Farley Canyon boat access at Powell

[h0yt3r]

Does anyone know what the road is like that heads down to Farley Canyon at Powell? I know they allow primitive camping down there, but can you put a boat in there?
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[riverdog]

It's listed as 38 feet below usable: http://lakepowell.water-data.com/, look at the bottom of the page. So wouldn't even try unless you have a kayak to drag a long ways.
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[GorgeHound]

It depends on how big your boat is, and if there is anyone parked at the only place you can turn a moderately sized rig around close enough to the launch site to be feasible. And, if you have the courage to drive your rig down the slanted road section just before you get to the lake.
When I was down there a few weeks ago, there was only a couple spots where you could camp close to the water. Of course if you take your camping gear in your boat, then the options would be almost limitless.
In short, you might be rolling the dice... good luck!!
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[UTExplorer]

[quote GorgeHound]It depends on how big your boat is, and if there is anyone parked at the only place you can turn a moderately sized rig around close enough to the launch site to be feasible. And, if you have the courage to drive your rig down the slanted road section just before you get to the lake.
When I was down there a few weeks ago, there was only a couple spots where you could camp close to the water. Of course if you take your camping gear in your boat, then the options would be almost limitless.
In short, you might be rolling the dice... good luck!![/quote]

+1 I think your also still supposed to have your boat inspected, so you would still have to drive to an inspection station.
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[GorgeHound]

You can self-certify at Farley and other remote sites on the lake including Hite.

[url "http://www.nps.gov/glca/parknews/new-zebra-mussel-prevention-requirements-on-lake-powell.htm"]http://www.nps.gov/...s-on-lake-powell.htm[/url]

Here is a link to the form that needs to be filled out and displayed in your vehicle.

[url "http://www.5280basshunters.com/downloads/Lake_Powell_Quagga_Vehicle.pdf"]http://www.5280basshunters.com/...l_Quagga_Vehicle.pdf[/url]

Hope this helps..
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[UTExplorer]

Thanks, good to know. Last time I was there (2 years ago), they had the self certification forms, but I thought I remember it changing since then.

What other areas beside Hite and Farleys can you launch from?

In the article you referenced it states;

"Lake Powell has many remote launching sites and it is impossible to staff them all. "

I have a small boat and I enjoy the remote sites, due to not being able to travel far once in the water.
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[h0yt3r]

Thanks for the info all. What is the closest ramp then to that area of the lake with Hite shut down? Is there a ramp at Good Hope Bay?
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[GorgeHound]

There is no launch ramp at Good Hope Bay. Some people are launching right now at Hite, but I've heard the mud line extends all the way down to Red Canyon. There can be a LOT of debris in the water around Hite this time of year. Your best bet would be Bullfrog or Halls.
Good luck with your plans.. Fishnmaps, Lake Powell North and Lake Powell South is a good info source and shows some of the roads that lead to the lake. Unfortunately they are few a far between. Or maybe that is fortunate depending on your point of view :-))
Randy
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[h0yt3r]

I've got a 19' Maxum which is not exclusively a fishing boat, but I love camping and having the boat right on the lake down there. Obviously Hite used to be great for that, but once the water levels dropped we have not been back. I just miss the lake and lots of fond memories down there, but don't want to be pulling the boat out every day and being forced to stay in one of the developed camp grounds. Any other launch suggestions?
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[GorgeHound]

I'm with you on your comments about Hite. That is my favorite place to go, and like you say camp right at the lake. I think there is some primitive camping at the lake around bullfrog and am going to check that out very soon, but don't have any advise really. Maybe someone else can chime in with there experiences. I wish someone would put the plug back in down there and let the lake start coming back up again. It is starting to come back up a little with the Colorado running so high. The thing that's been a little confusing to me, is they have been blowing water out of Mead too. I guess the water "masters" have got it all figured out ???
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[h0yt3r]

Yeah, I totally agree. I wish they would let the upstream reservoirs fill first before pushing all the extra water down the pipe to Mead. I've camped a couple of times down by Bullfrog, but it is just way too busy with all of the boat traffic. It's too bad we can't funnel more of the excessive runoff that will happen this year elsewhere in the state into one of the Powell drainages. Of course that would be one heck of a canal.

