Horseshoe Bend is located 5 miles (8.0 km) downstream from the Glen Canyon Dam and Lake Powell within Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, about 4 miles (6.4 km) southwest of Page. It is accessible via hiking a 1.5-mile (2.4 km) round trip from U.S. Route 89.

We went to Page, AZ during the month of January, and weather-wise it was somewhat chilly. Once we started the walk however and warm up it was just perfect. The main time-consuming thing here is the parking. Once that is taken care of this place is just amazing to see.

It takes about 15-20 mins to get to the actual main viewpoint from the parking lot. It is a nice hike with probably about 30 degrees incline and then about 45 degrees decline. Once there there are plenty of other viewpoints of the bend but also quite a few people trying to get a picture from them so be patient. As we mentioned it is quite a popular destination and it most likely would be packed.

Please be careful! This attraction has had more than a few fatalities (2-3 per year is one estimation) when people try to be too creative with their daredevil photos/selfies. Social media is not that important to risk your life for it. While we were there we witnessed various near-death experiences by some of the “brave” souls there. We (as you can see) stayed a good distance from the actual edges.

Lodging

We stayed for one night at the city of Page and managed to visit both the Antelope Canyon and the Horseshoe Bend in one day. Everything there is conveniently close, it is not a big city. When there make sure you try the BirdHouse for lunch or dinner. You would thank us later 🙂

We highly recommend both of the attractions as they are both easy to get to and amazing to experience. Just make sure you are careful with children and family when at the Horseshoe Bend.

How to get there

Page, Arizona: Mile Marker 545, Highway 89, Page, AZ 86040

Parking

Parking at the Horseshoe Bend is tricky. It gets really busy during the peak season. We did notice however that they were building an entirely new parking lot on the right side of the entrance. It is well known that during the warmer months parking there is close to impossible and the amount of people visiting is astronomical. If you are patient you should be able to get a spot eventually.

Links

1. Horseshoe Bend Official Web Site
2. Best Time To Visit
3. Visit Arizona Horseshoe Bend Page
4. City of Page
5. The BirdHouse / Yelp

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Formed by erosion of Navajo Sandstone, primarily due to flash flooding and secondarily due to other sub-aerial processes. Rainwater, especially during monsoon season, runs into the extensive basin above the slot canyon sections, picking up speed and sand as it rushes into the narrow passageways. Over time the passageways eroded away, making the corridors deeper and smoothing hard edges in such a way as to form characteristic “flowing” shapes in the rock.

Nature finds a way and the Antelope Canyon is a true testament of what it can do with just two ingredients: time and water. Note that the canyon is not harmless and you need to pay attention during which season you visit it. It has had a deadly accident during a summer storm which swept a group of people enjoying the views.

Antelope Canyon Tour

The canyon is not directly accessible and the only way to visit it is via a tour. It is very nicely preserved and controlled by the local Navajo Tribe. In order to visit you need to schedule a tour with one of the local companies. Have in mind that the best time is around noon for pictures. If you are a photographer you should consider a photography tour. On these tours, only a few people are allowed in the park at the same time. On the regular tours, more than 10 people go inside at once and it does get crowded. Also, it is not only one tour at a time in the canyon but many. They just go one after the other etc.

Things to keep in mind is that taking good pictures is really hard on the regular tour. Also flash is a no-no. We would absolutely try to go again soon and be on a photography one with tripods etc. No tripods of any kind are allowed on the regular tour. They are pretty strict on the rules. Depending on the tour company you get to ride on a nice and fully closed minibus or on modified open pickup trucks with benches. During the winter it does get cold on the open ones so have that in mind.

Upper Antelope Canyon

Upper Antelope Canyon is called Tsé bighánílíní, ‘the place where water runs through rocks’ by the Navajo. It is the most frequently visited by tourists for two reasons. First, its entrance and entire length are at ground level, requiring no climbing. Second, beams or shafts of direct sunlight radiating down from openings at the top of the canyon are much more common in Upper than in Lower. Beams occur most often in the summer months, as they require the sun to be high in the sky. Winter colors are more muted. Summer months provide two types of lighting. Light beams start to peek into the canyon March 20 and disappear October 7 each year.

We visited the Upper Antelope Canton due to its ease of access and we travel with a small child. The lower one is already in our to-do list in bold. Overall it is an experience like no other and you should absolutely consider this adventure. Also, have in mind that Horseshoe Bend is very close and this is another unbelievable place to experience and you could visit them both in one day (like we did). Hotels at the city of Page, AZ overall ware quite nice so you can plan to stay there for a night.

Links

1. Antelope Canyon Official Web Site
2. Antelope Canyon Tours
3. City of Page

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The Grand Canyon is 277 miles (446 km) long, up to 18 miles (29 km) wide and attains a depth of over a mile (6,093 feet or 1,857 meters).

With its layered bands of red rock, the Grand Canyon reveals millions of years of geological history. With is the immense size it just overwhelms the senses and makes you feel somewhat insignificant in the “grand nature scheme” of things. It is one of the most visited tourist attractions in the continental United States. During the warmer months it can get quite busy but during the winter months quite cold and foggy. We have seen it during both seasons and in each of them, it looks amazing in its own way.

The South Rim

We visited both times the South Rim and have the North one on our to-do list for the future. During both our visits we found that the South Rim is very well maintained in terms of roads and logging and it is a perfect place for a vacation trip with the family. The majority of the viewpoints do not require hiking and is as convenient as parking your car and walking two minutes to the viewpoint.

Winter Season

During the winter the weather is very unpredictable at the Grand Canyon and if you are planning a visit make sure it is for more than a day. We spend around 3 days there and each of the days was completely different. Day one was foggy most of the time:

During the second day, the fog started to disappear and what we waited to see started to present itself slowly and majestically. The weather got warmer and we had the perfect conditions to explore the canyon:

The last day we had clear skies and sunny days to work with. Interestingly enough the number of people was not as many as we expected. Probably due to the rough weather the days before and the short amount of time many have to stay in the park premisses. We got amazing views:

If you have a choice in regards to the season to visit the Grand Canyon national park most would recommend being during the warmer months. We ware extremely lucky to catch plenty of great views during the winter season but many of those who were leaving were quite disappointed. Some people spend two-plus days with zero visibility due to the fog and snowfall. So plan accordingly. We recommend both seasons as each is beautiful in its own way 🙂

Lodging

During our last trip, we stayed at The Grand Hotel which is located outside of the park in the Grand Canyon Village. It is ten minutes’ drive to the park entrance and we absolutely loved our stay there. We also have visited El Tovar Hotel which is right on the actual rim of the canyon and it has unbelievable views right from the rooms. It is however tricky to get a room there due to availability and price. Another place we have stayed in the Yavapai Lodge. Below is a link/info of The Grand Hotel:

Links

Here are some useful links to have in mind when planning your trip:

1. Grand Canyon Official Web Site
2. Grand Canyon Weather Conditions
3. Grand Canyon Logging (inside the park)

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