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The Castle Rock Cut, a boat passage linking Glen Canyon National Recreational Area's Wahweap and Warm Creek Bays, has been opened to boat travel.
With the cut open, boaters no longer need to travel through The Narrows to reach uplake destinations such as Padre Bay and Rainbow Bridge. Traveling through the cut saves boaters about 12 miles and shortens response times to life, health, and safety emergencies uplake.
The National Park Service completed an excavation of the cut in May 2009. Work to deepen it began in February and continued until mid-April.
Contractors removed nearly 87,000 cubic yards of material and lowered the depth of the cut by approximately 8 feet to 3,607 feet in elevation. Because of the excavation project, the cut is open five weeks earlier than in 2008.
"I knew when I arrived at Glen Canyon that the Castle Rock Cut project was a priority for the park and the community," said Glen Canyon Superintendent Stan Austin. "I'm pleased to see the cut open well before the Memorial Day weekend."
The elevation of Lake Powell reached 3,613 feet May 7 and continued to rise. National Park Service staff placed buoys to mark the channel from Wahweap to the junction of Warm Creek and the main river channel. The cut is marked as a no wake zone and boaters are reminded to use caution.
Encompassing over 1.2 million acres, Glen Canyon offers unparalleled opportunities for water-based and backcountry recreation.
The recreation area stretches for hundreds of miles from Lees Ferry in Arizona to the Orange Cliffs of southern Utah, encompassing scenic vistas, geologic wonders, and a vast panorama of human history.
Glen Canyon is open year-round. The highest visitation is in the summer season. In the winter months, Glen Canyon's visitor centers and Lake Powell's marinas have reduced services.
Operating hours of the Charles Hall Ferry change throughout the year. For more information on the Charles Hall Ferry, you can call the Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) in state at 511 or out of state at (866) 511-UTAH or visit the Web site at www.udot.utah.gov
For more information visit the park's Web site at www.nps.gov/glca/
With the cut open, boaters no longer need to travel through The Narrows to reach uplake destinations such as Padre Bay and Rainbow Bridge. Traveling through the cut saves boaters about 12 miles and shortens response times to life, health, and safety emergencies uplake.
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Contractors removed nearly 87,000 cubic yards of material and lowered the depth of the cut by approximately 8 feet to 3,607 feet in elevation. Because of the excavation project, the cut is open five weeks earlier than in 2008.
"I knew when I arrived at Glen Canyon that the Castle Rock Cut project was a priority for the park and the community," said Glen Canyon Superintendent Stan Austin. "I'm pleased to see the cut open well before the Memorial Day weekend."
The elevation of Lake Powell reached 3,613 feet May 7 and continued to rise. National Park Service staff placed buoys to mark the channel from Wahweap to the junction of Warm Creek and the main river channel. The cut is marked as a no wake zone and boaters are reminded to use caution.
Encompassing over 1.2 million acres, Glen Canyon offers unparalleled opportunities for water-based and backcountry recreation.
The recreation area stretches for hundreds of miles from Lees Ferry in Arizona to the Orange Cliffs of southern Utah, encompassing scenic vistas, geologic wonders, and a vast panorama of human history.
Glen Canyon is open year-round. The highest visitation is in the summer season. In the winter months, Glen Canyon's visitor centers and Lake Powell's marinas have reduced services.
Operating hours of the Charles Hall Ferry change throughout the year. For more information on the Charles Hall Ferry, you can call the Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) in state at 511 or out of state at (866) 511-UTAH or visit the Web site at www.udot.utah.gov
For more information visit the park's Web site at www.nps.gov/glca/
