Is it reasonable to fly to Lake Powell (nearest airport obviously), spend a few days there, rent a car and drive to the north rim of the Grand Canyon to stay the Grand Canyon Lodge? We've never been to this part of the country so we are not sure what is reasonable as far distance vs. time. Any suggestions or alternatives would be appreciated.

Ohhh! I love lake powell!! Spend as much time there as possible--are you renting a houseboat?? I can't vouch for the drive to the Grand Canyon, but I think it is doable from what I have heard!! Have fun!

Do you recommend a houseboat over local lodging? Any company you prefer?

I haven't had any experience with the local lodging, other than one night at a small motel before a bunch of us boarded a houseboat for five days. Lake Powell is unbelievably beautiful! I didn't grow up the "Hiking/Outdoors" type, so I was a bit weary, but I found it to be so much fun. We went with a group of 9 people, we each paired up and each of us was responsible for a day of food. We went shopping before boarding. Our boat had two bathrooms, (1 shower), air conditioning, an upper deck with a bar---it was really awesome! Here is the website for the houseboats. http://www.lakepowell.com/

---We rented the Discovery '59 foot houseboad. It is kind of pricey, not sure what you had in mind for pricing...but if you are going with a group, I guarantee you will love it. My brother in law has a speed boat, so we didn't have to rent one, but that is an option, renting a speed boat, to tie to your houseboat and you can use that to water ski, etc. during the day!
We just did this last year...let me know if you want to see pictures!
-CO

I've always wanted to rent a house boat, but they are pretty expensive and you have to rent them for at least 3 days.

http://www.lakepowell.com/houseboat_rates.php

If you don't rent a houseboat, there's still plenty to do at Lake Powell. The all day boat tour to Rainbow Bridge gets you on the lake. Upper Antelope Slots Canyon and the short hike to Horseshoe Bend are both nearby. You can also take a 1/2 day float trip on the Colorado River.

You are close enough to either the North Rim or the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. Depending on the amount of time you have, you might also want to see Bryce Canyon National Park and Zion National Park. If you want to go to Bryce and Zion, then you will want to go to the North Rim.

http://www.so-utah.com/

http://www.americansouthwest.net/utah/index.shtml

Utahtea

We stayed at WAHWEAP LODGE.
I agree with utahtee iternary did it all and had a great time. http://www.nps.gov/rabr/
You don't say how long you plan too stay. If you never been to the Grand Canyon I would go to the South Rim over the North Rim. It is much more scenic than the North Rim.

Thank you for the great information. With the info. I got on this post (and one other) I gave my family two different itineraries, one with Lake Powell and the north rim and one with Arizona and the south rim. They chose the south rim because I included a train ride to the Grand Canyon. Thanks again.

Wahweap lodge is great, each room has a view. Take a boat tour. The Antelope canyon tour is fantastic, taking you to another world!

At the Canyon make sure to watch at least once a sunset or sunrise.

Lake Powell is the BEST. Have to agree with CO17 its so much FUN. I would say just taking a tour boat on the lake will NEVER equal staying on the lake in the houseboat. We have done 2 one week trips and even that never seems long enough. The first time we went I brought tons of readiing and writing matertail to fill the time, but never touched it. Second trip did not bring any of it...We have done the small group rental and the larger group rental..if you can get a great group of friends together it make splitting the rental costs really affordable and for one of the most memorable vacations ever.