We Found It! The Iconic Upper Antelope Canyon Featured In So Many Photos!

The amazing photographs you see, with the wavy red rock, sometimes on people’s feeds, or even on a screen saver… it’s been a bucket list item and during our big road trip in the southwestern United States, we found it!

History of Antelope Canyon

Upper Antelope Canyon is a slot canyon that has formed over millions of years. As flash floods and winds eroded the sandstone rocks, these amazing slot canyons were carved. Upper Antelope Canyon is located near Page, Arizona within Navajo Nation. To see the canyon, you must book a tour with one of the tour companies that are authorized to operate there. Antelope Canyon is a sacred place to the Navajo people and it is referred to as “Tse bighanilini”, which means “the place where the water runs through rocks”. For the Navajo people, it is a place of great spiritual significance; a place where the balance of natural forces between the spiritual world and the physical world can be felt.

Getting There

As I mentioned before, you have to book a tour to access the canyon. The tour operators are all located just down the road from the canyon itself. You can expect to take a souped up bus, van, or truck down to the canyon. As you exit the road, you’re really exiting the road… it’s a bit of an off-road experience as you bump along through the sand that fills the space between the canyon walls. The canyon walls will eventually come closer together, and that is where you’ll find the iconic Upper Antelope Canyon.

The tour operator we used was called Adventurous Antelope Canyon Tours. Here is one little note if you’re traveling, particularly during “daylight saving time”… we started our day off in the Monument Valley area, and drove about two hours to get to our tour. We had booked it a couple months ahead of time, because the times can fill up. Arizona doesn’t follow daylight saving time, so if you’re in say, Utah, to start your day, you’ll have to take that into account. I had it all planned out just so… but then… as we were driving through the monuments, my “smartphone” was getting confused about the time because the border of Arizona and Utah runs through the monuments. So, then I was confused about what time it actually was where I was starting out. I mean, I knew, but then it was hopping all over, so I didn’t trust it! So that was some silly drama and with the time pressure of not wanting to miss our tour slot (and perfect lighting), we actually ended up being an hour early to arrive and then had time for a quick Power Nap in the car!

When you arrive at your tour operator and check in, they’ll have you board your ride to the canyon. As I mentioned, it is an off-road experience as you leave the highway. Sand fills the area between the canyon walls that you drive through and you will pass by the other tours that are coming and going.

As you come up to the entrance of the slot canyon, it just kind of looks like a crack in the wall. Who would ever imagine the wonders that lay just beyond? As you get closer to the opening, you start to see the people walking through and the shapes start to form. Each small group of people will walk through with their own guide. They are experts in pointing out the shapes the walls form, the best places to get pictures, the history of the area, and how the land formed and is still changing. Our guide was Nathan and he did an amazing job. The guides will even help you with your phone settings for the best pictures and help snap photos of your group. One of the reasons we booked our reservation early was to try to get there for the “prime light” shining down through the opening at the top for the best pictures… we were about an hour late to get the “light beams” that come down, but our lighting was still pretty good.

The swirling rocks wind through the canyon and it takes about 45 minutes to walk through. It’s a one-way walk. Many, many groups of people are walking through. You can take pictures on your own, but you’re moving along with your group… you can’t sit and linger all day in a spot waiting for the right light. The next group will be coming up behind you. So, it isn’t exactly crowded. You move through with your small group… but you do have to keep moving.

As you walk through the canyon, the walls are wavy, there is an opening at the top that sunlight comes down through, and the ground is sandy. While we were walking through, our guide pointed out a spot along the wall about 2 feet higher than where the sand was presently, where the sand had been just a few weeks before. As rains move through the area, the slot canyon floods as all of the water is funneled through the canyon and the sandy bottom shifts around. Thought that was a pretty cool fun fact and just a peek into how the canyon was formed.

What to bring?

✓ Your camera! (But no video allowed!)

✓ sturdy shoes. You’ll be walking in sand.

✓ water. It’s desert and it’s hot!

Upper Antelope Canyon was one of our favorite places we visited on this trip! It is such a unique place, you should definitely fit in if you’re visiting the Page, Arizona area. It is is little bit spendy, but we thought it was worth it! The curves of the rocks and the play of the light on the structures are a gorgeous, not to be missed sight!

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