Experience · Arizona, USA

Walking the slot canyons of Antelope Canyon

Antelope Canyon is a walk of barely a hundred metres that photographs like another dimension: sandstone corridors carved by flash floods into waves of orange and violet, lit by shafts of sun from above.

Best forPhotographers · Road-trippers · Adventure seekers
In October24°C · 2 rainy days
Ideal stayA day, on a wider Southwest road trip
Approx. flying time~1h from Los Angeles

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Walking the slot canyons of Antelope Canyon, Arizona, USA

Happens around Antelope Canyon, Arizona, USA — nearest airport Las Vegas (LAS), about 346km away.

CurrencyUSDUS dollar
LanguageEnglish
Local time03:358h behind the UK
PlugsType A / BBring an adapter
Drive on theRightOpposite to the UK
Dialling code+1

The experience

The canyon is a crack in Navajo sandstone barely wide enough for two people, carved by flash floods into smooth curving walls that glow orange and violet when light reaches down from the slot above. The walk itself is short, a couple of hundred metres, and takes about an hour with a guide. It sits on Navajo Nation land east of Page, and nobody enters unaccompanied.

Treat it as one stop on a wider Colorado Plateau loop with Horseshoe Bend, Zion, Bryce and one of the Grand Canyon rims. Midday slots between roughly March and October give the vertical light beams, while earlier and later the colour is softer and the groups smaller. Tickets sell out weeks ahead in summer, and anyone claustrophobic should think carefully first.

Ideal stay: A day, on a wider Southwest road trip
The vibe: Narrow, glowing, briefly otherworldly

From our guides

Navajo guides lead every visit — book the midday slots between March and October, when the famous light beams reach the canyon floor. Upper Antelope is flat and effortless; Lower adds a few ladders and loses some crowds. No fitness needed, just elbows for the photo spots.

Featured in Ten adventures you can do without any training

Make a trip of it

Upper Antelope

Flat sand throughout with no ladders, which makes it the easier walk, and the only section where the vertical light beams appear.
Lower Antelope

Narrower and deeper, entered down a series of steel staircases, with more sculptural walls and generally smaller groups moving through.
Navajo guides

Every visit is led, and the guides read the rock, the light and the weather. The fee covers the tribal permit as well as the tour.
Horseshoe Bend

A short walk from the road near Page reaches a cliff edge above a tight meander of the Colorado, at its best in late afternoon.
Lake Powell and Glen Canyon

The reservoir behind the dam floods a maze of side canyons, explored by boat or kayak, or simply viewed from the overlooks along the shore.

Getting there

Fly to
Las Vegas (LAS)

Nearest airport to Antelope Canyon, about 346km away as the crow flies.
Then
To Page

Page (PGA) sits beside the town but has only a thin commuter service. Most visitors drive, roughly four and a half hours from Las Vegas (LAS) and a similar run from Phoenix or Flagstaff.
On the ground
Getting around

Every visit is a booked Navajo-guided tour departing from Page or from the roadside meeting points a few miles east, where guides drive you the last stretch to the canyon mouth.

Public transport: None. There are no buses to the canyon and tour operators assume you reach Page under your own steam.

Flights

Los Angeles Antelope Canyon, Arizona, USA

Flying from

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Roughly 1h in the air from Los Angeles (LAX), estimated from the distance — check for a direct route. Pick a month to see every available flight with live prices.

Check dates and prices

Pick your departure date, then your return.

Search flights

Flight times are estimates; prices open on Google Flights.

When to go

Daytime highs run from about 8°C in January to 37°C in July. Driest April to July and November; wettest in March, with rain on about 5 days.

The year at a glance — pick a month for detail

October24° · rain 2 daysMild and dry.

Monthly figures averaged from daily records for 2020–2024 at this location (ERA5 reanalysis). Highlighted months are warm and mostly dry — April and May and September and October.

Where to base yourself

Reliable American chain hotels and motels in Page, plus lakeside lodges, holiday rentals and campgrounds around Lake Powell. Nothing boutique and nothing within the canyon.

Best base overall
Page

The only town of any size, minutes from both canyon entrances and from Horseshoe Bend, with chain hotels and early breakfasts. It is functional rather than charming.
Find stays in Page
Best with children
Wahweap and Lake Powell

On the water just north of town, with marina beaches, boat hire and pools to fill the afternoon heat. Prices are higher and you drive in for meals.
Find stays in Wahweap and Lake Powell
Best value
Big Water

A small settlement twenty minutes west in Utah, with motels and rentals at lower rates. There is essentially nothing there beyond a petrol station.
Find stays in Big Water
Quietest
Kanab

An hour and a quarter away, a pleasant small town that also opens up Zion and the Wave permits. Too far for a midday canyon slot without an early start.
Find stays in Kanab

Worth knowing before you book: Every visit needs a Navajo guide and the midday light-beam slots from March to October sell out weeks ahead, so book tours before rooms. Flash-flood closures happen without notice.

Search everything else in Page by budget. These are indicative budget bands in GBP per night for two people, not live quotes or guarantees of hotel type. Check your dates, guests, taxes and final price on Booking.com.

Or see everything in Page

Good to know

Book ahead: Tours sell out weeks in advance through spring and summer, and midday slots go first. Book through an authorised Navajo operator.
Flash floods: Tours are cancelled when rain threatens anywhere upstream, sometimes on a clear day at the canyon itself. Build in a spare day.
Restrictions: Bags, tripods and large camera rigs are generally not permitted. Phones are fine and cope better here than people expect.
Time zone: The Navajo Nation observes daylight saving while the rest of Arizona does not, so confirm which clock your tour time refers to.
Pack this: Closed shoes, plenty of water and something to keep the sand out of your hair. It is hot outside and noticeably cooler in the slot.