Horseshoe Bend and Upper Antelope Canyon: a December morning in Page, Arizona

Grand Circle in winter, part 3 · Sunday, December 19 (evening) to Monday, December 20 (lunch), 2021

One night in Page on a counterclockwise road trip, then Horseshoe Bend and Upper Antelope Canyon in one morning

Cameron to Page at dusk on Highway 89

We were driving the Grand Circle counterclockwise, so after the Grand Canyon the next stop was Page, to the north. We left the park by the east exit, stopped briefly at the Little Colorado River Gorge overlook and got back on Highway 64 around 5:20 p.m. The sun had already gone down, and only the bottom of the sky was still orange. The slopes along the road were red earth under a thin layer of snow.

We filled up in Cameron and turned north on Highway 89. This stretch crosses the Navajo Nation, towns are few, and once the sun is down the road gets dark fast. From the Little Colorado River Gorge to Page is about 160 km (100 mi). With the gas stop it took a little over two hours, and we pulled into Page around 7:35 p.m.

By then the restaurants nearby had closed. We picked up food at the Walmart right next to the hotel and checked in. The chicken place we’d planned on for dinner got pushed to lunch the next day. If you’re coming into Page this way and want a sit-down dinner, work restaurant closing times into when you leave.

Hampton Inn & Suites Page – Lake Powell

That night we stayed at the Hampton Inn & Suites Page – Lake Powell, on the south side of town, a Hilton-brand chain hotel. A big Christmas tree stood in the lobby.

Compared with the motel in Kingman where we’d stayed right after arriving in Las Vegas, it was roomy and well equipped. We could spread all our bags out and still have space.

The indoor pool was a plus. After a full day in the car, a hotel pool is the thing a kid is happiest to see. On a trip like the Grand Circle, with long hours of driving, booking one hotel with a pool somewhere in the middle gives kids and adults alike a real break.

Page has several chain hotels at similar prices, so you can choose by room layout or location.

The next morning I opened the curtains before dawn. The neighboring buildings and a line of streetlights were still lit under the predawn sky.

When we checked out and went to load the car, frost had frozen onto the windows overnight in the shape of snowflakes. The morning temperature was well below freezing.

Horseshoe Bend in early morning light

We left the hotel around 7:45 a.m. The sun had come up at about 7:35, and as soon as we were out of town, the low light turned the cliffs along the road red. Mornings in the American West, with nothing but red cliffs and rock and not a single building, are a spectacle every time.

The Horseshoe Bend parking lot is a little over 10 minutes’ drive from the hotel, and we pulled in around 7:50 a.m. The overlook sits above the canyon the Colorado River has carved as it swings around in a wide horseshoe, and you reach it on foot along a red sand path. The walk is about 2.4 km (1.5 mi) round trip and mostly flat; with our kid, it took us about 15 minutes to reach the overlook.

The sun was low behind us, stretching our shadows far out across the sand. The photo of those long shadows is one of the moments I remember most from the whole trip.

From the overlook, the river makes its big horseshoe turn right below your feet, about 300 m (1,000 ft) down. The sun had only just risen, so the light reached only the top of the horseshoe; the river at the bottom of the canyon was still in shade.

A wide overlook like Horseshoe Bend is a good place to set up a tripod and shoot from the same spot as the sun climbs. Tripods aren’t allowed inside Antelope Canyon, so leave yours in the car for the tour and bring it out here.

Only the overlook itself has a railing; the rest of the rim along the path has none. If you’re with a child, hold hands.

We actually spent more time on the path than at the overlook. The rock underfoot lay in layers, its grain curving like ocean waves in some places and looking like seashells in others. The rock around here is Navajo Sandstone, formed from desert sand dunes that hardened a very long time ago, and it still carries the slanted lines laid down by the wind.

Our kid played with the red sand for a long while, and the gloves turned red in no time. The path gets little attention online, but we enjoyed it and wanted to take our time looking.

We were back at the parking lot around 9:25 a.m. with one regret. If we had come once the sun was higher and the light reached into the canyon, it would have shone down into the water and looked even better. Our Antelope Canyon tour time meant we couldn’t wait. Given the rest of the itinerary, it was the obvious call, but if you want the whole horseshoe lit, going a bit later than first thing in the morning may work better.

If you’d rather not drive, plenty of day tours leave Las Vegas and cover Horseshoe Bend and Antelope Canyon in one day. A golden-hour tour timed for sunset shows the bend at the time of day we missed.

