Arizona's 2nd most visited tourist spot.
Other than the Grand Canyon, Antelope Canyons get more tourists than any wild spot in Arizona, I would expect. They are popular and famous and with good reason. I get more questions about the photos I took there than about any other spot and it seems to really irritate Utahns to learn the pictures of Antelope are not from Utah. First they will correct me, "no that's in southern Utah, by Moab", as if only Utah is allowed to have slot canyons. Utah does have many but perhaps none are as special as the Antelopes. This is funny to me, as they are now basically a goldmine, which is kudos to the Navajo in my book. We kept giving them crappier and crappier land and they keep making due with it. Now people complain about having to pay to have a guided tour and that the canyons are commercialized. Um, and what would they be like if whites or Uncle Sam were running the show?
I suggest going in the winter when crowds will be smaller. There are 2. An upper and a lower. One is well-marked and easy to find, involved a jeep tour, massive crowds, high prices, short rushed tours, and everything a tourist trap can offer. The other is down the road marked only by a sign that reads "Marina". Turn left on a dirt road, take it very briefly, pay less, have more time in the larger canyon, get more (but not really any) privacy, lots of pictures, show them off to everyone, and be their envy.
The canyons will give you claustrophobia if you get it, and may give it to you the first time. You should not be fat to enter, but they will let you know if you won't fit, and probably not too delicately. Plain-speaking people, those Navajo. Direct. Never did master our legalese and tact and hypocrisy and such. At the lower, by the marina, you actually descent into a crack in the earth. You would not know the canyon started there without being told. Then you will descend stairs that are rickety and narrow again and again as the canyon weaves and the walls expand. The light show is wonderful. I got shadows that looked like coyotes and hawks and squaws. Middle of the day is the best time. When I went the fee was $36. The upper canyon was $46, but about to go up again. So plan on paying at least that much, and you will need cash.
As always here are a few of my slightly not favorite photos. These have blurs in them, or would be exquisite. You'll lose a lot of your photos to sunspots here due to the extreme contrasts, so know that in advance.
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