What the Guidebooks Don’t Tell You About Visiting Antelope Canyon
Here are some home truths about exploring Arizona’s most famous colourful slot canyon
The famous red, orange, brown and even purple hues of Antelope Canyon | CK Foto / Shutterstock
You’ve seen it a million times; the “God’ rays filtering through into a series of red, orange, gold, brown and yellow ribbons and that swirl off around a corner. Antelope Canyon is probably more known as a screensaver than a destination, but as you know, everything looks better in real life.
Antelope Canyon has become one of Arizona’s essential stop-offs and, along with nearby Horseshore Bend, reason enough to trek all the way out to dusty Page. However, the canyon isn’t just another tourist trap where you have free reign. It’s a fragile, sacred site that requires extremely careful planning and navigation.
So in this article, we’ll cover the stuff that the guidebooks skim over, from the hazards and rules to the spiritual importance of the canyon. This means you can visit safely, sustainably and respectfully, while still grabbing those all-important photos.
Introducing Antelope
Antelope is a slot canyon, worn away by flowing water over thousands of years | GagliardiPhotography / Shutterstock
Antelope canyon is the result of epochs of sudden desert downpours carving a channel through the Navajo sandstone. If you look on Google Maps, the canyon looks just like a river – and it can be a river when it really pours down.
At ground level, it isn’t much to look at, but it’s inside the canyon where the magic happens. The erosion to the narrow channel reveals the different layers of rock inside it which come in a variety of colours and snake along the walls. And when the sunlight hits the canyon at just the right time of day, these colours truly explode, creating a daily natural art gallery.
These magical colours and natural curves may be one of the reasons why the Navajo People revere the canyon as sacred. Indeed, The Navajo are the keepers of the canyon, hosting guided tours and ensuring both visitor safety and that the canyon remains off-limits to lone adventurers who haven’t had the safety briefing.
Know Your Slot: Lower and Upper Antelope Canyon
While the guide books focus on telling you just how amazing the colours are, it’s important to know that there are actually six separate sections to the canyon’s drainage system: Upper Antelope Canyon (or The Crack), Rattle Snake Canyon, Owl Canyon, Mountain Sheep Canyon, Canyon X and Lower Antelope Canyon (or The Corkscrew). However, you’ll only really hear “Upper’ and ‘Lower’ when you’re there, and the other sections are treated as separate experiences altogether.
Upper Antelope Canyon is known as the more accessible of the two main sections. The tour is one way, entering at ground level. The walls are a little wider and some of the surfaces have been levelled to allow better access. If you have accessibility requirements or are travelling with kids, then Upper Antelope Canyon is your best bet. You’ll still experience the same amazing colours, geology and history without the need to climb, scramble or squeeze.
Lower Antelope Canyon is the slightly more challenging option, but it’s worth the effort. There’s a steep drop below ground at the entry and exit point (tours run in a loop) with steel staircases taking you to the valley floor. The canyon is a lot narrower and there are several points where you’ll need to crouch and squeeze.
If it’s busy, you can expect some waiting, particularly at bottlenecks and at the stairs. However, the guides are experts in bringing groups in and out safely, so just be patient and put your trust in these seasoned professionals.
Flash flooding and Safety Concerns
Steel ladders and staircases have replaced less-safe wooden and rope ones | kojihirano / Shutterstock
Guide books can be quick to skim over the whole flood risk element of visiting Antelope Canyon, but we’ll meet it head on. In 1997, eleven tourists were killed in the Lower Canyon by a flash flood, even though no rain fell anywhere near the canyon that day. Due to the nature of the drainage and the proximity to the Colorado River, flash floods can come out of nowhere. Another flood in 2010 left visitors stranded on a ledge.
The good news is that today there are robust measures in place to keep visitors safe from flooding. The old wooden ladders that were swept away in 1997 have been replaced by strong steel ones that are bolted to the rock, so there’s no danger of losing your emergency exit point if the canyon does start filling up.
The guides also have a state of the art NOAA weather radio and alarm horn to clear the canyon even if there’s a mild chance of rain many miles away, plus training for swift water survival is extensive amongst the guides. Put it this way; if the chance of serious rain nearby rises above 0%, or it’s monsoon season, nobody enters Antelope Canyon.
The only other potential threat is injury to guests from slips, falls or loose rock. Listen to the safety briefing, stay in your group and don’t try to climb or take rocks for souvenirs. You could be putting the whole group at risk.
The Crowds
Tours of Antelope Canyon are often fully booked | Nami Uchida / Shutterstock
Time to be honest: both Lower and Upper Antelope Canyon are suffering from overtourism. With demand like never before, tour groups are bigger and it’s absolutely necessary to book ahead of your visit – walk up bookings can be non-existent in peak season.
Group sizes have a hard limit of 70, but that is still a lot of people to funnel down a slot canyon that’s often only wide enough for one person. You’re probably going to spend some time waiting in line while someone ties their bootlace, grabs a photo or unzips their pack for some water.
This can drag the tour out slightly, so arrive ready to deal with sharing your experience with (lots) of others.
The Whole Light Thing
Photos like this are down to luck, technique, the weather and other factors | GagliardiPhotography / Shutterstick
Everyone will tell you that ‘midday is best’ for that magic moment when the canyon fills with golden-orange light for those unmissable photos. But there are so many caveats to this that you’re better off working with what you’ve got and not getting too hung up on getting there bang on midday.
