The slot canyon’s vertical, narrow areas could aggravate claustrophobia. On the slot canyon path, there are ladder-style stairs, and on the switchback approach, you encounter wooden-plank stairs. At certain points, you need to scramble (aka use your hands + feet to propel yourself up). These pages describe slot canyons and other narrow gorges of the Southwest, mostly within the Colorado Plateau of north Arizona and south Utah. All canyons listed are explorable by hiking, scrambling and limited climbing, ie without need for rappelling or any equipment.
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Antelope Canyon is one of the most widely photographed slot canyons in the Southwest. Vibrant photos from inside the ravine have been featured in National Geographic and used as a stock image for Apple products. Here is everything you need to know about making a trip to the Navajo Reservation near Page to explore the colorful canyons.
Upper canyon vs. lower canyon
The first thing to know is that there are two canyons: Upper — 'The Crack' — and Lower — 'The Corkscrew.' Both require guided tours.
The main difference between the two canyons is their overall shape, said Brenda Catron, the fee collection supervisor of Lake Powell Navajo Tribal Park and Antelope Canyon for Navajo Parks and Recreation.
Upper Antelope Canyon is in the shape of the letter 'A' where the canyon has a narrow opening at the top and the walls widen toward the bottom. Tour guides drive visitors about 3.5 miles down a sandy road to the entrance and guests walk right into the canyon.
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People visiting Lower Antelope Canyon park in a lot about 10 minutes away from the canyon and walk with their guide to the entrance. Visitors climb down several ladders to the bottom of the canyon to start the tour and climb back out at the end. This canyon has the opposite shape of a 'V,' Catron said, with the canyon walls opening wider at the top of the canyon and tapering down at the ground.
Lower Antelope Canyon has one-way traffic with visitors entering at one end and leaving at the other. Upper Antelope Canyon has two-way traffic so visitors can return to the tour vehicles.
General or photography tour?
General and photography tours are offered at both canyons.
General tours are cheaper and shorter than photography tours and do not allow tripods. The guide shuffles a group of 15 to 25 people into the canyon, points out where distinct shapes, such as a shark head or chile pepper, can be seen and pauses throughout the tour to take your photo and give photos tips.
Regular tours last about 90 minutes in the upper canyon and about an hour in the lower canyon. Lower Antelope Canyon tours depart from the visitor center every 20 minutes, but the wait outside the canyon entrance to go down the narrow ladders can be up to two hours on busy days when numerous groups get stacked up, our guide told our group. Luckily, I only had to wait about 20 minutes.
This summer, guide companies at Lower Antelope Canyon have decided not to offer photography tours between March and November to ease traffic in and out of the canyon, and to enable more visitors to explore the canyon each day.
Photography tours at both locations generally require a tripod or monopod and a mirrorless or DSLR camera. If you're visiting Antelope Canyon and want to set up a tripod to capture shots at your leisure and without people in them, book a photography tour.
I'm just an amateur on a budget so I decided to tour Lower Antelope Canyon. I felt I had plenty of time to take photos I was happy with on my DSLR and without using a tripod.
The least expensive tour is the hourlong general tour at Lower Antelope Canyon. It costs $25 plus the $8 Navajo Parks fee. You can tour Upper Antelope Canyon for about an hour and a half starting from $38, which includes the Navajo Parks fee. The most expensive tour is the night photography tour at Upper Antelope Canyon for $208, which is two hours long and includes the park fee.
Best time to visit
Most people go to Antelope Canyon for the photos, Catron said. During the summer, the best lighting at Lower Antelope Canyon is before 11 a.m. At Upper Antelope Canyon, it's between 11 and 1 p.m.
Photos with light beams and dust or sand are taken at Upper Antelope Canyon because of the way the light angles into the canyon when the sun is high.
Some tour guides said May, when I toured Lower Antelope Canyon, is the best time of year to visit because of the way the sunlight reflects off the canyon walls. But a guide who has been giving tours at Upper and Lower for several years said no two photos ever look the same regardless of the time of day or year they were taken. The colors and lighting are always changing.
Before your tour
No matter which tour you choose, make sure to eat beforehand, wear closed-toed shoes and bring plenty of water and sunscreen. Restrooms are not available in the canyons, although there are port-a-potties in the parking lot of Lower Antelope Canyon.
