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Antelope Canyon Marvel at Arizona’s awe-inspiring sandstone slot canyon when you visit Antelope Canyon in northern Arizona. Few geological formations are as picturesque and awe-inspiring as Antelope Canyon, a magnificent slot canyon just east of Page in Northern Arizona. With tall winding walls, it’s a monumental sandstone sculpture. Antelope Slot Canyon Tours, Page: Hours, Address, Antelope Slot Canyon Tours Reviews: 4.5/5. Antelope Canyon is an example of a geological curiosity known as a “ slot canyon.” As the name suggests, slot canyons are tiny canyons formed when water finds its way into a crack or fissure in the bedrock. There are several slot canyons near the Utah-Arizona border but the Antelope Slot Canyons are the most prominent and the most photographed. Individually, there is the Upper Antelope Canyon, famous for its light beams that shine through holes from the roof, and there is the Lower Antelope Canyon. Antelope Canyon is a slot canyon carved out by the same waters that flowed into the Colorado River and carved the Grand Canyon. The Antelope Canyon walls have been carved into what looks like a fluid rock. Water from above Antelope Canyon travels through cracks and caverns in the sandstone until it builds up significant speed near Antelope Canyon.

Water Holes, Lower Antelope, Upper Antelope. Are these the names of hiking trails? No, they’re Arizona slot canyons located on the Navajo Reservation near Page, Arizona. Alan and I discovered the photogenic gems while on a photo workshop. But you don’t have to be a boomer photographer to enjoy exploring canyons carved by nature’s power. Walking through the twists and turns of Arizona’s slot canyons will spark the imagination of any active travel enthusiast.

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Upper Antelope Canyon: an easy-to-explore Arizona slot canyon.

Upper Antelope Canyon is the easiest Arizona slot canyon to maneuver. After paying a hiking and permit fee (around $21 on our last visit), a truck takes visitors from the starting point off Highway 89 near Page, Arizona, to the canyon’s opening. Access is via a level, sandy path—no stairs or climbing involved. A Navajo guide accompanies travelers through the canyon on a one-hour trip where a combination of water and sand has etched the walls into a wonderland of texture and curves. Beams of sunlight shine down from the cracks in the canyon overhead. When the wind blows, dust drifts in swirling through the light in a ghostly dance.

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Lower Antelope Canyon: adventure and photography fun

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Adventure seekers will prefer Lower Antelope Canyon. Located on Copper Mine Rd. off Highway 89, entrance requires a permit and hiking fee (around $21 at the time of my visit). To reach the slot canyon, visitors follow the guide along a crack in the earth’s stony surface until it widens, leading to stairs that descend into the canyon. Warning! This is not an adventure for claustrophobics. They way is narrow but oh so worth it. Alan and I spent almost three hours exploring this photogenic fun house, slipping through narrow passageways, maneuvering several short drops via stairs, craning our necks for the view above us. When the light peeps in through overhead cracks, the textured walls turn into purple, yellow and orange curtains of rippling stone.

Water Holes Canyon: know where you’re going

Water Holes Canyon involves a bit of orienteering. A permit and hiking fee is required to access this Arizona slot canyon located south of Page on Highway 89. There’s no signage on the highway to direct you so it’s best to go with someone who’s familiar with the area. After a short hike, the canyon is accessed by walking down its sloping walls. The portion of Water Holes that we visited is not as dramatic as Lower or Upper Antelope and has a more rugged feel to it.

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Exploring Arizona’s slot canyons is one of our favorite adventures in the American Southwest and a boomer travel experience that Alan and I will be repeating. But, we won’t be going during monsoon season when flash floods make hiking in the canyons a dangerous endeavor.