged, alongside smallmouth and largemouth bass, walleye, black crappie, channel catfish, and sunfish. Since 2019 a valid Utah or Arizona fishing license is good on the entire lake, with one daily limit total. A Utah mercury advisory limits striped bass from Dangling Rope south to the dam for pregnant women and young children.

Question 6

Do boating rules differ on the Utah and Arizona sides?

Accepted Answer

Park-wide NPS rules apply everywhere, including that children 12 and under must wear a life jacket underway. A boat registered in any state may operate, but Utah requires out-of-state motorized boaters to take the free Mussel-Aware Boater course and pay the $25 per calendar year AIS enrollment. Skier-towing rules genuinely differ between the states, so following the stricter rule keeps you legal on either side.

Question 7

Do boats leaving Lake Powell need decontamination?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Lake Powell is fully infested with quagga mussels, so boaters must stop at the exit inspection station whenever technicians are on duty and follow Clean, Drain, Dry before leaving the ramp area. Before launching elsewhere in Utah, boats from Powell need dry time of 7 days in summer, 18 in spring or fall, or 30 in winter, or a professional decontamination.

Question 8

Where can you rent a houseboat or get fuel on Lake Powell?

Accepted Answer

Book only with official NPS concessioners: Lake Powell Resorts and Marinas at Wahweap and Halls Crossing, Antelope Point Marina on Navajo Nation land, and Lake Powell Paddleboards and Kayaks in Page for paddle rentals. Fuel exists only at Wahweap, Antelope Point, and Halls Crossing; Dangling Rope, the historic mid-lake stop, is permanently closed, so plan round-trip fuel for any uplake run.

Question 9

How big is Lake Powell?

Accepted Answer

At full pool Lake Powell runs 186 miles with 1,960 miles of shoreline, longer than the U.S. West Coast, and about 96 major side canyons. It is America's second-largest reservoir after Lake Mead, formed by Glen Canyon Dam, 710 feet high and built from 1956 to 1963 on the Colorado River. The white bathtub ring on the canyon walls is calcium carbonate marking the high-water line.

Lake Powell Map

Common questions

More of this Data Watch