Beginning on January 5th, the Bureau of Reclamation and the Glen Canyon Natural History Association will charge $5.00 per adult with a discount for children and seniors. For as long as tours having been going at Glen Canyon Dam they have been free of charge while tours at Hoover Dam have been paying. Currently to tour Hoover Dam it costs $10.00.

I wrote a post a couple of months ago about the Top Ten Things to do Under 5 Bucks at Lake Powell and Tour the Dam was high on the list. From 1996 to late 2002 I worked in the tour program at Glen Canyon Dam and loved the time I spent there. After the September 11th attacks our tour program was closed for two weeks. When we reopened we had a security program in place which included folks having to sign up for the tour, go with a guide and be tracked. Security was also put in place at the entrance to the Carl Hayden Visitor Center. 

In order to keep up with public demand for the tour, more guides were hired and trained. Security personnel on the dam were increased as well. All of these things have been paid for out of the sale of power from the Glen Canyon Power Plant. However, Barry Wirth, the regional public affairs officer for the Upper Colorado area Bureau, explained it is time to recover at least a portion of the cost of running the tour program.

It will remain free to enter to Carl Hayden Visitor Center and the Glen Canyon Natural History Association run bookstore.  There are talks given by not only tour guides but local park rangers as well, that occur at the large map in the middle of the visitors center which will also remain free. Movies in the auditorium run all day every half hour and free to the public as well.

To enter the Carl Hayden Visitor's Center there are no bags, purses or backpacks allowed in the building, and everyone goes through a metal detector.

Visit The Lake Powell Real Estate Blog for more information on this and other things Lake Powell!