Your first challenge is clouds. Those magical rays only appear in the very best conditions and colours will be a lot duller if it’s overcast.
Your next challenge is crowds. As everyone wants to grab that next Peter Lik shot for their Instagram, tours between 11am and 1pm are almost always sold out and you’ll be filing through the canyon with barely enough space to lift your lens.
Although most people instantly think the Lower Canyon is where the miracle photos happen, the Upper Canyon is actually a better place to shoot, from a practical perspective. The wider canyon walls let in more light and the late afternoon can look sublime if the weather is on your side – plus you’ll skip a lot of the nonsense when everyone’s selfie sticks are clattering into each other.
If you aren’t hung up on trying to force nature to give you the best photo, the other approach is to join a first or last tour where the light is a lot different, but still very impressive. Try and capture violets instead of oranges at the end of the day, or just soak in the wonder of it all, listen to stories from your guide and remember that there are plenty of amazing Antelope Canyon photos already out there.
Staying Sustainable and Respectful
It’s important not to climb, touch or deface the walls of the canyon | Yongyut Kumsri / Shutterstock
Where other Antelope Canyon travel guides focus on your experience as a tourist, it’s worth stepping back and appreciating the importance of the site for the people who care for it, protect it and safely guide visitors through it every day. The entire canyon sits inside the Navajo Nation and has been a sacred place way before anyone even thought to turn the place into a tourist trap.
It pays a lot to treat the canyon more like a church or place of worship, so give your guide your full attention and don’t kick, scrape or try to chip off rock to take home. Stop worrying about your camera battery and instead focus on the power of water over time and the importance this plays in local traditions.
Help to keep the canyon amazing for others – and take away another job for the guides – by bagging any trash or avoiding taking anything into the canyon you don’t want to keep. Your camera and water bottle are enough.
Tripods, monopods, drones and other professional camera equipment are all banned, both for safety reasons and to try and keep traffic flowing. With modern cameras, you barely need to worry about low light and movement anymore anyway, and an up to date smartphone will easily capture the vibrant colours and swirling patterns of Antelope Valley’s walls.
There Are More (and Maybe Even Better) Slot Canyons Nearby
Antelope Canyon X looks similar and has less crowds – what’s not to love? | Kenggo / Shutterstock
Upper and Lower Antelope Canyon are almost always busy, but the other sections we mentioned earlier and a few other slot canyons nearby don’t get the same numbers. A 15 mile trip east to Canyon X, part of the same system, reveals an equally impressive piece of geology that, if you know no different, is very similar to the super-busy Upper and Lower sections.
You can even take your tripod and spend much longer perfecting your photographs. Taadidiin Tours have the access rights, so book your visit with them as far in advance as possible.
Even closer to Page (the town where you’ll likely kick off any Antelope Canyon adventure) you’ll find Cathedral and Secret Antelope Canyons off the beaten rack behind the Horse Mesa ridge. Again, both of these offer a similar look and feel, although aren’t quite as impressive as the Upper and Lower canyons.
That being said, if you’ve spent the day battling the crowds, both offer a much more relaxed opportunity to connect with somewhere sacred and snap off photos that don’t have other annoying visitors in them.
You Can Kayak into Antelope Canyon
Water levels have dropped in recent years, but you can kayak into the start of the canyon | Kristi Blokhin / Shutterstock
You’ll usually find that the focus is usually on simply hiking into the Lower and Upper Canyons – but you may not have heard you can actually kayak into it too. At the Antelope Point Marina, you can hire a kayak and paddle your way into the first three miles of the canyon, which is completely flooded. You’ll see water erosion happening first hand, as well as the same gorgeous colours and swirling patterns.
However, you’ll need to make sure the water levels are suitable – the flooded sections has seen water levels drop up to 50 feet, especially in the hot, dry summers, so call the marina in advance to check launch conditions.
You Can Combine Your Trip With Other Sites Nearby
The natural meander in the Colorado River, know as Horseshoe Bend | Checubus / Shutterstock
The guidebooks will insist on you spending the day marvelling at the colours and shapes of the rock. But guess what? You can spend a few hours completing your Antelope Canyon tour before heading on to include some other (potentially more impressive) natural wonders nearby.
The big name is of course Horseshoe Bend, a mere 10 minutes away by car. This natural bend in the Colorado River is, you guessed it, in the shape of a horseshoe and is seriously impressive, even from the viewing area right by Highway 89 (parking available).
But our favourite Antelope Canyon side quest is a hike along to the Hanging Garden Trailhead, about five minutes north of Page by car. This desert oasis sees plants and grasses cling to the harsh desert rock, using both spring water and natural shade to thrive in the intensely hot and dry conditions. This creates a ‘hot spot’ for birds, lizards and deer and it’s a great added extra to visit before heading off.
The Wrap Up
Armed with this additional Antelope Canyon information, hopefully you can plan and enjoy your visit with a couple of fresh perspectives and a touch of honesty.
If you arrive prepared to deal with the crowds and ready to enjoy the canyon even if the weather is against you, you’ll have a much better experience than expecting the best. This is nature at its most raw, after all, and when was the last time nature played ball?
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