I have no hesitation in saying that Lake Powell has to be one of the biggest hidden gems in Utah, and it might even stretch farther than that. Utah has always been home base for me. I grew up in Salt Lake City, and I love it here. There’s so much variety in terrain, activities, and adventures. My family has always been “in-the-state” kind of vacationers, so I’ve seen most of the fun vacation spots that Utah has to offer, and there’s no doubt in my mind when I say that Lake Powell is the best vacation spot. We usually go on a Lake Powell trip every summer, and I want to highlight one of those trips today. Just a heads up before I start; this will make you very anxious for hot summer days. Hang in there!
For this particular summer, we decided to head down to Southern Utah over the July 4th weekend. Something about that weekend just makes things more lively and fun. It’s always been one of my favorite holidays, so celebrating on the lake always makes it that much more special. Once we arrived, he loaded all of our gear and food onto the houseboat the night before launching, just so we could settle in and get a good nights rest before hitting it hard the next day. First thing the next morning, we took off from the dock in the houseboat and headed out to find our spot for the week. We found the perfect beach that year! The spot that we found was surrounded by bright blue water, had a huge sandy beach, and was surrounded by amazing red rock views. Once we got the houseboat all tied down and anchored, the whole crew was ready to get the fun started. I could be here for days talking about all the stuff we did, but let’s be real, that’s boring. I’ll just give you the highlights that really made this trip one that I will never forget.
1. The first highlight was the glow stick night surfing. On the night of the 4th of July, the whole family hopped into the ski boat for some surfing, but this time we did it with glow sticks. Now, surfing is fun regularly, but when you add the darkness element and when you add glow sticks in the mix, it creates an unforgettable ride. To top it off, and to our surprise, fireworks started shooting off along the other campsites that people had around the lake. The mix of the great music, surfing, and the fireworks in the background made for one amazing night.
2. The afternoon hike to the top of the ridge was another highlight. Some friends and I headed on this hike up to a ridge that was up the hill from our houseboat camp. Now, I’m not usually a hiker, but something about hiking on red rock without a trail to follow was a blast. We finally reached the ridge point, and the views were incredible. Not only could you see the entire lake valley that we hiked up from, but you could also see the next two valleys to the south. Incredible views! It’s really cool to see how the red rock and the bright blue water contrast on each other. That was the first time I had done a hike like that in Powell, but it’s going to be a staple of every trip now.
3. Highlight 3. There were so many things to highlight on this trip. Wakeboarding, , surfing, fishing, swimming off the back of the boat, early morning paddle boarding, sand castles on the beach, etc. But, my favorite part of this trip was the random fun I had on the boat with the family and friends that were all there. 15+ people is a lot of people to shove on a little houseboat, but it makes for a good time and many laughs. We constantly were joking around with each other, playing heated games of pounce, having spikeball tournaments on the beach, and playing king of the hill on the giant, inflatable toucan floaty. I will never forget how much fun we had on the boat that year.
Great, now I’m drooling over warmer summer days.
Like this post if you’ve ever been to Lake Powell or share your favorite thing to do in the Summer.
Try Something New 