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Page/Lake Powell, Arizona Fact Sheet
THE CENTER OF THE GRAND CIRCLE
Page Lake Powell Tourism Bureau
Dwayne Cassidy
645-A Elm Street
P O Box 332
Page, Arizona 86040
E-mail: dwayne@pagelakepowelltourism.com
Web-site: www.pagelakepowelltourism.com
Phone: 928.660.3405 or 3406
Fax: 928.645.3181
Toll Free: 888.261.7243 (PAGE)
LOCATION:
Page is located in the extreme north central of Arizona amid the red rocks on the shores of Lake Powell and Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. Page is situated in the center of the Colorado Plateau, near the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument and Vermilion Cliffs National Wilderness Area and rim of the Glen Canyon overlooking the Colorado River. US Highway 89 (Canada to Mexico) and State Highway 98 connect the community with the Four Corners and the rest of Arizona.
DATE FOUNDED:
Page was founded as a construction camp by the Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) when the Glen Canyon Dam Project began in 1957. Prior to that time the Navajo inhabited Manson Mesa and no roads connected it to other parts of the state. At first, there were barracks for the men who worked at the damsite, later they added Quonset huts. Then, in 1959, housing for the project engineers and management level people was added. Schools were in trailers, workers families lived in trailers, and Babbitt’s grocery store was in a large Quonset hut with two gas pumps out in front. Following completion of the dam in 1963, Page lost most of its population. The community started to grow again in 1972 when the Salt River Project began construction of the Navajo Generating Station; a coal fired electrical generating plant. NGS went on line in 1975 providing power to Utah Power and Light, Arizona Public Service, Tucson Electric, Salt River Project, and Nevada Power and Light. 1976 saw President Gerald Ford sign a bill creating Page as a city under its own government, not that of the Bureau of Reclamation. Page is now governed by a city council form of government with an elected Mayor and six councilors.
DERIVATION OF NAME:
John C. Page was a field engineer during the construction of Hoover Dam. He later became Commissioner of the Bureau of Reclamation in the 1940s. The BOR established the camp, laid the townsite out, and named it Page. Lake Powell was named in honor of Major John Wesley Powell who first explored the area in 1869.
ELEVATION:
Lake Powell, at full pool, is 3,700 ft above sea level. Page, sitting on the mesa, is at 4,300 ft. Navajo Mountain, sacred mountain to the Navajo, sits in its majesty toward the east. The massive Kairpoawits Plateau reigns on the northwest perimeter. To the southwest is the Paria Wilderness and Vermilion Cliffs and on the horizon; the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. The Navajo Nation stretches to the south.
AREA / SIZE / VEGETATION / ANIMAL LIFE:
Page was carved out of the Navajo nation. The BOR traded twenty-seven square miles to the tribe and gave them, in exchange, land in Southeastern Utah near the Four Corners. Incidentally, this land turned out to be part of the huge Aneth Oil Field. Page is located in what is called plateau country. It has a mixture of foliage ranging from cedar trees to white sage brush, rabbit brush, cactus, desert mallow, primrose, sego lily, wild asters, and many grasses.
A variety of animals, birds, fish, and reptiles reside in its country. The newest resident of Page Lake Powell Country is the transplanted California Condor. Page is fortunate to see these magnificent birds soaring over Page periodically and sometimes even in town trying to cage a meal! Desert Big Horns, coyotes, fox, mountain lion, bob cat, rabbits, golden and bald eagles, as well as sixty-five other species of birds call this home. Trout, stripper, large mouth bass, pike, and crappie are caught on the lake. Collared lizards, geckos, rattlesnakes inhabit the sandy parts of the area.
POPULATION:
Page has just about 7,000 full time residents. LeChee Chapter, a contiguous community on the reservation, has approximately 2,000 residents and within a forty-five mile radius, there is another 40,000 people.
CLIMATE:
Page has four seasons. Winter days average 26-50 degrees, with clear blue skies, little or no snow. The winter light on the face of the Vermilion Cliffs and the spires and buttes of Lake Powell is a sight to behold. Spring is lovely with intermittent showers, breezes, flowering desert plants, and average temperature of 75. Summer is warm in Page, with the average temperature being 90-95. Page normally has ten days over 100 degrees, but it cools down to 70 at night. Fall is probably the most magnificent season. It brings long, warm days, with lovely, cool nights. The sky is incredible blue washed clean by the summer rains!
YEARLY PRECIPITATION: 6.58 inches rain
RECREATIONAL ACTIVITIES:
Boating, biking, hiking, fishing, jeeping, golfing, river rafting, houseboating, climbing, swimming are popular recreational activities in Page. While these are the main categories, they break down into Lake Powell activities, which consist of water sports. Biking can be a sedate ride around the mesa or a rip-roaring ride around the sandstone bowls or the Rim Trail. There is also wonderful road biking in this scenic area. Jeeping includes tours to our world-famous slot canyons, joining a group to explore Romano Mesa, or going out on your own. Golfing immediately brings Lake Powell National to mind. This fabulous course climbs to the top of the mesa where one can then drive a ball from the top to the base! Golf carts are mandatory. For information on all these activities call the Tourism Bureau at 928 660-3405.
