Labyrinth Canyon, Lake Powell: how to boat in and hike the slot

Quick answer

Seeing Labyrinth takes 3 ways of moving: powerboat, then paddle, then walking. That is why the numbers people quote for this canyon disagree so widely — a 30-minute figure and a 6-hour figure are both correct, and they measure different parts of the day.

Leg	Roughly	What it is
Main channel run	12 miles from Antelope Point, under 20 from Wahweap	30 to 45 minutes in a day boat, closer to an hour from Wahweap
Flooded lower canyon	past the marked buoy, in as far as it stays wide	Wakeless by rule — idle only, no plane
Paddle or swim	about 45 minutes by kayak or paddleboard	Where the boat stops and the water runs out into sand
The slot on foot	1 to 2 miles each way for most parties	Sand floor, shallow pools, boulders to climb over
Round trip from the mouth	4 to 6 hours reported	Leaving the big boat to getting back on it

Where is Labyrinth Canyon on Lake Powell?

Labyrinth Canyon opens on the south side of the main channel where the narrows widen into Padre Bay, roughly 16 to 18 lake miles above Glen Canyon Dam. The spread comes from the buoys themselves: the NPS boating page notes that “numbers on main channel buoys are APPROXIMATE mileage from Glen Canyon Dam,” so a buoy number and a mile number measure the same thing loosely.

Published directions disagree on which one to use. Explore’s write-up and a 2017 trip report both place the mouth at “mile 16 along the lake’s south shore.” She Likes to Hike gives boat-by-boat directions instead: follow the mile-marker buoys “until you reach buoy 18. From there, head southeast until you spot a white buoy labeled ‘Labyrinth Canyon.’”

That last detail is the one that matters on the water. The canyon mouth has its own named buoy, so you are not scanning a cliff line by eye across a bay several miles wide looking for a gap. Steer for the buoy instead of trying to resolve the mile number.

One disambiguation before you plan anything. Labyrinth Canyon on the Green River, the flatwater canoe run north of Moab, is a different place about 200 miles away, and search results mix the two constantly.

How far is Labyrinth Canyon from Wahweap and Antelope Point?

Antelope Point is the closer launch at about 12 miles and 30 to 45 minutes in a day boat, per Bearfoot Theory’s trip guide; Wahweap is under 20 miles and close to an hour. Paddlers on the Wayne’s Words forum measure it a little longer from the ramps themselves, at 13 miles from the Antelope Point launch ramp and roughly 20 from Wahweap’s, and one member sums up the choice plainly: “you could shave 7.5 miles off if you launched from antelope.”

Neither run is a fuel problem in a rental. Both south marinas sell gas, and the Antelope Point marina guide covers the ramps and hours before you go.

Padre Bay is the part to plan for. It is wide open water, and it is where afternoon wind builds real chop on a lake that is otherwise sheltered by cliff walls. Cross it in the morning and you get flat water both ways on a day trip.

How far can you take a boat into Labyrinth Canyon?

Into the wide flooded mouth, at idle, and no further than the walls allow. The Superintendent’s Compendium prohibits operating over 5 mph or creating a wake in Antelope, Labyrinth, Forbidding and Lost Eden Canyons, and states the reason: “The canyons are too narrow to safely allow motorized vessels to travel on plane or faster than wakeless without causing safety issues with the non-motorized watercraft.” Kayakers use Labyrinth heavily and you cannot see around its bends.

Idle past the buoy, find water wide enough to swing the boat around, and anchor there. From that point it is a kayak, a paddleboard, or a swim — one party paddled about 45 minutes up the flooded slot before the water shallowed out into sand.

If you are choosing between canyons for the day, the slot canyon guide covers the other three on the wakeless list, and the kayaking guide has the paddling distances for Face and West Canyon further up.

What is the slot like on foot?

Sandy and tight, with walls within arm’s reach on both sides. The 2017 trip report describes walls “never more than 5 feet apart” through most of it, and Bearfoot Theory puts the narrowest sections at “less than 2 feet wide.” The floor is mostly sand with shallow pools — nothing over 8 inches on that 2017 visit — broken up by boulders that take non-technical scrambling to get past.

