Lower Antelope Canyon

49 Comments

  1. I am living in SF, so this canyon is not that far! I’ve been wanting to go to Vegas for a while now, and when I do, I will definitely visit these amazing canyons. The photos are great, I believe you captured the essence. Thank you for sharing!

  2. Your photos are amazing! Like you said, it’s hard to believe this is in the US and that so many people (including me) haven’t seen it. I didn’t realize there was an upper or lower. I think I need to see both. I’m adding this to my must-see places. Hopefully soon!

    1. So glad you enjoyed the post Juliann! There’s so much to see in the area, I hope an Arizona trip is in the cards for you very soon! I also hear they have real dinosaur tracks 2 hours south, just a heads up! 🙂

  3. I visited Antelope Canyon in the 1990’s, and we just did upper. It’s such a beautiful place, but I was incredibly disappointed in how many photographers were crammed in there at the same time. Yes, we all got lovely images, but they hardly expressed the reality of the situation. I’ll check out the lower part of it the next time I’m out that way — I really wanted to be quiet and “feel” the space, something I definitely didn’t get on my first visit. Thanks for the post –AND — lovely images!

    1. Agree completely Ann, Upper Canyon was more about the images and less about feeling connected to nature. I think the Lower Canyon is much better in that regard and I hope you get to visit again soon!

  4. Antelope Canyon is a beautiful place. It’s funny how the generating station is right in view when you are exiting the canyon and just how many people they can fit in. That’s one of the things I liked about the photography tour. The slowed the groups down and you could get a few empty frames. It’s also nice to take in your tripod, but next time I would want a wider angle lens,

    1. Agreed on the wide angle lens, I actually had a lens crisis before I went and had to buy and later return a lens at the last minute! I charged $600 to my credit card and had a near heart attack but I didn’t go that far to not get pictures haha 🙂

  5. SO beautiful! Definitely for the light beams, do the upper, but I felt the lower one was nicer because it was less rushed. I didn’t do the photography tour so thats probably also why I felt so rushed at the upper canyon. My vote for an overall experience would be the lower one 🙂 I also did Ken’s!

    1. I second all of the above! I paid to not feel rushed but my friend got pictures of herself in Upper Canyon which I wish I’d gotten too. I have literally 500 of the sunbeams and 5 of me and the sunbeams lol so it’s a give and take!

  6. I have seen so many photos of the antelope canyons these days that make me want to see it in person!! The various different colours make it hard to believe that such a place even exist! Great tips on the lenses as I never thought that there will be so much sand there. I would try to fit both upper and lower canyons if I ever go and make sure to book a tour!

  7. These canyons really look like they’re on another planet! What gorgeous places, and your photography is just beautiful. Love all the helpful info in here about how to visit!

  8. Great post, it’s good to know how to make the decision. I’m finally going to visit this area in October – I’m waiting to see if I win “the Wave Lottery” and from there will plan my visit to the area. Definitely going to do the photographer’s tour at Upper Antelope!

    1. Good luck with the lottery! I can definitely recommend the Adventurous Antelope Canyon Photo Tour. They were a little more expensive but thorough, and they did not sponsor me to say that lol I just have at least 200 professional level photos thanks to them. You’re going to have a great time! The colors in October should be phenomenal 🙂

  9. This is article is awesome . I’ve been to USA 6 times but never done this . Godwilling on my 7th visit this is a Sur thing

  10. I went to the lower Canyon with my family and it was beautiful I am very excited to go back it was breathtaking

  11. So I’m planning to fly into Vegas in two weeks, rent a car, and head out towards antelope canyon. I land in Vegas at 0735am. The drive is about 4 hours and a half long. Do you think I will still have enough time to tour both upper and lower antelope canyon? Also, do you recommend a place to stay at in that area? Do you think I can fit in horseshoe bend, Zion National Park, and Grand Canyon the following day?