Check the weather forecast for extreme heat or rain. The companies cancel tours if the weather is too hot or if there is a flash-flood warning.
Tour options
VIEW: Antelope Canyon tours
| Antelope Canyon | |
|---|---|
| Tsé bighánílíní dóó Hazdistazí(in Navajo) | |
Navajo Nation, Coconino County, near Page, Arizona | |
| Floor elevation | 3,704 ft (1,129 m)[1] |
| Length | Upper Antelope Canyon: about 660 feet (200 m)[2] Lower Antelope Canyon: about 1,335 feet (407 m)[2] |
| Depth | about 120 feet (37 m)[3] |
| Geology | |
| Type | Sandstoneslot canyon[3] |
| Geography | |
| Population centers | Page |
| Coordinates | 36°57′10″N111°26′29″W / 36.9527664°N 111.4412683°WCoordinates: 36°57′10″N111°26′29″W / 36.9527664°N 111.4412683°W[1] |
| Topo map | USGS Page |
Antelope Canyon is a slot canyon in the American Southwest, on Navajo land east of Page, Arizona. It includes two separate, scenic slot canyon sections, referred to as Upper Antelope Canyon (or The Crack), and Lower Antelope Canyon (or The Corkscrew).[2]
The Navajo name for Upper Antelope Canyon is Tsé bighánílíní, which means 'the place where water runs through rocks'. Lower Antelope Canyon is Hazdistazí (called 'Hasdestwazi' by the Navajo Parks and Recreation Department), or 'spiral rock arches'. Both are in the LeChee Chapter of the Navajo Nation.[4] They are accessible by guided tour only.
- 2Tourism and photography
Geology[edit]
Antelope Canyon was formed by the erosion of Navajo Sandstone[2] due to flash flooding and other sub-aerial processes. Rainwater, especially during monsoon season, runs into the extensive basin above the slot canyon sections, picking up speed and sand as it rushes into the narrow passageways. Over time the passageways eroded away, deepening the corridors and smoothing hard edges to form characteristic 'flowing' shapes.[3]
Flooding in the canyon still occurs. A flood occurred October 30, 2006 that lasted 36 hours, and caused the Tribal Park Authorities to close Lower Antelope Canyon for five months.
Tourism and photography[edit]
Antelope Canyon is a popular location for photographers and sightseers, and a source of tourism business for the Navajo Nation. It has been accessible by tour only since 1997, when the Navajo Tribe made it a Navajo Tribal Park. Besides the Upper and Lower areas, there are other slots in the canyon that can be visited, such as the Canyon X which is also part of the same drainage as Antelope Canyon. All visits are through one of several licensed tour operators. It is not possible to visit the Canyon independently.[5]
Photography within the canyons is difficult due to the wide range exposure range (often 10 EV or more) made by light reflecting off the canyon walls.[6] For several years, there was a specialized 'photographer tour' of the Upper Antelope Canyon, where participants needed to have a tripod and camera. These were discontinued at the end of 2019 to improve the experience for the larger number of people on the general tours.
Upper Antelope Canyon[edit]
Upper Antelope Canyon is called Tsé bighánílíní, 'the place where water runs through rocks' by the Navajo. It is the most frequently visited by tourists because its entrance and entire length are at ground level, requiring no climbing; and because beams of direct sunlight radiating down from openings at the top of the canyon are much more common. Beams occur most often in summer, as they require the sun to be high in the sky. Winter colors are more muted. Light beams start to peek into the canyon March 20 and disappear by October 7.
Lower Antelope Canyon[edit]
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Lower Antelope Canyon, called Hazdistazí, or 'spiral rock arches' by the Navajo, is located several miles from Upper Antelope Canyon. Prior to the installation of metal stairways, visiting the canyon required climbing pre-installed ladders in certain areas.
What Is Antelope Slot Canyon
Even following the installation of stairways, it is a more difficult hike than Upper Antelope. It is longer, narrower in places, and even footing is not available in all areas. Five flights of stairs of varying widths are currently available to aid in descent and ascent. At the end, the climb out requires flights of stairs. Additionally, sand continually falls from the crack above and can make the stairs slippery.[7]
Despite these limitations, Lower Antelope Canyon draws a considerable number of photographers, though casual sightseers are much less common than in the Upper canyon. Photography-only tours are available around midday, when light is at its peak. Photographers cannot bring a tripod.
