Hub of the Grand Circle.

For Utahns, Glen Canyon Dam, Lake Powell and its nearby Wahweap Marina are the most notable assets of Page, the thriving border town located just 14 miles over the Arizona border.

But Page is so much a factor in southern Utah's tourism industry, that the Utah Travel Council has designated this town of 7,000 people as a "gateway to Utah." Page was built only 35 years ago by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation to house the hundreds of workers building the Glen Canyon Dam over the Colorado River. When the dam was completed in 1963, it created the second-largest man-made lake in North America: Lake Powell, with 2,000 miles of shoreline.

As tourism promoters in both states have recognized, Page is the hub of the Grand Circle, America's largest concentration of national parks and monuments, with 14 in all. It sits on the main route connecting the Grand Canyon, Zion, Bryce, Monument Valley, Four Corners, Mesa Verde, and other historic and scenic landmarks.

Three million visitors came to Page during 1991, mostly from California and Arizona. "We send a lot of travelers to Utah and hand out all of the Utah Travel Council's brochures," said Joan Staveley, executive director of the Page-Lake Powell Chamber of Commerce.

Staveley is one of several native Utahns who now live, work, and own businesses in Page. She hails from the southeastern Utah town of Mexican Hat on the San Juan River. Her father established one of the first commercial river-running companies back in the 1930s. Before joining the Chamber of Commerce, she worked as sales manager for the Del E. Webb real estate company, former owners of all the marinas on Lake Powell, including Wahweap, the largest.

A Boat with a View

Del E. Webb sold its Lake Powell properties to ARA Leisure Services in 1989. ARA is a world leader in the concession business. At Lake Powell, ARA employs 500 people, a number that mushrooms to 1,000 between May and mid-October, when all 700 motel rooms in Page are booked every night of the week. Developers are building more motels, but last year Page innkeepers referred travelers to Kanab, Utah, 75 miles to the west.

Seventy-five percent of all visitors to the Page-Lake Powell area go to Wahweap, a 350-room hotel resort with marina, restaurants, and 120 of the ever-popular houseboats for rent. "Not every lake has houseboats," explains Steve Ward, director of public relations for Wahweap. "Lake Powell is so big and there are so many places to explore, that most people stay four to 10 days on the lake. It means you need a more sophisticated way to camp." Renting a houseboat large enough to accommodate six people for three nights runs $700; one that sleeps 12 people for seven nights is $1,950. And Ward has this advice, "If you want one between June and August, book it a year in advance."

Page may also soon add what economic development director John Beesley calls, "a full-scale resort hotel." The city council is evaluating multiple proposals to build a resort, complete with 36-hole golf course, water slide, and hotel. "We have desert we haven't even used yet. The resort will probably happen within the next two years," Beesley said.

Beyond Tourism

Though the economy of Page thrives on tourism, the Salt River Project's Navajo Generating Station, three miles out of town, is the area's largest year-round employer, with 700 workers.

SRP is a huge coal-fired power plant that dominates the horizon in all directions. It supplies electricity to Phoenix and southern California. Visitors to the Grand Canyon 70 miles away attribute the hazy, polluted skies to SRP.

But not all Page business activity revolves around tourism or the lake. Gary Yamamoto came to Page 15 years ago because he "wanted to get out of Los Angeles." He owns Gary Yamamoto Custom Baits, and is quick to say, "My business has nothing to do with Lake Powell." From Page, he and 30 employees make 1,000 variations of fishing lures used in tournament bass fishing. His major market is Japan. Last year Japanese fishermen's spent $600,000 on Yamamoto's rubber worms. He also ships to South Africa, Europe, and to retail outlets throughout the U.S. "We have a very select niche for our product. Pick any given town in America, and you will find our lures in one or two of its retail outlets," said Yamamoto.

Aside from being a border town to Utah, Page is surrounded by the Navajo Nation of about 30,000 people. Roughly 53 percent of the population in Page is Native American. Youngsters attend school in town.

Lake Powell might be a summer playground for many Utahns, but "it's not that big of a deal to young people in Page," Staveley admitted. "When high school students are asked about their post-graduation plans, five out of six will say, |to get out of Page.'" Like many communities in Utah, 51 percent of the people in page are LDS. Staveley commented that kids might leave the area, but most of them return in three or four years. "The area, quality of life, and the importance of families bring them back."