When planning our Arizona trip, I read so many blog posts that talked about how crowded the popular tourist spots were, so I knew I had to make a plan to enjoy these places with smaller crowds. The plan worked out perfectly, and we were overjoyed to see we never had to share a beautiful location with more than 15 people! Here are my tips to avoid the crowds when planning your visit to Antelope Canyon.
We planned our visit to Antelope Canyon for the same morning as our Horseshoe Bend sunrise, since the two are less than 20 minutes apart. Since we had an hour or so to kill in the middle, we got breakfast at Ranch House Grille, 10 minutes away in Page, AZ.
Things you should know about Antelope Canyon
- Antelope Canyon is located in Page, AZ, which is 4.5 hours from Phoenix, 3 hours from Sedona, and 2.25 hours from Flagstaff.
- You must book a tour to experience the canyon.
This was so surprising to me! There are so many beautiful places in Arizona that are on Native American land, so you need to purchase permits or book tours to be on their beautiful land. Antelope Canyon is on Navajo Indian Tribal Lands. - Tribal lands in Arizona run on a different time zone from other parts of the state.
Some tours will account for this in their listed times. Make sure to triple check what time zone your tour time is listed in! - There are multiple tours to choose between, each covering a different section of the canyon.
The two main options are Upper and Lower Antelope Canyon. These are both very popular, and as a result, pretty crowded and rushed. This didn’t appeal to me, so I researched other options, and came across a list of alternate tours.
Alternate Tours
- Antelope Canyon X – this is an upper segment of Antelope Canyon
- Horseshoe Bend Slot Canyon, aka “Secret Canyon” – tour groups of 6-7 people, but this is technically a different canyon altogether. This tour page also offers a Horseshoe Bend tour, but I don’t recommend spending your money on that since you can easily go see it yourself.
- 3 combined alternatives which are usually toured as one package:
Mountain Sheep Slot Canyon – the most physically strenuous and adventurous tour requires some climbing, scrambling, stairs, etc.
Rattlesnake Canyon – this one is extra colorful, and is supposed to be pretty active!
Owl Canyon – a bit of hiking, a peek at a family of owls, and canyon views.
Out of all the alternatives, I chose Antelope Canyon X. It offers the same exploration as the main two canyons, but with much smaller tour groups and relaxed time down in the canyon. The tour prices are also a little lower than the prices for the Upper and Lower Canyon tours: win-win!
We started the trip in a van that drove about 10 of us down to the canyon area. We got free water bottles from a cooler under a tent set up by the tour group, then started our walk down with our guide, Tiara. We walked downhill in the sand for a bit, then we explored the two slot canyons in the area.
I definitely recommend checking out the alternative tours if, like me, you aren’t big on huge crowds when visiting major tourist destinations! I felt like I was really able to take my time here, and the canyons were really cool.
Want to explore the canyon from the Colorado River / Lake Powell? Check out the boat tours!
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