Parking and the walk

• Parking$10 per passenger vehicle (as of October 2026)The lot is run by the City of Page, so a national parks annual pass can’t be used.
• The walkAbout 2.4 km (1.5 mi) round trip from the parking lot to the overlookAbout 15 minutes each way at a kid’s pace
• RailingsAt the overlook only
• Our visit7:50–9:25 a.m., 1 hour 35 minutes

Based on the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area Horseshoe Bend page and the parking fee schedule (checked October 22, 2026)

Upper Antelope Canyon tour

We left Horseshoe Bend in a hurry because our next stop was Antelope Canyon. It sits just outside Page, but it is a tribal park managed by the Navajo Nation. The only way in is a timed tour with a guide from a licensed company. We had booked ahead with Antelope Slot Canyon Tours, which runs trips into Upper Antelope Canyon.

We reached the tour office on 6th Avenue in town around 9:50 a.m. and checked in. A sign said GoPro poles, selfie sticks, tripods and walking sticks were not allowed, and bags had to be clear. It’s easier to leave everything else in your car.

Around 10:20 a.m. we climbed into a four-wheel-drive tour vehicle with the company’s name painted large on the side. It headed out of town on Highway 98, then turned off onto a sandy track.

A thin layer of snow covered the sand in front of the canyon entrance. From outside, it looked like an ordinary red rock hill.

Our guide was a Navajo woman. It wasn’t a private tour for our family. Several groups filed in one after another, and she kept everyone’s pace and position fairly strictly in line. Once we stepped through the narrow opening, it was a different world from the one outside. Light came in through a thin crack overhead and slid down the smooth walls, turning orange, then pink, then violet.

The canyon is dark, so taking pictures was tricky, but the spots where the light came in were beautiful. It was just as lovely to simply look.

Without a tripod, everything is handheld, so a bright lens that gathers a lot of light and a wide-angle lens that fits the narrow slot both helped. On this trip I carried a Sony A7C with a Tamron 17-28mm F2.8.

As on most cave and rock tours, the guide pointed out what different formations resembled. One spot, she said, looks like an alien’s face, which we enjoyed.

Heavy rain made this canyon. When it rains, water gathers in the basin above and rushes down as a sand-laden flash flood through a narrow crack in the Navajo Sandstone. Repeated over thousands of years, that carved the walls into smooth curves. The Navajo call Upper Antelope Canyon Tsé bighánílíní, “the place where water runs through rocks.”

The name is usually said to come from the pronghorn that once lived in the area, an animal many English speakers call an antelope.

After about 45 minutes of walking through the canyon, we climbed a set of steel stairs at the far end and came out. Looking back, you could hardly tell from outside that the canyon was there. It was remarkable to think all of that was hidden inside. The tour vehicle had us back at the office around 11:55 a.m.

Why you have to go with a guide

Antelope Canyon is on land belonging to the Navajo Nation’s LeChee Chapter, and you can only enter on a tour run by a company licensed by Navajo Parks and Recreation. Safety is said to be one of the main reasons. In a slot canyon, water can rush in suddenly from rain that fell far upstream, even when it isn’t raining where you are. After a serious flood accident in Lower Antelope Canyon in 1997, safety equipment and rules were tightened, and companies will cancel tours based on the weather.

Crowding in the narrow canyon is another reason. Because of congestion, it was announced that Upper Antelope Canyon would stop offering dedicated photography tours, the kind where you set up a tripod and linger, starting in 2020. Offerings now vary a little by company, so if you want a photo tour, check with the operator before you book. We went on a regular sightseeing tour with our kid.

Fees and booking

• Navajo park entry fee$15 per person, separate from the tour priceThe national parks annual pass is not accepted.
• TourEntry only on a guided tour with a licensed companyAntelope Slot Canyon Tours lists about 90 minutes. For us, check-in to return took about 2 hours.
• AgeAntelope Slot Canyon Tours accepts children age 6 and up.
• Not allowedBags, tripods, monopods, selfie sticks, walking sticksRules differ slightly by company and change often.
• Our timingCheck-in 9:50 a.m., in the canyon 10:35–11:30 a.m., back at the office 11:55 a.m.

Based on Navajo Parks and Recreation’s Lake Powell tribal park page, the list of licensed tour operators and Antelope Slot Canyon Tours (as of October 22, 2026)

Book your tour as soon as your dates are set.

