San Juan Arm Worth It?

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irish1815

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Hello, we've been doing Powell for years and years and never really went further up than Oak Bay but we are eager to get away from the crowds. Any thoughts appreciated?

Thanks
 
I've found anchorages/beaches hard to come by for a cruiser boat, but for a HB there are many more options. Either way though, it is well worth the trip - totally different than anywhere else on the lake because of its remoteness and different rock structure. There are many threads on this web forum that can help you.

This biggest suggestion I have is to make sure you are fully self-contained if possible to avoid long ice and/or fuel runs to Dangling Rope Marina. And since you are remote, take additional safety precautions as you are a long way from "civilization". I have found very good Verizon cell service up there.
 
SJ is full of Zoombies and Croc's....Navigate at your own risk. A few of us dedicated Wordlings make the sacrifice and head up at least once a year to keep them contained. I'll be doing my part next week, but don't recommend it for the uninitiated :p :cool:

My favorite part of the lake, but sandy beaches are pretty much non-existent once you are past the mouth, until you get to the bay in front of Piute. That's 20 mile up the SJ or so. We don't have kids wanting to play on the beach and prefer anchoring to rocks so it works for us. Depending on the water level, anchorage for a HB can be plentiful or hard to come by.
 
irish1815 said:
Hello, we've been doing Powell for years and years and never really went further up than Oak Bay but we are eager to get away from the crowds. Any thoughts appreciated?

Thanks
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What type of range will your boat have?
Pegasus is correct. Be prepared for mechanical and medical best you can. We carry an emergency beacon for true emergencies.
There are many boats without even basic first aid kits.
Our favorite time to enter the confluence of the SJ is between 10 and noon. It's absolutely beautiful with the sun overhead.
And even if it's windy it will be smooth water most of the way. Have a camera or a GoPro ready when you enter. You
may have to slow down for the occasional house boat anchored in the narrow canyon for the first 12 miles or so
but we rarely pass more than 2 typically.
 
Against my better judgment, let me give a more sincere and thoughtful answer in regards to the San Juan.

I think wether it is worth it or not isn't a cookie cutter answer.

The first consideration is the distance. SJ is about MM 58. And unless you stay at the mouth, you will need to venture up 10 - 15 more miles to find a campsite. My experience in houseboats is that they usually cruise around 8 MPH. Slower if you are towing heavy boats. Maybe a bit faster if you are solo. But in the summer, we never just "go" to our spot. We stop and let people on/off the ski boats. We stop for a "fire drill" where people swim. Either of which will slow down your cruise speed. I think a more realistic cruise speed for the entire duration is likely 6 MPH. Maybe slower. So do the math from your marina to decide if you are willing to spend that much time on the boat.

With those distances come increased fuel consumption. My last houseboat had 160 gallons of fuel, and going to Cha took almost all of that. So you need to make sure your boat has the legs to do it (most of the newer boats this likely isn't a problem). Also need to make sure you have the fuel capacity for whatever other boats you take with you, as you don't want to be making a trip back to Dangling Rope if you don't have to.

The other thing you have to think about is the running condition of your houseboat. If everything runs smoothly, it can be a enjoyable trip. My last trip with the houseboat (may old one), everything seemed to be running fine when we got on the boat. Going down, about Hole in the Rock I had one engine act up. Ran off/on until the mouth of the SJ, then it was all "off". Had a mechanically inclined crew, and LOTS of spare parts, tried everything we could and we couldn't get the engine running.

Which meant we had to go back on one screw. Not the end of the world. Until we got to Escalante on the way back, and then the good engine started acting up. By the time I got in front of the Halls Marina it was very tough going - actually took two hours to get from Halls to our slip in Bullfrog. That was a LONG trip back.

So, if your boat has the legs to do it, and you and your crew have the stomach to spend that much time traveling, and the cost associated with it, and a strong running boat, and you have say a week to dedicate in the SJ, I say go for it. Just know what you are getting into.

