Twenty years!
That’s how long Antelope Canyon has been on my bucket list! Twenty years.
I remember the exact moment I first saw an image of Antelope Canyon. I was in my early 20s, doing a cross-country road-trip that was wrapping up in Las Vegas. We didn’t have much interest in gambling but, if you’ve been to Vegas, you know there are a million things to do and see and it’s fun (and free) to walk around and see how it all shakes out.
We rounded the corner in one of the hotel shopping areas and there it was, a gallery entrance featuring a wall-sized image of pink, orange, and yellow swirling sandstone forming a canyon with light intercepting from above. It literally took my breath away.
Side note: I don’t consider myself a skilled writer; it’s just not my gift. I can relay information but it’s not art, per se. I could try to describe Antelope Canyon but instead, feel free to take a minute and google “Antelope Canyon”. I’m betting you’ve seen these images before and you also find them stunning. And then please come back and keep reading, lol.
I asked the gallery owner what magic I was seeing and he explained it was Antelope Canyon in Page, Arizona. On the spot I decided I would one day visit this extraordinary place. I filed this away in my brain, occasionally revisiting it over the following two decades. I would look at a map from time to time, always trying to figure out how far my next western US destination was from Page, AZ. In classic East Coast style, I had to remind myself many, many times that LA is still far from Page, AZ and that the “West” is ginormous.
Enter Spring Break 2024 and our Southwest Airlines Companion Pass.
We live in a Southwest hub and since achieving Companion Pass status, we based most of our 2023 and 2024 travel around the Southwest flight map. Baltimore to Phoenix in April, yes please. We rented a car and went Phoenix to Sedona, drove through Flagstaff to the Grand Canyon (south rim), to Page for two nights, a side trip to Zion National Park, and then a flight home from Las Vegas. For some context, the drive from Sedona to Page was just under three hours. And from Page to Zion was a little over two hours. I think this made for a great combination of places to visit in the same trip. Page itself does have a small airport and our 4th flew in from LAX to meet us for the Antelope Canyon experience.
There is an Upper Antelope Canyon and a Lower Antelope Canyon. Tours for the different canyons are operated by different companies and a guide is required since the Canyons are on sacred Navajo Land and were named a Navajo Tribal Park in 1997. Lower Antelope Canyon seems to be the more popular of the two to visit. But you can absolutely visit both Canyons (plus Horseshoe Bend about ten minutes away) in one day. You can make it a day trip or do an overnight. However, if there is rain nearby, tours may be canceled due to the flood risk. Because of this, and just to slow the travel down a bit, we spent two nights in Page and planned to visit both Canyons. I wanted to decrease the odds of missing out altogether due to a flood cancellation.
As mentioned before, Lower Antelope Canyon seems to be more popular. It is a “V” shaped canyon meaning it is narrow at the bottom and in many places you walk single-file. Also, the canyon is below you in the ground so you enter from above by descending a series of stairs sometimes steep enough you would call them ladders. I recall the guide saying the descent was about 60 feet. I think this gives the feeling of it all being more “fun” and of the four of us, three liked the Lower experience better than the Upper. ***If you have claustrophobia, this may not be for you. But it’s worth looking for pictures online. I am bothered by some small spaces but I was fine here.
For Lower Antelope Canyon, I made a point of booking as soon as the April booking window opened which was around November of the prior year. I will say I stalked the website and social media pages for the Lower Antelope Canyon booking window date with the specific tour company I was looking at. When the date came and went, I called in and was told it would be in the next few weeks. When the booking window eventually opened, a couple time slots sold out immediately which I assume was for the photography enthusiasts since where the sun is in the sky does change the images. ***If you are going with the intention of catching those classic canyon photos, it’s worth doing some research on that specifically. The time of day matters and there are plenty of blogs about it. And then you’ll need a little luck from the sky, but you don’t have any control over that. We toured Lower at 8:45am and Upper starting at noon and I was happy with that.
Upper Antelope Canyon is an “A” shaped canyon (wider at the bottom) and it’s above the ground. It’s like you are walking into a gap in a large rocky area. Also, it’s a short truck ride out of town in the back of a truck with open sides, but with a canopy and seatbelts. The last third of the ride is off-roading through sand. I’m sure different companies have different vehicles, but this was our experience and it was super fun. I made this reservation in advance as well but don’t recall it being as competitive as the Lower tour reservation. For what it’s worth, I preferred the Upper Antelope Canyon tour. It didn’t have the obvious appeal of stairs and ladders but it was beautiful, less crowded, and felt like a hidden gem.
Speaking of crowds, get ready to share this experience with a lot of people. Yes, there is a max capacity on the tours but they seem to sell out completely and in advance. Several people were trying to buy same day tickets and there were none available. Our Lower tour was a classic Instagram v Reality experience. You will have chances to get pictures without people in them or with just your group, but then the person in front of you who embarked wearing a puffy jacket and mittens has suddenly transformed into a glamorous woman in a matching linen pant and crop top with a sun hat who is finding her light for the perfectly curated Insta shot. We’ve all probably done something like this at some point, myself included. You do you. As long as everyone kept moving slowly forward, it didn’t cause any major issues.
The Upper canyon tour was also sold out but it seemed less crowded and we had much more space inside to move around. Being that it’s an “A” shaped canyon, it naturally feels roomier. And with some luck from the sky, you can see beams of light slicing through canyon rooms. It’s pure magic. Also, while our “tour guide” on the first tour was minimally informative (he was really just escorting us), our guide for the Upper Canyon was very knowledgeable and friendly. I was happy to cap off the day with the Upper Canyon experience rather than doing the tours in reverse order.
The next morning, we left Page and spent a half day in Zion National Park before ending up in Las Vegas! I’d never been to Vegas with a kid before, but it turns out, when you start looking, they’re everywhere. The guys went to play blackjack, so I took my daughter to show her the Chihuly glass lobby at the Bellagio. We then wandered over to the Venetian mall area and as we turned a corner, there it was. The same art gallery where I first saw a picture of Antelope Canyon 20 yrs ago. (In case you’re curious it’s called LIK Fine Art and houses photographs by award-winning Australian artist Peter Lik.) Did this give me warm fuzzy feelings and did my eyes well up as I pointed out to my daughter the exact picture that was the reason we were on this particular adventure? 100 percent!!!
We spent 15 minutes looking around the gallery and talking with the gallery manager, Simon. My daughter seemed to have some general appreciation for the artwork, which always makes a parent feel good. As we were leaving, an image of Columbia River Gorge in Oregon caught my eye. It reminded me a bit of Antelope Canyon but instead of sandstone walls and a sandy floor, it was greenery carpeting rock walls with a river through the middle. I’ve since added it to our travel list and I bet we get there in less than 20 yrs this time. Another full circle moment in the making…