Day 7: Antelope Canyon, Horseshoe Bend, and Hanging Gardens Trail

We woke up to a hotel breakfast that was really great. I was very excited to be able to make my own waffle and have biscuits and gravy instead of our standard granola and yogurt. We leisurely got ready to headed down to Antelope Canyon, where our one hour tour would start at 10:45.


Facts about Antelope Canyon:

There are two parts, upper and lower, and both are on Navajo land and thus run by Navajo. Upper Antelope Canyon (UAC) tends to be more popular because it gets these amazing shafts of sunlight around midday that make photographers lose their minds, and the path is a bit easier for people of all ages. I was tempted by it as well, I won't lie, but then we found out that the shafts only happen in summer, and in fact, LAC can have better light in winter due to its V shape. We also heard it has a few ladders and is more twisty-turny, which appealed to my adventurous side. In the end, we opted for LAC, and we were not disappointed. Granted, we have no idea what upper canyon looks like, but it was too pricy to do both. LC cost us $45 each. They JUST changed the fees from $25 to 45 in 2018. If only we had gone a few days earlier!


A photographer friend in ATL also recommended that we pay extra for the photographer's tour: basically, they give you more time to ensure that you have the good spots all to yourself. That was intriguing, but we couldn't find that tour. Turns out that they will no longer be doing those tours because the popularity of Antelope Canyon has exploded in the last 2 years thanks to social media, and they can't guarantee empty canyons. So, for those who were able to take advantage while the getting was still good, good for you! However, it wasn't clear if that's a permanent decision, or if they'll continue them in UAC, so do some research before you go.

Our tour went very well. You go down in a group of 15, and everyone was pretty patient and respectful of the others when they wanted a picture. Our guide was a young Navajo, and he was fully of interesting facts about the canyon's history and even the surrounding area. When we asked him a question about nearby hiking, he looked chagrined and then said his New Year's resolution was to do more hiking close by so that he would have better recs for tourists! Now that's dedication! He also used to work on the photography tours and had picked up lots of tips, so he took the time to show every single person the function they should use on their different phone types, took a sample picture on each one to show us the differences between ours and his (his were 100x better), and had us pause at multiple points along the canyon to take our group/individual photos. I wish all guides were as great as he was! Here are a few more pics from the canyon:

When we emerged from the canyon an hour, 1.5 hour later, we had some sandwiches and then drove to Horseshoe Bend, probably Page's second most popular attraction. It's an awe-inspiring horsesheo-shaped meander in the Colorado river, and only about 4 miles outside of town. A short 0.5-0.75 mile hike from the parking lot takes you right up to the unprotected edge. It was very easy to do in winter, but there is no shade, and there were multiple signs warning of heat exhaustion in the summer months. Some new construction was being undertaken to build a safety fence, shaded benches, and the like. I'm sure it'll change a lot in the upcoming year to make things more comfortable for the tourist bus visitors: we saw sooo many people dressed up and taking glamour shots by the overlook. There were definitely two very different types of people there: people like I just described, and those like David and me in our hiking clothes.



David and I had a  good time taking our time and wandering from end to end, up and over rocks to explore different views. Even though we took our time, we were still done in little more than an hour and a half. We didn't realize that would happen, and we found ourselves with another couple hours left in the day. We looked online and found a short hike only a few minutes away: the Hanging Gardens in Glen Canyon Recreational Area.


The hike was short (1 mile RT), easy, and fairly pretty. If you have extra time and fancy a stroll, this is a good option. Otherwise, it's very skippable. The walk took us up a minimal incline to a butte, where there was a layer of green vegetation clinging to the walls. Like I said, it was pretty, but we expected a bit more. Perhaps there is more in non-winter months!

Three locations visited, we went to the Glen Canyon Visitor Center down the street to get tips on hikes to do the following day!