Is Antelope Canyon A Tourist Trap?

If you’re like me, whenever you saw a picture of Antelope Canyon, you invariably thought, “Where is that place? I have to go there.” Once I found out, I knew we would have to make visiting a reality.  Few places have more appeal to a landscape photographer but beyond the picture, is there anything to it or is it just another tourist trap?

As we planned our trip, I began to ask myself this question.  I don’t like tours but if you want to visit Antelope Canyon, there is no avoiding it.  Not only that but they seemed fairly expensive to me at least, especially the photography tours which cost up to $125.  After reading about overwhelming crowds and the short time allowed in the canyon I was skeptical and considered skipping it to spend more of our very limited time elsewhere.  Despite all these things, I simply couldn’t get the photographs I’d seen out of my head.  I had to go.  So, what did we think?

The canyon is only an armslength wide in most places but does open up in certain sections.

Photograph by Jeffrey Palmer (above), Joy Palmer (below).

Do not skip Antelope Canyon!  We had a great experience with the tour.  What is referred to as Antelope Canyon is actually two seperate canyons.  There is Upper Antelope Canyon and Lower Antelope Canyon.  Upper Antelope Canyon is the most popular in large part because of this $6.5 million photograph.  It is shorter, wider, more crowded and more expensive to tour than Lower Antelope Canyon.  We chose to visit Lower Antelope Canyon due to these factors.  Our “General Tour” through Ken’s Tours cost $20 each (not including $8 Navajo Park fee.)  I generally don’t like tours but this one was very well done.  Our guide was a local teenage and gave us some good insights into the formation of the canyon and history of the surrounding area.  The groups were relatively small with about a dozen people and we were not rushed in any way.  You should plan to spend about an hour on the tour.  Reservations should be made at least a few weeks in advance.  Photographer tours are offered but availability is more limited.

Walking through the canyon was exhilarating. After descending into the ground, you are immersed in the warm glow of sunlight reflected from the sculpted stone. Ages of flash floods have scoured the walls of the canyon into seemingly impossible shapes. Some look like the stone is fluid frozen into place. The canyon is winding and narrow enough in most places that despite being part of a tour (about 15 people in our group) we often were completely out of sight from other people. As you walk along, don’t forget to look up occasionally to get a glimpse of the red rocks sillouetted against the blue sky.

Photographer Tips:

If you have the extra money and time, I’m sure a photography tour is worth it.  However, I don’t regret doing the general tour even though tripods were not allowed.  We went a few hours after sunrise and I did have to push my ISO more than I would have liked (800-1600).  Going later in the day would likely allow more light and a lower ISO.  The light changes drastically throughout the canyon.  Shooting bracketed sets should assure that you capture a good average exposure in addition to one for the overexposed sky.