I've attached a map that I found that has some good detail, which is what prompted my original question about Farley canyon since it shows camping access there. Maybe somebody else will find it useful, or be able to identify another launch point that I'm missing.
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[Lettsfish]

I wouldn't even think about launching a 19' boat at Farley's.

An alternative might be Stanton (Bullfrog area) where you can launch at Bullfrog then drive over and tie up at Stanton.

Look up Waynes Words web site and search around for lots of discussion on these topics.
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[riverdog]

FYI,
Hite is no longer a self certify site; http://www.nps.gov/glca/parknews/zebramussel1.htm
I stopped in Hite last October and even though I was self certified and planning to put in at a remote spot they did the certification again. Only took a few minutes and the ranger was nice enough. When I asked why my self certification wasn't good enough for Farley's he said they strongly prefer onsite certification. The rules have been changing so I'd check them before every trip if you're self certifying as the fines are steep enough that you might have to sell your boat to pay them.
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[GorgeHound]

I agree, Always a good idea to check for changes.
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[GorgeHound]

I thought this quote from Wayne Gustaveson (wayneswords.com) might interest some when considering launching at Hite.. There seems to be a bit of confusion surrounding this information, but I would tend to trust Wayne as an accurate source...

"At Hite, a mussel inspector is available five days per week from 7 a.m. to
5 p.m. MDT. If an inspector is not available, visitors may still
self-certify at Hite. Launching vessels at Hite is “at your own risk”. At
this time it is not possible to launch larger vessels at Hite.

Visitors are reminded that anyone launching any kind of vessel on Lake
Powell is required to obtain and display a “Mussel Free” certificate on the
dash of their vehicle. With the exception of Hite, the only way to obtain
this certificate is to have your vessel inspected by an authorized National
Park Service inspector. Hite and remote locations are the only places where
self-certification is still allowed."
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[Big_Bad_Shad]

In regards to the lake level, I was reading a report put out by the BOR yesterday that projected Lake Powell to come up to within 45 feet of full pool by late June early July. That would be a elevation of 3655 above see level. Safe launch at Hite is 3610 I believe. I think fall fishing at Hite could be very interesting this year. I think the highest powell got last year was like 3630'. Also the report did not take in the water data from May and the CO river basin had quite a bit a moisture in May so far. So take that for what it is worth. The lake is at 3612 right now.
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[h0yt3r]

Do you have a link to that BOR article? I've wondering with all of the snowpack this year why Powell wouldn't be coming up more in spite of what they're required to send down stream. That would be awesome if Hite became usable again.
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[riverdog]

They did a report on KSL with what sounds like the same information the other night.
http://www.ksl.com/?sid=&nid=732&tPage=news
Go to page 9 at the bottom, it's the second to last one if you want to watch it.
They say it would go to full pool if we weren't letting out so much to the lower Colorado basin.
As far as self certifying at Hite goes maybe I was wrong in my previous post. I think I read the park website after the ranger specifically told me it was no longer allowed while there in October. The information on the website could be a little clearer but I think what he said to me influenced my interpretation. Rereading it seems to say it's still allowed. Be nice if what you're told in person by officials, what rangers do and the website where all in agreement. Way too much to ask from any government agency I guess.
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[h0yt3r]

Here's a better link for anyone interested.

http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=15428671
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[GorgeHound]

Thanks for the Link. That is a very interesting article. One thing I am perplexed by however, is the comment about sharing the wealth with lake Mead. I have been following the water data with interest, and they have been BLOWING water out of Mead for a while now. Guess my question is, who is Lake Mead sharing the wealth with??
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