The Lower Antelope Canyon Travel Guide: Experience The Amazing Colors
A Lower Antelope Canyon guide covering timing, colors, stairs, where to stay in Page, and what to expect from the photography experience inside the canyon.
It is not on the list of the "Seven Wonders of the World" and it is not on the list of "20 Places to See in the U.S. Before You Die." But after seeing pictures of Antelope Canyon, we decided this is a place we must visit. Why? Because the place is surreal.
Antelope Canyon is one of the most photographed canyons in the world. It was formed by erosion of sandstone, primarily due to flash flooding. Over hundreds of years of water running through sandstone, the passageways eroded away, making the corridors deeper and smoothing hard edges in a way that formed the characteristic flowing shapes in the rock.
Similar natural processes can be seen across the Colorado Plateau, including in places such as Monument Valley, where sandstone formations rise dramatically above the desert floor.
Best Time To Go
To take good pictures, we need sunshine. The famous light beams are not always available. The best time to visit Antelope Canyon is between late March and October. Summer months are probably the best, but there will be a lot more people visiting during the summer.
The advantage of visiting in April is that it is cooler than the summer months. When we were there, the temperature was between 6 and 17 degrees Celsius, but it was windy. You might consider wearing sunglasses and a face covering so you do not get sand in your eyes and mouth.
How To Get There
Antelope Canyon is located near the city of Page in Arizona. It takes about five hours of driving from either Phoenix or Las Vegas. We decided to go with Las Vegas as there are more flight options for us.
If you are planning the drive from Nevada, review this Antelope Canyon from Las Vegas guide before you book.
We arrived in Las Vegas in the afternoon around 3:00 p.m. After picking up the rental car, we arrived at our hotel around 8:50 p.m. It would have been earlier if we had better directions, and the change in time zone was confusing because we had to drive through Utah to get to Page.
Where To Stay
There are plenty of hotel options in Page. We preferred to stay at the Courtyard Marriott because it is close to the town center and many of the attractions around the area. Camping is not allowed within Antelope Canyon.
The closest campsite is at Wahweap Marina on Lake Powell inside Glen Canyon National Recreation Area.
Courtyard by Marriott Page at Lake Powell
600 Clubhouse Dr, Page, AZ 86040
Lower Antelope Canyon Versus Upper Antelope Canyon
There are two separate parts of Antelope Canyon commonly known as Upper Antelope Canyon, or The Crack, and Lower Antelope Canyon, or The Corkscrew.
Lower Antelope Canyon, called Hazdistazi (spiral rock arches) by the Navajo, is located several miles from Upper Antelope Canyon. Even with the metal staircases, climbing up and down the route can be challenging because some staircases are pretty steep. Some of the corridors inside Lower Antelope Canyon are also quite narrow, so you have to be careful not to lose your footing.
Based on the pictures we had seen, Lower Antelope was prettier than Upper Antelope, so we decided to go to the Lower route.
Which Tour Options
Antelope Canyon is accessible by tour only. All visits are through one of several licensed tour operators. It is not possible to visit the canyon on our own.
Authorized tour operators not only bring you into the canyon, they also share helpful information such as the history of the area and how to take good photos. For Lower Antelope Canyon, there are only two operators.
Ken's Tours, Page Arizona 86040
7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Photography
Based on the weather forecast, we chose the 10:30 a.m. tour because it was going to be cloudy in the afternoon and we wanted better light for photos. We did not purchase the tickets in advance because we were not sure about the weather until the last minute, and we were glad we waited because the whole afternoon turned gloomy.
Having a good tour guide makes a lot of difference. Prior to getting into Lower Antelope Canyon, our guide gave us a brief overview of the history of the canyon, including why the sandstone shows reddish colors. Inside the sandstone there are a lot of minerals like iron, which is why it appears red.
Photography inside the canyon is difficult due to the wide exposure range created by sunlight reflecting off the walls. Our tour guide recommended using the vivid warm mode for those of us taking photos with an iPhone, and in most cases that setting worked well.
The other challenge is the crowd. It is always busy, which makes it hard to take pictures. By the time the last person in the group ahead of us left, we did not have much time to shoot. The good thing is our tour guide was very helpful, showing us where to take pictures and taking strong photos for us.
The tour was about an hour and a half. I would not have minded staying longer and taking more pictures. I was happy with the photos I captured because they were close to the pictures I had seen online, and I was able to capture the diverse colors of the sandstone. It was absolutely stunning.
WRITTEN BY DESMOND YUEN