Reported distances vary because parties turn around in different places. The 2017 group walked the canyon end to end in about 30 minutes and called it almost a mile long. Explore puts the hiking at around 35 minutes. She Likes to Hike gives 40 minutes to walk the slot, says most hikers cover 1 to 2 miles before heading back, and that author reached about 1.5 miles before a wedged boulder ended the trip.

Standing water in the slot is what changes most between visits. Bearfoot Theory found pools deep and cold enough to matter; the 2017 party found nothing over ankle depth. How much water is sitting in there tracks the lake, which you can check at lakepowellwaterlevel.com before you commit a day to it.

Wear water shoes that drain and still grip. Explore also flags the scrambling as a reason to skip this canyon if you have hip, knee, or ankle problems — the boulders sit in the middle of the floor and you climb over them to keep going.

Should you paddle in, or hire a shuttle?

Paddling the whole way is a trip in itself. Kayak Lake Powell puts the Antelope Point route at 10 to 40 miles depending on how much of the canyon you explore, and budgets 2 to 4 nights for it. Forum paddlers add the warning the mileage hides: the first stretch out of Antelope Point is the busiest water on the lake, and by mid-morning it is choppy with wakes. Their advice is to launch early and camp near Labyrinth or Padre Bay rather than trying to round-trip it.

The shortcut is a water taxi. Two licensed operators run them — Aramark Executive Services out of Wahweap (928-645-1037) and Antelope Point Marina (928-645-5900) — and both carry up to 6 people with their boats at $150 to $200 per hour for the group as of mid-2026. Kayak Lake Powell puts the round-trip shuttle time to Labyrinth at about 1 hour, the shortest run on their list. Split across a full group, that is the difference between a multi-night paddle and a Saturday.

Camping at the mouth is free and needs no permit beyond what you paid at the gate. Beach on the sand in Labyrinth Bay, and bring a portable toilet: the Park Service requires one at every campsite unless there is a toilet on your vessel or within 200 yards, and solid waste gets carried out. Wood ground fires are allowed below the high water line at no more than 4 feet wide and 4 feet high. The beaches guide has the other pocket sand in this stretch of the lake.

When should you go, and what about flash floods?

Late spring through early fall, with the summer and fall monsoon as the constraint you plan around. You wade and sometimes swim in this canyon, so the shoulder seasons are cold going. The Park Service does not hedge on narrow canyons: “If storms or flash floods are predicted in your area, even if you do not see storm clouds or feel rain, STAY OUT OF NARROW CANYONS.” A slot narrow enough to touch both walls at once fills from rain falling somewhere you cannot see it, and there is nowhere to climb once it does. Check the forecast at the marina, because you lose cell signal on the run out — the cell service guide maps where coverage holds.

The other weather item is the crossing rather than the canyon. The Park Service warns that “high winds can make large waves” on Lake Powell and that thunderstorms bring wind up suddenly, which matters most in the middle of Padre Bay with no shore close by. Children 12 and under have to wear a Coast Guard approved life jacket any time the boat is underway. The weather safety guide has the wind rules for the rest of the lake.

For how Labyrinth compares to the other canyons you can reach from the south marinas, the Lake Powell canyons guide sorts them by distance and effort.

Key takeaways

1. Labyrinth Canyon opens off the south side of the main channel where it widens into Padre Bay, roughly 16 to 18 lake miles above the dam. Steer for the white buoy carrying the canyon’s name.
2. It is about 12 lake miles from Antelope Point and under 20 from Wahweap — 30 minutes to an hour in a day boat.
3. The Park Service posts it wakeless. Idle in, anchor where you can still turn the boat, and finish by kayak, paddleboard, or on foot.
4. The slot is sand and shallow pools between walls a few feet apart. Most parties walk 1 to 2 miles and turn back, and the round trip from the mouth runs 4 to 6 hours.
5. Paddling in from Antelope Point is a 2 to 4 night trip. A water taxi at $150 to $200 an hour for up to 6 people turns it into a 1-hour round trip.