The lower canyon is in the shape of a 'V' and shallower than the Upper Antelope. Lighting is better in the early hours and late morning.
Flash flood danger[edit]
Antelope Canyon is visited exclusively through guided tours, in part because rains during monsoon season can quickly flood it. Rain does not have to fall on or near the Antelope Canyon slots for flash floods to whip through; rain falling dozens of miles away can funnel into them with little notice.[8]
On August 12, 1997, eleven tourists, including seven from France, one from the United Kingdom, one from Sweden and two from the United States, were killed in Lower Antelope Canyon by a flash flood.[9][10] Very little rain fell at the site that day, but an earlier thunderstorm dumped a large amount of water into the canyon basin 7 miles (11 km) upstream. The lone survivor was tour guide Francisco 'Pancho' Quintana, who had prior swift-water training. At the time, the ladder system consisted of amateur-built wood ladders that were swept away by the flood. Today, ladder systems have been bolted in place, and deployable cargo nets are installed at the top of the canyon. A NOAA Weather Radio from the National Weather Service and an alarm horn are at the fee booth.[11]
Despite improved warning and safety systems, the risks of injury from flash floods still exists. On July 30, 2010, several tourists were stranded on a ledge when two flash floods occurred at Upper Antelope Canyon.[12] Some of them were rescued and some had to wait for the flood waters to recede.[13] There were reports that a woman and her nine-year-old son were injured as they were washed away downstream, but no fatalities were reported.[14]
Access[edit]
The road to upper Antelope Canyon is gated by the Navajo Nation and entry is restricted to guided tours led by authorized tour guides.
References[edit]
- ^ ab'Antelope Canyon'. Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey. 27 June 1984. Retrieved 8 February 2015.
- ^ abcdKelsey, Michael R. (2011). Non-Technical Canyon Hiking Guide to the Colorado Plateau (6th ed.). Provo, Utah: Kelsey Publishing. p. 324. ISBN978-0-944510-27-8.
- ^ abc'Antelope Canyon: Overview'. Navajo Tours. Archived from the original on 9 February 2015. Retrieved 8 February 2015.
- ^'Lake Powell Navajo Tribal Park'. Navajo Nation Parks & Recreation. Archived from the original on 12 November 2015. Retrieved 8 February 2015.
- ^'Lower Antelope Canyon- Where Surrealism meets Nature'. Minor Sights. Retrieved 24 March 2018.
- ^Martrès, Laurent (2006). A guide to the natural landmarks of Arizona. Photographing the Southwest (2nd ed.). Alta Loma, CA, USA: Graphie International. ISBN978-0-916189-13-6.[page needed]
- ^'Antelope Canyon Tour: WORTH IT!'. The O'Briens Abroad, Family Vacations. 2017-10-22. Retrieved 2017-12-16.
- ^'Lower Antelope Canyon- Where Surrealism meets Nature'. Minor Sights. Retrieved 24 March 2018.
- ^'Flash Flood Antelope Canyon'. Retrieved 20 March 2006.
- ^'Antelope Canyon'. Archived from the original on 17 March 2006. Retrieved 20 March 2006.
- ^Kramer, Kelly (2008). 'Man vs. Wild'. Arizona Highways. 84 (11): 23.
- ^'Hikers rescued from flooding in northern Arizona canyon'. ABC News. 1 August 2010. Archived from the original on 11 May 2011. Retrieved 1 May 2013.
- ^'Eight People Rescued from Antelope Canyon'. NAS Today. 30 July 2010. Archived from the original on 29 June 2013. Retrieved 1 May 2013.
- ^'Five injured in Antelope Canyon flash flood'. AZ Daily Sun. 1 August 2010. Retrieved 1 May 2013.
What Is A Slot Canyon Map
External links[edit]
| Wikimedia Commons has media related to Antelope Canyon. |
- Antelope Canyon Navajo Tribal Park at Navajo Parks and Recreation Dept.