San Juan Arm Worth It?

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Thank you Chris, super grateful. My question is whether its as pretty up there? I have a hard time finding photos and from satellite it looks quite a bit different than below Oak. Rocks look different, etc.
 
I would say the scenic quality of the San Juan is about average. Its real lure is less crowds and good fishing. I have been there in April and May when it was crowded. We have done a couple of ten day trips to Piute Bay in late September and early October. I recall one time not seeing another boat for 2 entire days. The rest of the time just a few boats per day. Ski all day long on glass and chase boils every evening. From Halls it takes all day to get there on a houseboat, so need a several day trip. Good phone coverage, at least for Verizon. Not a ton of beach sites between the mouth and Piute. Here are a couple of pics around Piute. IMG_1227.jpgIMG_1280.jpg
 
irish1815 said:
Thank you Chris, super grateful. My question is whether its as pretty up there? I have a hard time finding photos and from satellite it looks quite a bit different than below Oak. Rocks look different, etc.
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Honestly unless you have a really fast boat like ours, or you’re going to be on the lake for 7-10 days I’d stay closer to the marina.

The allure (which has been stated by many folks here) is isolation and good fishing.

The scenery is not appreciably better or worse, but it is a large canyon basically with few places to beach unless you get way up the river.

So I’d say it’s not as beautiful as much of Powell because it’s more large chunks of rock and sheer rock walls. There are a couple great hikes (medium to advanced) Wayne could steer you toward.

Personally I’d never drive a houseboat that far up or down the lake. But that’s mostly because we have a fast mover and would beach the big boat in Padre Bay or Escalante then use the fast mover for excursions further out.

Here’s a movie I made of us going up the San Juan if you want to get a feel for the scenery.

 
Chris's video and LP1 photos says it all about the San Juan arm - cruising on glass right up the middle of the canyon during mid-day. The solitude is fantastic; the scenery different than elsewhere on the lake - personally I like it. And some of the canyon hikes I've done up there are like no other on the entire lake with year-round running water, pollywogs, lush green plants, and the hikes can be done even mid-summer as many are shaded much of the day.

I'm glad it is so remote, as we can tell/show everyone how nice it is without the risk of there all of a sudden being a lot of extra traffic headed that way as it will never be somewhere for everyone - thankfully.
 
There are some decent hikes on the San Juan:

Hike to Peek a Boo Arch

PeekaBoo or Rim Arch is one of the most spectacular arches on the shores of Lake Powell. It is found overlooking Piute Canyon Bay in the San Juan Arm of Lake Powell. Piute Canyon is visible from the arch but to see it from the water, go back down lake around the first corner downstream from...
wayneswords.net wayneswords.net
 
TR. said:
This thread is getting way out of control and the mods need to end it fast! All this fake news and disinformation.....

TR
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This news is not fake if you are willing to catch and keep small mouth under 14" and release unharmed small mouth over 14".
 
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I was there a month ago. By the time I reached the entrance of Big Bend, the drift wood was overwhelming. I saw no garbage of any kind and no humans of any kind. It was glorious.
 
Water clarity is just slightly green at the start of the big bend, you can see 3-4 feet down easily. At the start of the week there was a huge debris field just around the first turn, so we didn’t go any further. Looks like it’s dispersed since then. As of yesterday water was clear and debris free from Trail to the bend
 
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