Lower Antelope Canyon was awesome but we had to visit the other end as well. After our tour in the Lower Antelope Canyon, we grabbed a quick bite to eat and headed to our next tour: Upper Antelope Canyon. We did both canyons in the same day.

The picture above (log stuck in rock) is a reminder of how quickly a peaceful hike into these type of canyons can turn deadly. Long story short, a group of hikers in the early 2000’s died during a flash food while in similar canyons in the area. The mind blowing bit of this – there are no trees within 40 miles/ 64 kilometers of the area, according to our guide. The nearest trees are toward the Grand Canyon, meaning this branch was washed here during a flash food years ago (even before our veteran tour guide started). There are multiple other examples of how drastic the weather can turn (apart from the Canyon walls themselves) – huge masses of rocks are lodged in some areas while entire faces of the carved canyon are ripped off and misplaces in other parts of the canyon. Surreal is another feeling that comes to mind when walking through the caverns.

It really was no different along the lines of scenery, however, there were absolutely no crowds here or manmade contraptions bolted into natural rock. We didn’t feel rushed our crowded and our tour guide let us take our time with each section. He provided a lot more narrative on the area as well (history of it and what it meant to Native Americans etc.s) and also gave us ideas on where the most opportunistic positions were.

No tricky camera angles or misleading photos to evade people; this is how empty the Upper Canyon really was.

Our opinion of the both Lower and Upper Antelope Canyon can be summed up into one word: Amazing! That being said, if we (you) had (have) time for only one Antelope Canyon: visit the Upper. It is far more worth it. For one, it is a much more enjoyable ride – they take you on a all terrain passenger truck and you ride for about 15 minutes across sandy desert to the final destination (Upper Antelope Canyon). Secondly, it felt cooler (temperature) and, weird to say, had a much more spiritual/intimate connection to nature. Maybe because our tour guide was a true Native American chief and he knew his history or because there were zero to little crowds here which can be distracting (needless to say, irritating too – that along with hot atmospheric temperature is not a good combination).

Antelope Slot Canyon Tour Office Hours – Open
Summer Hours:
Mon – Sat: 6am-8pm (MST)
Sun: 7:45am-6pm (MST)
Winter Hours:
Mon-Sat 8am-5pm (MST)
Sun 9am-4:30pm (MST)

Upper Antelope Canyon Tour by Chief Tsosie
For more information, visit here.
55 S. Lake Powell Blvd.
Page, Arizona 86040
Phone: 928-645-5594