Dangling Rope Marina: closed for good, and the 100-mile fuel gap it left
For 37 years the mid-lake fuel stop every long-range Lake Powell trip was planned around. It pumped its last gallon in May 2021, the docks are gone, and the NPS says the cove can’t hold a marina anymore. What happened, what’s replacing it, and how to run the lake without it.
Updated
Dangling Rope Marina is permanently closed. The boat-access-only marina near buoy 40 — the only fuel between Wahweap and Bullfrog — shut down in May 2021 after electrical failures and a microburst storm, and the National Park Service confirmed in September 2024 that low water has made the cove unusable and the marina will not reopen. The NPS began removing its docks and structures in 2022, and nothing operational remains at the site. That leaves a roughly 100-mile fuel gap across the middle of Lake Powell: plan to carry everything you need between Wahweap or Antelope Point in the south and the relocated Bullfrog fuel dock in the north. A replacement mid-lake fuel station is funded and in design, with no opening date announced.
Facts checked July 2026.
Is Dangling Rope Marina open?
No — and it isn’t coming back. The shutdown played out over three years, which is why plenty of boaters still ask. Here’s the whole sequence.
| March 12, 2021 | The NPS suspends Dangling Rope’s visitor services — power, fuel, water, pump-out — for an electrical-system upgrade; only the vault toilets stay open. |
| April 26–28, 2021 | An electrical outage halts fuel service; limited fuel returns two days later, but the store and café stay shut. |
| Late May 2021 | A microburst storm causes significant damage. Engineers inspect, and the marina closes for the rest of 2021. It never serves another boat. |
| July 15, 2021 | The electrical upgrade is suspended — its design never anticipated the lake dropping below 3,547 feet. |
| January 24, 2022 | The NPS announces the marina will stay closed through 2022 and starts removing docks and structures so falling water doesn’t strand them. |
| September 2024 | Superintendent Michelle Kearns’ letter makes it permanent: the cove “can no longer support a marina.” It will not reopen. |
| 2024–2026 | Congress funds a replacement mid-lake fuel station; marine engineers work on a design. No site or opening date has been announced. |
The January 2022 removal decision is documented in the NPS closure announcement; the 2024 permanent-closure letter was covered by KSL and other outlets.
Why did it close for good?
Four failures stacked on top of each other, all downstream of a shrinking reservoir. The lake’s decline pulled the shoreline away from the cove, cutting off safe access and exposing rock hazards where boats used to idle in. The May 2021 microburst wrecked electrical systems that were mid-upgrade — an upgrade whose design, the NPS later acknowledged, never anticipated the lake falling below 3,547 feet. And the water well on the hill above the marina, its only source, ran dry.
Superintendent Michelle Kearns put it plainly in her 2024 letter: “the water depth in the Dangling Rope cove can no longer support a marina.” She called the decision difficult and painful, and pointed the park’s energy at building mid-lake infrastructure designed for low water instead of rebuilding in a cove that no longer works. For a quick sense of what the lake is doing right now, see lakepowellwaterlevel.com.
What was Dangling Rope Marina?
Opened in 1984 — the year after Lake Powell hit its all-time high — Dangling Rope was a floating outpost in a side canyon about 40 water miles up from Glen Canyon Dam, reachable only by boat. Boaters called it “the Rope.” For 37 years it was the halfway point that made the whole lake feel connected.
- Gasoline only, with no diesel, from a floating fuel dock — 600,000 to 1.5 million gallons sold a year
- Self-serve pump-out and potable water
- A small store with limited groceries, plentiful ice — and the famous soft-serve ice cream
- Limited boat repairs and an NPS ranger contact station
- Power from 384 solar panels; fuel delivered by triple-hulled barges from Wahweap
Will a new mid-lake fuel station replace it?
Eventually — funding is authorized and design work is underway, with nothing on the water yet. Congress authorized funding for a long-lasting mid-lake fuel station, and the NPS contracted a marine engineering firm to design one that runs at low water without depending on a land-based well or power supply, the two dependencies that helped kill Dangling Rope. As of mid-2026 there’s no announced site, design or opening date.