Lunch in Page: BirdHouse

We walked to BirdHouse, a chicken place close to the tour office. It was the spot we had tried to reach the night before, only to find it closed. It’s a small place where you line up and order at the counter, and a row of Christmas stockings hung inside.

We kept lunch simple with chicken tenders, fries and a chicken sandwich, then left for Monument Valley around 12:35 p.m.

Once we were out of town, the view opened up again to flat-topped rock mountains lined up in the distance. The drive to Monument Valley on Highway 98 and our night at The View Hotel come in the next post.

Seeing Horseshoe Bend and Antelope Canyon on a tour

We had a rental car, but tours from Las Vegas also cover both places. It’s a long round trip, so many tours leave before dawn or in the middle of the night. Check the departure time and whether entrance fees are included before you book. Some tours add the Grand Canyon to the same day.

If one day feels too tight, a two-day tour with a night nearby is easier.

Good to know

Terms

Term	Meaning
Slot canyon	A very narrow, deep canyon cut by water through rock
Navajo Nation	The Navajo self-governing territory spanning Arizona, Utah and New Mexico. Antelope Canyon and Monument Valley are inside it
Upper and Lower	The upper and lower sections of the same wash. Upper has a flat floor; Lower means climbing up and down stairs
Navajo Sandstone	Red rock formed from ancient desert sand dunes, known for its slanted layers

FAQ

Can you visit Antelope Canyon without a tour?

No. You can only enter on a guided tour run by an operator licensed by Navajo Parks and Recreation, and the Navajo park entrance fee is paid separately from the tour price.

What time of day is best for Horseshoe Bend?

We went just after sunrise, when only the upper part of the bend was in the light. To see light reaching the river, go after the sun is higher. In the early morning, you get long shadows across the red sand path instead.

Can you bring kids?

We did both with our kid on our Grand Circle road trip. The Horseshoe Bend path is flat, but there’s no railing along the rim outside the overlook, so we held hands. Upper Antelope Canyon has a flat floor and wasn’t hard to walk. Each operator sets its own minimum age, so check when you book.

If we went back

I’d like to see Horseshoe Bend a little later, when the sun is high enough to light the river. That day we left with only the early light because we had to make our Antelope Canyon tour time. With an extra night in Page, you could flip the order: an Antelope Canyon tour in the morning and Horseshoe Bend around midday.

For lodging, I’d stay at the same Hilton-brand hotel with a pool, Hampton Inn & Suites Page – Lake Powell. The pool helped us unwind after a full day of driving, and both Horseshoe Bend and the tour office were close by.

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From the outside, it was an ordinary rock hill. Down inside, light ran along the walls. We found both the horseshoe-shaped canyon and the canyon of light on one winter morning in Page.

Related posts

Type	Post
Full itinerary	The Grand Circle in winter: a 10-day road trip by rental car Route, lodging and bookings for all 15 stops
Previous post	Grand Canyon South Rim in winter A full-moon night and sunrise from a lodge inside the park, plus Hermit Road

Map and route

On the evening of December 19, we drove from the Little Colorado River Gorge through Cameron and north on Highway 89 to Page, about 160 km (100 mi). The next morning, we went south from the hotel to Horseshoe Bend, came back to the tour office in town and rode the tour vehicle east to Upper Antelope Canyon. After lunch, we left for Monument Valley on Highway 98.

What we needed for this trip

Bookings

• Antelope Canyon tourEntry is by timed tour only, so we booked a slot as soon as our dates were set.See Upper Antelope Canyon tours
• Hotel in PageHorseshoe Bend and the tour office were both close, so the morning never felt rushed.See Hampton Inn & Suites Page
• Rental carWe drove straight on from the Grand Canyon to Page and then Monument Valley.See rental cars at Las Vegas airport

What to pack

• Warm jacket and glovesWe walked to Horseshoe Bend on a morning cold enough to frost the car windows.
• SwimsuitsThe hotel’s indoor pool took the edge off a full day of driving. Some Grand Circle hotels have pools, so it’s worth packing one.See kids’ swimsuitsSee adult swimsuits
• Tripod and remoteWe used them at overlooks like Horseshoe Bend. Tripods aren’t allowed on Antelope Canyon tours, so ours stayed in the car.See phone tripodsSee camera tripods
• Traveling lightBags aren’t allowed on Antelope Canyon tours, so we went in with just a phone and a camera.

We picked up our rental car at the Las Vegas airport and kept it for nine days.

For flights, search with Las Vegas as your arrival airport.