West Coast Road Trip: Part 3 – Horseshoe Bend and Lower Antelope Canyon

Hi all! So happy to be chatting with you and exploring more of our trip. This is going to be such a fun post because the places we visited were insanely unique! After the Grand Canyon we headed over to Page, AZ to check into our next hotel. Before we checked in we decided to check out the “Horseshoe Bend” which was conveniently on the way.

This was a gorgeous quick detour that I recommend. Though we only went to see this view there is so much more you can do. For example did you know you can kayak in the horseshoe bend? How cool is that?! Click here for more information. Without a doubt, if I ever come back this is something I would try out. The walk from the parking lot to the Horseshoe bend is about 10-15 minutes and then you can spend as much time at this location as you would like to view this beautiful landscape.

After visiting here we headed over to our hotel. Page, AZ is a location of barely any cell reception or things to do. It is a rural area so prepare yourself for this beforehand. We stayed at the hotel called “Hyatt Place Page/Lake Powell.” This is a newer hotel that gives you a view of mountains in the far background. The rooms were clean, affordable, and large. No complaints here!

When it came to grabbing dinner it was tough to decide. Since this location was more rural we weren’t sure where the best spot would be. We definitely avoided options such as sushi just because we weren’t sure how good that decision would actually taste. We ended up eating at a restaurant called “Fiesta Mexicana Restaurant.” We had our concerns about eating here but we were pleasantly surprised! The food was good and they had fun unique furniture designs.

The next day we headed over to the “Lower Antelope Canyon” run by a group called Dixie Ellis. There’s also a tour called Ken’s Tours Lower Antelope Canyon. Both tours are owned by the same people just have 2 companies so either way is a good decision! I only chose Dexie Ellis because their reviews were slightly better. Make sure you make reservations as far out as possible as the slots fill up quick! I made our reservation 2 weeks before and a lot of the spots were already gone. The best times to go are around 11am-1pm as the colors of the canyon are most potent.

The tour sends out multiple groups back to back but try to space it out between every few minutes as these canyons get packed quick. Also be aware that this is a huge tourist trap for photos. I think people spent more time taking photos than actually enjoying the beauty of it all.

One by one we headed down this very steep staircase into the canyon. Right away you can tell how gorgeous this place is. The rock formations are truly incredible and I started to get really excited to see the rest inside.

The tour guides were great! They were super knowledgeable about the rock formations and had a lot of facts to tell us. One of the coolest parts of this trip is that the tour guides were able to point different formations the rocks created. For example, there were rock formations that looked like a sea turtle or a seahorse.

Above in the photo is an example of what looks like a “seahorse” If you look at the sky instead of the rocks you’ll see a seahorse outlined. The top is the seahorses head and as the formations move down you can see it’s body. I think it is fascinating that people were able to find these different shapes and put them together.

At this location in the canyons we were told a lot of marriage proposals happen here. I think you may have to pay a fee for this to take place with professional photographer but this is a popular spot to pop the question! Apparently it’s one of the most photogenic areas in the canyon which is why it’s such a perfect spot. I believe you can also get married in the canyon but there’s a lot of logistical details that go into planning that kind of wedding.

Another popular spot for photos is this bend in the canyon which they call “light and dark.” I think it’s hard to tell in this photo but one side of the canyon gets more light than the other so where I stood was “light” and where John stood was “dark”. Again, you can’t tell so much in this photo but this shot has easily become one of my favorites.

The tour overall lasted about an hour long and there is so much to see. If you are into photography I would highly recommend coming here. There are so many beautiful unique shots to capture. If you aren’t into photography I do not think you will enjoy this space as much just because of how annoying it is to watch everyone take endless amounts of photos. I LOVE taking pictures but it was even a lot for me.

This was a fun experience and I’m glad I went! It was stunning and such a great place to take some fun photos. This is what the top of the canyon looked like, just a regular rocky ground. There are other tours you can do around this area I would look into if you have time but I believe this one is the most popular.

After this tour, which took place around 8:00am-9:00am we headed out to start our drive to Las Vegas, NV. On the way to Las Vegas, NV we did a pit stop at Zion National Park in Utah. We were told this National Park was a must and we’re so glad we listened because it was probably the most gorgeous place we have ever seen besides Sedona, AZ. I’ll tell you all about it in my next post! Stay tuned!