And that doesn't take into account the White Walkers, zombie horses, crocs, or other perils up there.....

Finally, @WaterMan EVERYONE knows that the high inflows this year pushed all the fish downstream......
 
We come from the south so we have a longer distance and have to fight the water flowing down stream (don't forget the north end is higher so up hill battle) the hole way. We leave before light and get to Neskahi in time to anchor. and then zombie donkeys start yelling and continue through the night(no sleep for us). The good part is there are no fire works and loud music to deal with. Up before the sun and fish hard all day tell dark to only catch 100 dink SMB the size of a minnow. Fish for 5 days then back down the lake the last day. The trip back is great, we have the river pushing us and have the elevation drop to help. We take 90gal extra fuel to make it through the week and back to the docks. Fill the house bout with $450 of gas, pump out and park it back in the slip and drive 4.5 hour through Page and Flagstaff traffic back to Phoenix. Yes I have a screw loose to think this is fun. No better place then the San Juan.

PS watch out for a guy named Ryan making big waves in the only bay to fish.:);)
 
I think you ask the right question: Is it worth it? Some great trips to the lake involved time spent in the San Juan. Yes, there are fewer boats. That's nice sometimes. Although seems like the middle 1/3 of the lake isn't overly busy anymore. We used to camp at the mouth of the San Juan - there's just a couple good places to camp and if those are full, you've made a long trip without a lot of great options. Fuel is always an issue when you are going to the San Juan. You go there to explore / see it - with that comes a constant need for fuel. When I was a kid there was a marina at the end of the San Juan, so fuel was available and you could spend some real quality time there. So now it's a question of whether or not it's really that different than other parts of the lake. I think you should make a day trip with your boat before spending the hours and hours it takes to bring a houseboat there. If you fall in love with it, question answered.
 
Thank you so much everyone for the incredible insights. We have a new boat with massive fuel and fully contained. But have never gone up there because of distance. But we love to avoid crowds and we love glass for waterskiing so it always intrigued me. I had seen some posts of trash problems in the past but maybe less so now.
 
I've never been up into the SJ, just wondering is there obstacles you have to watch out for in the water, sandbars, boulders etc?
 
Ron Flewellen said:
I've never been up into the SJ, just wondering is there obstacles you have to watch out for in the water, sandbars, boulders etc?
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It's no different than the rest of the Lake - there are some rock islands, and nearshore there are some large boulders in areas, but in general, it's deep water (over 200 ft) until you get up into the Great Bend. That's also where I've historically run into debris and floating garbage (but still navigatable going slow and worth it!). With a good map or mapping GPS that shows depths, you should be able to avoid very shallow areas.

It is prudent to be extra careful just because of the remoteness of getting help if needed.
 
We have been going to the San Juan for approximately 35 years. By far our favorite place on the lake. We will be heading up there in September. We have learned where the fish hide up there which helps. We go out of Antelope Point and just plan on our first day on the lake being a travel day. It is worth it to us. A little trick we have learned it that you can get cell service if you can have Navajo Mountain in view. We typically take the fishing or ski boat out in middle of the lower bay to where we have good view of the mountain and can make calls. That is good to know in event of an emergency. We have had one relatively minor emergency a couple years back and had to take someone to emergency room. It was about an hour and half run in our fishing boat.
 
Last year Amy and I headed out from Wahweap 5:30am in our Stingray 225 LR with a 350 Volvo and dual prop out drive. 55 gallon tank. We went max-cruise the entire way up and reached SJ mouth in about 90 minutes if memory serves. We then cruised leisurely up about 15 miles and fished several hours, then turned around and returned. We made it back to Dangling Rope on fumes... lesson learned: probably should have had a couple 5 gallon cans with us. But... it was worth it. It was in Sepetemeber and from the time we passed Oak we never saw another boat until we got back to Dangling Rope. There is a feeling of wonder knowing how far you are off the grid... and a feeling of dread when you realize if anything bad happened, you’re utterly on your own (we too have a Resqlink satellite transponder for emergencies).
 
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