    1. I think you have time but it’ll be tight and you may not get to see the sunbeams at Upper Antelope Canyon since they’re seen from 11am-1pm approximately. You can do horseshoe bend that same day, it’s 10 minutes away and is actually a good sunset spot. The next day you need to pick either Grand Canyon or Zion because they’ll each take you a day minimum, but you can’t go wrong with either! Have a great trip 🙂

  12. Oh this is super helpful! My mom recently went and I’ve been seeing so many awesome photos from here that it’s really making me want to go! Your photos are stunning by the way. Thanks for sharing all this info!!

  13. Having read so many posts and articles on both of these canyons this post really was helpful. As I will be visiting Antelope Canyon in mid April 2019 I have booked well in advance. Through intense research I have secured a 12:00pm photography tour of upper canyon followed by a night photography tour of the same upper canyon which commences 2 hours after sunset. The following day I have secured a 12:00pm walking tour through lower canyon followed by a a 3:00pm second tour of the same canyon again. Lower Antelope no longer runs photo tours.
    The purpose is to photograph the canyons using different focal length lenses. The cameras will be prepared prior to entering the canyons each day. I understand that in some chambers a wide angle lens 14mm – 24mm range is ideal whereas in some other chambers 35mm – 70mm works better and in some cases up to 100mm will also be ideal especially when pointing straight up. Because I am visiting from Australia I figured that I should maximise my opportunities and go nuts.
    Antelope Canyon here we come……..?

    1. Depends on the canyon. Lower Antelope Canyon has some walking. I have no concept of distance, probably a quarter mile including lots of stairs since you’re descending.

      Upper Antelope Canyon almost no walking since you take a shuttle to the entrance.

  14. Okay, I’m new to “Canyon” photography and not too confident of my camera settings, as I will be there to see Upper and Lower only once (Sept 2019) same day.
    Any Sony A6500 mirrorless settings or other suggestions would be sincerely appreciated.

    1. Hi Fred! If you want to take a photography tour to have the rooms cleared out and more time to get the perfect shot, you’ll need a DSLR and tripod, not the mirrorless. If you want to go on a walking tour through the canyon and take pictures as you please, you can definitely take your mirrorless for that and snap away. Hard to get a bad shot here!

  15. Great post! We are here for the first time and very overwhelmed with all there is to see and do and more how to do them! This was exactly what we needed! Thank you! It’s mid-October, so I am sad that I won’t be able to get a photo of me and my husband standing in a sunbeam! Next visit will be just for that purpose! LOL! Thank you again for your perfect post!
    PS: love your blog name! Can’t stop singing the song!

  16. Thank you so much for sharing this BEAUTIFUL experience! I definitely would LOVE to do both (and of course the Horseshoe bend. I would love your thoughts on going in either April or May before the tourist season begins. Based on your blog sounds like Summer is best, but…
    And if you don’t bring a super duper camera, I’m assuming a cell phone camera would take some good shots? If not, then I better go get a new camera :-). Your reply would be so appreciated!!

    1. Hi Debbie! April or May are great months, you just want to make sure you go after the Spring solstice. You only need a super camera for the photo tour, otherwise a cell phone works just fine and your guide will help you get great shots 🙂

  17. Me and my husband are going to Las Vegas and planning to go to Antelope this December. Hope to do both Upper and Lower plus the Horseshoe bend.
    Where do you think Or suggest we can booked our tour to get a better satisfaction of our trip. Since we are both seniors we want to make the most of it.
    Thank you so much for the all information you shared with all the tourist like us. It gives us a better idea on what to do during our tour.

  18. I went to the lower Canyon with Dixie’s Antelope Canyon Tours and The most beautiful natural scenery we have ever scene. A tour of the Lower Antelope Canyon is a must have on anyone’s bucket list.

    1. Not very, the walls are very tall and I’d say at least 5-10 people fit across in most places. She should be OK in that regard, I’d be more worried about feeling clausterphobic in the large crowd.

  19. Jen,
    Could you recommend the tour group that you went with for the Upper Canyon?
    Thanks for all the helpful tips and great trip report on Antelope Canyon.

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