ART & CULTURE:
Page is full of art and culture. By virtue of its location in this red rock, blue water area, Page has many artists and a few well known photographers. Art appears throughout the community, but stop at the Powell Museum for their Artist of the Month display. The Blair Trading Post Museum has an incredible collection of historical trading items, rugs, jewelry, and photographs and features creations by the best Native American artists in the area. The Visitor Center at Glen Canyon Dam offers tours of the dam and a video collection of building the dam, the power distribution, and the area itself. This community has a big Fourth of July Celebration complete with a parade, exhibits in the park, the firemen hosing down kids, food booths, and ends with fireworks at night shot off over the water. The first weekend in November hosts the amazing Page Lake Powell Hot Air Balloon Regatta, Street Fair and Balloon Glow. This event features 50 balloons with opportunities for everyone to get close to a balloon and learn about these gentle giants of the air. Labor Day hosts the Blair Family Rug and Art Auction and Indian Market. Page Attacks Trash, named President George Bush’s seventy-sixth Point of Light, happens every Earth Day weekend. Approximately 4,500 people turn out on Earth Day each year to clean up Page and its surroundings. From ninety-year-olds to babies in strollers, people are out picking up, enjoying an old fashioned BBQ, and getting a collectors T-shirt to commemorate their day!
LOCAL DINING:
Page is very fortunate to have a variety of restaurants, ambiences, and reasonable prices. If you want to sit outside and dine, the Dam Bar and Grille and Peppers offer a Southwestern style menu. Bella Napoli and Italia’s Family Buffet has exquisite Italian foods. Zapatas and Fiesta Mexicana offer wonderful Mexican Food and the best margaritas in the state! Strombolli’s Pizza is where you can share tables and meet your fellow visitors. If you want to experience live western music while you eat, Ken’s Old West Steakhouse is the ticket. Wanting to dine in style? The Rainbow Room at Wahweap Marina is the place to watch the sunset or sunrise in luxury. The Blue Corn Restaurant in the Quality Inn offers Native American specialties. The Navajo Buffet is a very popular offering and has mutton, blue corn mush and world famous fry-bread. The Ranch House Grille provides breakfast and lunch for the hearty eater and is known as the “place where the locals go”.
MOTELS/LODGES:
Page has all types of accommodations from the Marriott and Wahweap Lodge to Uncle Bill’s and Bashful Bob’s. You will see most of the popular chains in Page. The Quality Inn at Page is the first Navajo Hospitality Enterprise property located off the Navajo Reservation. We are proud of our properties and know you will enjoy our variety. In the summer, reservations are suggested although we have over 1,500 rooms.
BED & BREAKFASTS:
There are plenty of bed and breakfasts in Page. Sunrise View on the North Mesa has a fabulous view of Lake Powell and Navajo Mountain Canyon Colors focuses on art of the area, hominess, and welcomes people to the area. DreamKatcher’s has a magnificent view of the Kaiporawits and up into Bryce Canyon Country. It is located right in the heart of the Paria and Grand Staircase.
AIRPORT:
Royce K. Knight Field 928.645.2494
Great Lake Airlines (Denver & Phoenix regularly scheduled flights) 928.645.1355
Classic Aviation & Helitours 928.645.5356
Westwind Air Tours 800.245.8668
American Air 928.645.2494
GROUND TRANSPORTATION:
Avis Car Rental 928.645.2024
Sartori’s Crew 928.645.0069
Also Page now has a local regularly scheduled public transportation system with runs to Big Water and Kaibeto and everything in between. Call The Helping Hands Express at 928-645-9596 for their routes and schedules.
DIRECTIONS FROM PHOENIX:
I-17 north to 1-40 east
I-40 east to Highway 89 north exit.
Time from Phoenix is approximately 5 - 5 ½ hours
Time from Flagstaff is approximately 2 -2 ½ hours
ANNUAL TOURIST VISITATION:
1.5 million yearly visitors to Page
PRIMARY INDUSTRIES:
Tourism is the number one industry in the Page / Lake Powell area. The Navajo Generating Station, one of the largest producers of power in Arizona is another major industry. They get their coal from Black Mesa, about 80 miles east, and bring it back on their electric trains. Government is very important, as we are the headquarters for the National Park Service administering the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. Not to be forgotten, the Bureau of Reclamation operates Glen Canyon Dam and is the distributor of the power generated and the flows regulated.
SPECIAL AWARDS:
-President George Bush’s 76th Point of Light for Page Attacks Trash
-Five Clean and Beautiful Awards
-National Park Service - many awards for their stewardship of the Glen Canyon National Recreation area
-Several awards from Main Street recognizing the reclamation of downtown
-Named the Third Best Small Town In America
-Named the Tenth Best Small Town in America to Live
-The Lake Powell Chronicle has received numerous awards for their weekly newspaper
LOCAL ATTRACTIONS:
Some of the local attractions found in the community are Horseshoe Bend, Antelope Canyon, John Wesley Powell Memorial Museum, the Carl Hayden Visitors Center at Glen Canyon Dam, Boat Tours on Lake Powell, the Page Rim Trail, Colorado River Float Trip and the Lake Powell National Golf Course to name a few.
STORY IDEAS:
-Lake Powell Houseboating
-California Condors
-History – Crossing of the Spanish Explorers
-History – Legends of gold mines
-Colorado River Exploration
-John Wesley Powell Museum
-Building the Rim Trail
-Hiking the Paria
-Horseshoe Bend
-Blair’s Trading Post Museum
-Fishing the Colorado River
-Navajo Village Heritage Center
COMMUNITY TRIVIA
Manson Mesa, on which Page is located, has no native trees. A Navajo legend tells of long ago, when the country was young, when one day the trees all died. Speculation is that perhaps a meteor came close or something of that sort to create this effect.
Page also has a yearly celebration entitled Page Attacks Trash. The entire town turns up to help clean up the area prior to the summer season. This was named President Bush’s 76th Point of Light.
For more information on this community contact: dwayne@pagelakepowelltourism.com
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