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Antelope Canyon

Photo: Tuxyso / CC BY-SA 3.0 · source

🏜️ Canyons & deserts

Antelope Canyon

Page, AZ · Colorado Plateau, Navajo Nation near Page

About

Antelope Canyon cuts through Navajo Sandstone on Navajo Nation land east of Page, and the walls are the point: flood water has sanded them into stacked, flowing curves that shift orange, purple and gold as the sun moves. Upper Antelope runs about 660 feet, flat and sandy throughout, where shafts of light drop through the slot overhead around midday in late spring and summer. Lower Antelope is longer at roughly 1,335 feet and narrower, entered by descending five flights of steep metal stairs. Both are guided only. Book a Navajo authorized operator well ahead and expect a $15 per person Navajo Parks fee on top of the tour price. A sedan reaches both check in lots off Highway 98, and guides drive the sandy wash to Upper in high clearance trucks. Summer heat runs past 100 degrees, and tours cancel when rain falls anywhere upstream, even under blue sky, because a 1997 flash flood killed eleven people in Lower.

Highlights

Guided tours only, no self guided entry$15 per person Navajo Parks fee, plus the tour priceBooks out weeks ahead in peak seasonUpper: 660 ft flat sand walk, midday light beams in warm monthsLower: 1,335 ft, five flights of steep metal stairsFlash flood risk, tours cancel on upstream rainMonsoon storms July to September, summer heat over 100F

Getting there

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Part of these collections

Curated guides that feature Antelope Canyon.

Best Slot Canyons and Red Rock in the US15 places

Best Slot Canyons and Red Rock in the US

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