Lower Antelope Canyon

Lower Antelope Canyon is located across the highway and a few miles down the wash from Upper Antelope Canyon. It seems that a few years ago Lower Antelope was an undiscovered location and much less crowded and hurried than Upper Antelope. That appears to no longer be the case. The tours for Lower Antelope seem just as full, and the crowd control in the canyon is, if anything, worse than it is in Upper Antelope. But don't let that deter you from seeing this wonder of nature on a quality photo tour. Tripods are allowed (and necessary) on a photo tour, and the tour size is considerably smaller than on a standard tour.

Unlike Upper Antelope, which is a ground-level hike with the canyon walls rising up above the base trail, Lower Antelope is a huge crack in the ground that must be entered and exited via a series of ladders. It is somewhat darker than Upper Antelope, and at the correct times of the day it also has the beams of light that create magical and evocative photographs. A good tour guide will manage the crowds who are doing the standard sightseeing tour and give people on the photography tour some alone time in the various rooms.

Lower Antelope Canyon has been open for tours by the Navajo tour companies since 1997. It was not long after it opened that a significant flash flood killed 11 people in the canyon who had not been notified of the flood alert. Only the tour guide survived, and he was recovered several miles downstream in Lake Powell. It is hard to imagine being washed down a canyon like this in a torrent of water and debris. The walls of the Antelope Canyons were formed by flash floods that have periodically scoured the walls with a thick, sandy soup over millions of years. The result is a hauntingly beautiful and unique rock formation that we can visit today.