I'm thinking about driving out to Page, AZ for a night to check out Horseshoe Bend and Antelope Canyon this January before heading up to Moab for Canyonlands and Arches.

I know there is the Upper and Lower sections and that the lower is supposedly more *strenuous* with ladders and such but is one "better" than the other? For that matter is Antelope worth a day's trip out of our way? (I hate these subjective travel questions, fwiw.). We've done a few slot canyons in UT but Antelope has the reputation for being one of, if not the, best. Does it live up to the billing?

I went to Page w/ my wife and a group of her friends and our kids last year. We did upper Antelope Canyon and Horseshoe bend. I haven't seen the lower canyon, but from what I heard once inside they both look similar.

I enjoyed it, so as long as you can absorb the day out of your trip to go see it I'd say it's worth it. You will need to reserve a ride/tour because it is on reservation land.

We've gone to the "Secret Antelope Canyon", which is only available via Navajo hosts. It's far less crowded generally than Antelope Canyon.

If you do the tour with them, they'll also take you to their private lookout over Horseshoe Bend, where you won't have to jostle with 500 other people for that one perfect picture.

I think it was worth it, compared to the overall crowds at both AC and HB.

https://horseshoebendtours.com/slot-canyon-plus-overlook

There is a podcast called "Dear Bob & Sue" and they have at least one good episode on all the canyons in that area....it's been a couple years since I listened to it so I don't remember what they said but it might be worth a listen

When we went last April the Navajo reservation was on a different time zone than the rest of Arizona

Just something to remember

PunjabiAg said:

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When we went last April the Navajo reservation was on a different time zone than the rest of Arizona

Just something to remember

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Yep - Navajo Nation does Daylight Savings Time like most of the U.S. The rest of Arizona doesn't.

One bit of useless trivia for AZ - sundials are accurate year round here.

The slot canyons are on my bucket list. We did a 1/2 day float trip on the river a number of years ago (2013 maybe), and it was really beautiful. I highly recommend, if you have time for that.

I didn't do my travel homework beforehand, so we actually only saw Horseshoe Bend and the canyon from the river.

we did lower antelope canyon on our own, the no guide version

Get a kayak or raft from antelope marina, and make your way there (about 1/2-1 mile depending where you start)
Take your watercraft to the waters edge, then start your hike and go as far as you like.

None of that $100+ a person business. We did it in our 4 person raft with a motor.

"Yes" to Navajo guided Antelope Canyons (we did upper). It was in the top 2 highlights of our trip that included 7 NPs.

Aggie87 said:

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We've gone to the "Secret Antelope Canyon", which is only available via Navajo hosts. It's far less crowded generally than Antelope Canyon.

If you do the tour with them, they'll also take you to their private lookout over Horseshoe Bend, where you won't have to jostle with 500 other people for that one perfect picture.

I think it was worth it, compared to the overall crowds at both AC and HB.

https://horseshoebendtours.com/slot-canyon-plus-overlook

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We did this as well in 2022. I haven't done the popular antelope canyon but secret canyon was very cool. Bonus for their personal 1/2 of horseshoe bend. You wanted to point and laugh at the throngs on the crowded side.