Cathedral in the Desert

Cathedral in the Desert is a towering sandstone chamber at the end of Clear Creek Canyon, where a thin waterfall pours into a room lit by a narrow slice of sky. It was drowned when Lake Powell filled in the 1960s, and low water has brought it back into the open air. Today it is one of the most talked-about places on the lake.

Where It Is

Cathedral in the Desert sits at the back of Clear Creek Canyon, a side canyon off the Escalante River arm in the middle of Lake Powell, on the Utah side. It is closest to the Bullfrog and Halls Crossing area, roughly 25 to 35 lake miles away by boat. From Wahweap and Antelope Point at the south end it is more than 70 miles each way, with no fuel stop in between since Dangling Rope Marina closed, so from Page it is a long, multi-day trip. We also rent at Bullfrog and Halls Crossing, which puts it within a day’s ride.

Why It Came Back

The chamber went underwater as the lake rose after Glen Canyon Dam was finished. It first peeked out briefly in 2005, and it has been exposed again in recent low-water years. When the lake is below roughly 3,560 feet, the floor of the chamber is dry and you can walk in. Floods have scoured out much of the sediment the lake left behind, and ferns and cottonwoods are already growing back. When the lake rises, the room fills with water again.

Visiting by Boat

• Boat up the Escalante arm, which has few channel markers, then turn into Clear Creek Canyon and idle in at wakeless speed.
• At current low levels you beach where the water ends and walk up the creek, roughly a half mile, to the chamber.
• Plan the day around fuel. Fill up before you leave and carry a reserve.
• Check the lake level before you go. It changes how far you walk and whether the chamber has water in it.

Please Visit With Care

More visitors have meant more damage, including names written and scratched on the walls. Help keep it beautiful: do not touch or mark the sandstone, stay on the creek bed, pack out every bit of trash and give other visitors quiet time in the chamber. Never enter the canyon if storms threaten. Clear Creek drains a large area and floods quickly.

Other Places on the Escalante Arm

The Escalante arm is full of side canyons, arches and alcoves. Nearby you will find the historic Hole-in-the-Rock crossing on the main channel and the narrow walls of Davis Gulch. Read more on our Escalante River arm page.

Rent at Bullfrog or Halls Crossing

We rent jet skis and boats at Bullfrog and Halls Crossing, the closest marinas to Cathedral in the Desert, and at Wahweap and Antelope Point near Page, where the closest wonders are Antelope Canyon, Labyrinth Canyon, Padre Bay and the long ride to Rainbow Bridge. We launch from whichever ramps the lake level allows.