Most navigating on Lake Powell is actually ΓÇ£piloting,ΓÇ¥ which is guiding a vessel from one place to another using visual reference points. This sounds easy, but piloting Lake Powell is complicated by the vastness of the lake, the similarities in many of the landforms, and the fact that there are nearly one hundred tributaries to the main channel. The Coast Guard and the National Park Service maintain a system of buoys and markers.
Please remember that these are only aids, and that buoys can be moved from their correct position by storms and that fluctuating lake levels make it impossible to mark all reefs and shoals.
Red buoys are nun-shaped and have even numbers that indicate the approximate miles upstream from the dam along the old river channel. These mark the starboard (right) side of the channel when going upstream from the dam.
Green or black buoys are can-shaped and have odd numbers. These mark the port (left) side of the channel when going upstream from the dam.
Wakeless areas are marked on white regulatory buoys with an orange circle.
Major side canyons are marked with name buoys.
Nighttime boating is hazardous and should be avoided. In emergency situations between Wahweap and Rainbow Bridge, four shore lights and eighteen lighted buoys mark a safe channel for emergency boat operations.
