Lake Powell is one of those places people can never seem to get enough of.

Visitors find favorite canyons and return often. They adopt favorite activities and repeat them, and there are constantly new things to explore.

It shows on the scoreboard. Glen Canyon National Recreation Area isn't the most popular stop in the national park system, but it does hold the record for keeping its visitors' attention longer.

Last year, a few more than 2.3 million people visited the lake that is shared by Utah and Arizona. It held the average visitor captive for four days, which in park time is eons.

This makes it No. 1 in stay-overs among all the 300-plus parks. By comparison, average stopovers at the Grand Canyon are measured in hours.

Always popular are the old standbys: water skiing, knee boarding, swimming, hiking, fishing, building dams in the sand on the beach and slowing down a moment to take in the surroundings.

Which brings up one of the earliest Lake Powell adventures: touring, which is regaining favor.

Touring the lake is one of the few things parents can suggest that require the kids to sit quietly for longer than a minute.

All it takes is a tank of gas, a map and the ability to identify marker buoys. Oh, and a boat.