If you haven’t heard of Antelope Canyon, you’ve still probably seen it. It’s a breathtakingly magical Indian reservation on the Arizona and Nevada boarder with slot canyons. Light plays against the shadows all day to make the walls of the canyons come to life in popsicle colors. It’s a tour run by the local tribe as it’s on tribal land. During peak season tickets are harder to come but but luckily there isn’t a lottery, you just need to book in advance. Right next door is Horseshoe Bend. If you haven’t heard of it, you’ve also probably seen it. It’s the bendy horseshoe lookout over the grand canyon. Unlike Antelope Canyon, Horseshoe bend is free to check out and is right along the highway for easy access.
Score Card: 6.5/10
- Transportation: 2/10 Planes and/or long drives. Buckle up or pay the price.
- Price: 6/10 Nothing is terribly expensive like a big city but for being in the middle of nowhere it’s not cheap either.
- Safety: 9/10 (no graffiti, no pickpockets, no thief incidents, and overall very low crime)
- Food: 4/10 (very limited food options, nothing was amazing)
- Culture: 5/10 (a lot of traditional culture to experience, the tribe in limited in their interaction with tourists beyond the tours)
- History: 8/10 (a lot of ancient history still remain along with geographical history)
- Excitement: 6/10 (there weren’t many thrill factors to indulge in)
- Awe Inspiring: 9/10 (everything seemed special and otherworldly)
- Technology Equipped: 8/10 (4G or higher service nearly everywhere which is helpful for finding your way around the less well known slot canyons)
- Female Friendly: 9/10 (It seemed like a safe trip for women)
- Solo Travel Recommended: 5/10 (you’re not going to make friends easily as people stop through for quick trips but it’s easy to tack on to existing tours or explore by yourself and move on your way, too)
Where to go:
Antelope Canyon
If you have a love for amazing photography you’ll want to bring your camera and time your tour for the best light. Peter Lik’s famous “Ghost” photo taken there sold for $6.5 million. You can check it out here. There are a few tour groups and some are photography specific. In the winter, it’s cold. In the summer, you may get flash floods. Either way, be prepared, dress appropriate, be vigilant, and listen to your guide.
You have two options for the tour of the famous slot canyons that is put on by the local tribe – the upper or the lower canyon. The upper canyon tends to have more “ooh” and “ahh” moments that are made famous by photos. If you don’t like hiking, it is only 100 yards long so less walking. The lower canyon has more windy upper visuals and requires more climbing on ladders and walking. The native tribe tour guides did a great job not only on the tour but also taking photos for us and helping us fumble around with our camera settings to try and capture the light right.
Then there’s a third option – the free slot canyons just down the way called Waterholes Canyon. Check out the map below to see where you can find it. It’s much less known but equally as fun to explore, much longer, and free. We went later in the day so the light wasn’t great and our photos from the Antelope Canyon slots look much better but I would imagine, if you have two mornings, to use one for the tour and the other to go on your own to these other slot canyons.
Horseshoe Bend
The other amazing site to checkout while you’re in the area is Horseshoe bend. It’s also free and open nearly all days and all hours. The crowds come during the day but the real beauty is at night. The area has so little light pollution you can see so many stars. We decided to try our hand at night photography and came our with this shot. If you know what you’re doing, yours would probably be much better. But, take advantage of this if you dabble in photography!
Petroglyphs
We drove from Las Vegas and made the most of the trip by stopping at some pretty sights along the way including the Petroglyphs near St. George, UT. The Anasazi Trail Petroglyphs are a very easy hike/walk not far from the road. We saw many locals walking their dog while we wandered through. Within a few minutes along the trail were so many petroglyphs it seemed fake. They supposedly date back up to 6,000 years ago and are from a group by the same name, the Anasazi. You may of heard of them on Ancient Aliens.
On this trip, the food in the areas were very limited and mediocre at best. The hotels near Horseshoe Bend and Antelope Canyon were overpriced and not well maintained. But, the experiences and sights were otherworldly.
Travel
Travel here isn’t easy. You can fly into Page airport which gets you within minutes from the slot canyons and Horseshoe bend. From there you can Uber/taxi to the canyons and tours. Otherwise, you’re most likely going to need to fly into Las Vegas, rent a car, and driving the 4.5 hour drive in. If Phoenix makes more sense for you, that’s a 5.5 hour drive. Smaller airports to also consider with less drive time, if you can score a car rental, include Flagstaff with a 2.25 hour drive or St George at 2.75 hour drive to the area.
Itinerary
- Friday
- Fly into LAS and spend the night in Las Vegas, grab a car rental upon arrival
- Saturday
- 8am: hit the road, stop along the way for lunch
- 4pm: arrive in Page, check into the hotel
- 5pm: check out Horseshoe bend during the day and at sunset
- 6pm: Grab a quick bite nearby for dinner
- 10pm: Head to Horseshoe bend for night photography
- Sunday
- 6am: Wake up, prep for the tour with camera gear and clothing
- 7am: Meet the guides and head off on the 1.75 hour tour
- 10am: Head to Waterholes Canyon
- Noon: Check out of hotel, grab gear, change into comfy driving clothes, and head back to Vegas
- 2pm: Stop for lunch in Knab
- 4pm: Stop at the Petroglyphs in St. George
- 6pm: Return car rental in Vegas
- 9pm: Flight home from LAS to SFO
