We own our own houseboat in Northern California, but would like to rent one on Lake Powell next summer. Any suggestions for reputable rental companies/marinas? Would June be a good month? What are the best places to tie up? Between two families, we have kids ranging from 8 - 20 yrs old, and we like waterskiing, barefooting, wakeboarding, tubing, and kayaking (plus lots of relaxing). Thanks in advance for your help.

Topping because I'd like to hear the answer.

Prior to buying into a timeshare rental - we used to rent the houseboat directly from Lake Powell - lakepowelldotcom and never had any problems.

Because we're coming from Colorado, we always go thru the Bullfrog marina. The marinas only have basic supplies - so we load up in the city before leaving.

Also, Powells in Utah. We buy the liquor in Colorado, but you have to bury it under all your stuff b/c if you get stopped, the cops will have you pour out anything not purchased in the state. There is a notorious speed trap about 20 miles out from Bullfrog as well. It may be the same from other marinas. I'm assuming you'll be going in thru AZ.

June is a good month, but it will be HOT. Check out the average temp. Also, houseboats book out certain weeks a year in advance, so check on that as well.

Thanks for all of the suggestions! I'll start by contacting the rental company you recommended.

Hi!

We are just back from houseboating on Lake Powell for the first time. I will be writing my trip report as soon as I finish unpacking!

Let me start by saying we live in Maryland and are not boaters at all. My husband wanted to rent a houseboat on Lake Powell after hearing a lot about it from his clients in Arizona.

We rented a 48 foot Navigator out of Wahweap from Lakepowell.com. It was a very nice boat and was well appointed. The kids loved the slide off the back!

We were out on the lake for four nights and five days and loved it. We beached our boat in Padre Bay in a wonderful cove with beautiful views all around us. That was our home base and then we used the power boat to explore each day. Lake Powell's beauty is hard to describe. The canyon landscape surrounded by blue/green water - just breathtaking!

Although it was an experience we will never forget, it is probably something we will not ever do again due to cost. It was extraordinarily expensive by the time we rented the houseboat, powerboat, tube, and added in food and gas. However, I wouldn't trade the experience for the world. We had a fire on the beach each night and made S'mores. We played games and connected as a family in a way that is hard to do when you are at home or traveling to other places. My kids are still trying to describe it to their friends (most people here in Maryland haven't even heard of Lake Powell!)

If you have any questions, let me know. Everything is fresh in my mind at the moment but that won't last long!

Scraphappy,

What a great vacation! It does seem like an extraordinarily expensive vacation, especially since you still have to do all of the cooking and cleaning. We are thinking it will be a once in a lifetime experience, too, and how else can you see the amazing landscape?

I think we will tow our ski boat and bring our other water toys. Plus, we will split the cost with another family. That will probably put the trip cost in line with a week in Hawaii.

I can't wait to read your trip report!

I have to agree with Scraphappy...Lake Powell is a once in a lifetime experiance, or so we thought! We e

woops, so happy to see someone so thrilled with this trip,I hit the wrong button..anyway we did the short 4 day trip a few years back and were so taken with it, we HAD to go back and did the following year. This time for a full week. Even then we could have stayed longer. We also rented a boat from the same company and split the cost with another family. We drove out from CT. to cut down on costs also. We went in mid summer, and hot it was, but we lived in the water and our swimsuits. My 86 yr old mother in law still wants to go back one more time.We left from Hite the first time and Halls the next. We had tons of groceries and dry ice. We also paid extra to stay on the boat the night before, but we could not leave till the morning. that saved us booking lots of hotel rms. Preboard option. Very magical place that really shines thru, sleeping under the stars on the top of boat on a hot summer night. We can still feel the warm desert winds ...

Nice article and photo's in Apr 2006 National Geographic:
http://www7.nationalgeographic.com/n...re3/index.html

Thanks for the recommendations and the link to the National Geographic article. Apparently there are still houseboats available for June 2007, so I'm going to make a reservation this week, probably out of Wahweap. Can't wait to see Lake Powell!