It’s part of a bigger low-water rebuild across the lake: the Bullfrog floating marina and fuel dock moved to deeper water near Halls Crossing for 2026, and a permanent low-water ramp is planned at Stanton Creek — the full story is in the Bullfrog Marina guide. Until a mid-lake station opens, treat the center of the lake as a place you bring every gallon to yourself.
How do you plan fuel without Dangling Rope?
Start from the number that matters: about 100 miles separate the southern fuel docks (Wahweap, near buoy 2, and Antelope Point) from the northern one (the Bullfrog dock, operating near Halls Crossing for 2026, near buoy 94). At 20–25 mph that’s 4 to 5 hours of running with nowhere to top off, pump out or fill a water tank.
- Work out the legs against the marina-to-marina distance guide before you commit to a route.
- Apply the rule of thirds from the fuel-planning guide: a third of your fuel out, a third back, a third in reserve.
- Small boats and PWCs: carry auxiliary fuel in approved containers for anything past the mid-forties buoys, or plan the trip from the north instead.
- Renting? The houseboat rentals guide covers how fuel, generator hours and pump-outs work on a rental.
Can you still get to Rainbow Bridge?
Yes, and the run itself is the same as ever — what changed is the fuel math. Rainbow Bridge is about 50 lake miles from Wahweap, and Dangling Rope sat near buoy 40 as the natural fuel-and-ice-cream stop on the way. Now the roughly 100-mile round trip is one continuous leg: comfortable for most powerboats on a full tank, out of range for a personal watercraft that holds 55 miles of fuel. Carry auxiliary fuel or go with a bigger boat.
At the monument, low water has pulled the shoreline back from the courtesy dock — as of the NPS’s April 2026 update, the dock doesn’t reach land, and visitors beach their boats and walk the last stretch at their own risk. Concessioner boat tours run “if the lake level permits.” Check the NPS Rainbow Bridge page before building a trip around it, and see the lake’s named canyons and buoy line on the interactive map when you plan the route.
Frequently asked questions
Is Dangling Rope Marina open?
No. Dangling Rope Marina is permanently closed. It last served boaters in May 2021, stayed closed through 2021 and 2022 while the National Park Service began removing its docks and structures, and in September 2024 the park superintendent confirmed the cove can no longer support a marina and it will not reopen. There are no visitor services of any kind at the site — no fuel, no pump-out, no water, no store.
Why did Dangling Rope Marina close?
A pile-up of causes, all tied to the shrinking lake. Falling lake levels cut off safe access to the cove and exposed rock hazards, a May 2021 microburst storm damaged the electrical system mid-upgrade, and the water well above the marina ran dry. The NPS suspended the electrical project in July 2021 because its design never anticipated the lake dropping below 3,547 feet — and the water kept dropping anyway.
Will there be a new mid-lake fuel station on Lake Powell?
That’s the plan, but not yet. Congress authorized funding for a long-lasting mid-lake fuel station, and the NPS hired a marine engineering firm to design one that works at low water without depending on land-based wells or power. As of mid-2026 no design, site or opening date has been announced, so plan every trip as if mid-lake fuel doesn’t exist — because right now it doesn’t.
Where do boaters get fuel on Lake Powell now?
Three places as of 2026: Wahweap Marina and Antelope Point Marina in the south near Page, and the Bullfrog fuel dock in the north — which this season operates from deeper water near Halls Crossing as part of the Bullfrog relocation. Between the southern docks and the northern one there is nothing: about 100 miles of open water, a 4–5 hour run at typical cruising speeds.
Can you still boat to Rainbow Bridge without Dangling Rope?
Yes, but you carry every gallon yourself. Rainbow Bridge is about 50 lake miles from Wahweap, a roughly 100-mile round trip that used to include a fuel stop at Dangling Rope near buoy 40. Bigger boats handle it on one tank; personal watercraft with 55-mile ranges can’t do it safely without auxiliary fuel. As of spring 2026 the courtesy dock doesn’t reach land, so expect to beach and walk — check the NPS page before you go.
What did Dangling Rope Marina have when it was open?
Gasoline (no diesel), pump-out, potable water, a small store, limited repairs, an NPS ranger station — and soft-serve ice cream that generations of boaters planned their day around. It ran on 384 solar panels, took its fuel from triple-hulled barges out of Wahweap, and sold up to 1.5 million gallons a year. It was the only stop of any kind in the 100 miles between Wahweap and Bullfrog.
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