Canyon X and the quieter slots
Upper and Lower Antelope are the famous pair, but the sandstone around Page hides several more slot canyons with Navajo guides and far fewer people. Antelope Canyon X and Secret Antelope both appear on our home page. This guide covers both, then the smaller slots run by AACT and by Navajo families south of town, with the trade-off each one asks of you.
Why look past Upper and Lower
Upper and Lower Antelope move group after group through the same corridors all day, and the midday Upper slots sell out weeks ahead (our light beam guide explains why). The slots around them were carved from the same Navajo Sandstone by the same flash floods, and most lie on Navajo land, so a licensed Navajo guide takes you in here too. You give up the famous name and usually the classic overhead beam. In return the groups shrink and the pace slows, and on several tours the guide grew up on the land you walk through.
| Canyon | Outfitter | From | The walk | Ages |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Antelope Canyon X | Taadidiin Tours | ~$82 | A 4x4 ride, then a steep path down and back up | Child rate 8–17 |
| Secret Antelope with overlook | Deer Spring Canyon Tours | ~$159 | About 0.3 miles (0.5 km) after a rough 4x4 ride | 6 and up |
| Waterhole Canyon, Tour #1 | Waterhole Canyon Experience | ~$128 | About 2 miles (3.2 km) with ladders | 8 and up |
| Three-canyon photo tour | AACT | ~$385 | An hour in each canyon | 21 and up on Viator |
| Deer Canyon | Ligai Si' Anii | About $110 + $15 fee | A 135-foot (41 m) stairway down | 6 and up |
| Wind Pebble Canyon | Ligai Si' Anii | About $93 + $15 fee | A steep trail with two sets of ladders | Child rate up to 12 |
| Mystical Antelope Canyon | Arrowhead Campground | About $117 + fees | A short ladder down | 8 and up |
The last three are outside our lineup, priced as we saw them on GetYourGuide.
Antelope Canyon X, the closest match
Taadidiin Tours checks guests in off AZ-98 about 12 miles (19 km) east of Page, where phone signal is poor, so download a map before you leave town. A 4x4 covers about 3 miles (5 km) to the canyon mouth, and a steep path with stairs drops into the first of two slot sections. One has the A-shape of Upper. The other is a narrow V like Lower, and reviewers call the walk back up the hard part.
The Canyon X tour with Taadidiin, from ~$82, lasts about an hour with the Navajo permit included. National Park Express resells it on both sites, and on GetYourGuide it holds 4.7 from over 4,500 reviews with very few low ones. The catch lies in the terms. GetYourGuide refunds until four days before while the Viator listing cannot be refunded at all, and a few reviewers found the canyon shorter and less dramatic than Upper. Light arrives here as a soft glow, and the classic midday beam stays an Upper speciality.
No bags or food go in. Canes and hiking sticks stay behind as well, and tripods are banned unless you book the 1.5-hour photo option on GetYourGuide (our photo guide covers it). Taadidiin also warns that phones may switch to the wrong time zone out there, which our time zone guide sorts out.
Secret Antelope and a private Horseshoe Bend view
Deer Spring Canyon Tours, a family-owned Navajo company led by women, meets guests at 821 US-89 in Page beside the Burger King lot, where an old sign may still read Horseshoe Bend Tours. A 4x4 spends 25–30 minutes on private Navajo dirt roads before a walk of about 0.3 miles (0.5 km) into Secret Antelope Canyon. Then the truck heads for a viewpoint over Horseshoe Bend away from the public trail. Groups stop at 12, and the outing takes about 3 hours.
Deer Spring's Secret Antelope tour, from ~$159, scores 4.9 from 848 reviews on Viator, where a $15 fee per person comes on top, and 4.8 from 63 on GetYourGuide. Both sites cancel free up to 24 hours before. The catch is the name. Secret Antelope is not Upper or Lower, and a few reviewers felt misled once they understood that, while others mention rough driving. Children under 6 cannot come. Lii Bikee Slot Canyon Tours guides in the same canyon, and one GetYourGuide listing hands you to either company by option, so read the outfitter's name before you pay.
Two slot sections, far fewer people
Canyon X with Taadidiin takes about an hour, steep path included, from ~$82 with the Navajo permit in the price. Book on GetYourGuide if your dates might move, since it refunds up to four days ahead and the Viator listing does not refund.
Waterhole Canyon, south of town
Waterhole Canyon lies about 5 miles (8 km) south of Page off US-89. Waterhole Canyon Experience, a Navajo family business, shuttles small groups from its office to the entrance for about 2 miles (3.2 km) of canyon in 1.5 hours. In summer the canyon closes once the temperature reaches 95 °F (35 °C).
Waterhole Canyon Experience's Tour #1, from ~$128, has a near-perfect 5.0 from 499 reviews on Viator, most carried over from Tripadvisor, with the Navajo permit included. The catch is practical. Ladders inside rule out unsteady walkers and nobody under 8 can join. On top of that, the GetYourGuide listing has only four reviews, and Viator showed no open dates when we compared.
Rattlesnake Canyon and AACT's photo trio
AACT, the outfitter behind our Upper pick, also guides in smaller slots near its office on AZ-98. Its 1-hour Rattlesnake Canyon tour has ladders and an age limit of 8 and is too new for reviews. AACT sells it for about $92 on GetYourGuide, while a National Park Express resale of the same canyon asks about $149, a gap that what Antelope Canyon tours cost explains.
AACT's three-canyon photography tour, from ~$385, adds Mountain Sheep Canyon and Owl Canyon to Rattlesnake, about an hour in each, for up to six photographers with tripods welcome. The catch is the price, roughly four times a standard Upper ticket, and a record of just 10 reviews, all of them on Viator. Viator also limits it to adults of 21 and over who bring their own gear.
Deer Canyon and Wind Pebble in Antelope Valley
About 8 miles (13 km) south of Page, off Coppermine Road, the family behind Ligai Si' Anii (Antelope Valley Canyon Tours) guides on its own land. Its Deer Canyon tour descends a 135-foot (41 m) metal stairway into two levels of canyon over about 2 hours. Its GetYourGuide title says "Upper Antelope Deer Canyon", though, and several reviewers arrived expecting Upper Antelope itself. Wind Pebble, from the same check-in, follows a steep trail with two sets of ladders and stops at a working Navajo ranch, and reviewers call it an uncrowded fallback when the Antelope tours sell out. Both charge the $15 Navajo fee on top.
Mystical Antelope Canyon, run from Arrowhead Campground off AZ-98, starts with a short ladder down. It had only six reviews when we compared, adds an $8 Navajo fee plus tax to its price, and refuses late arrivals without a refund.
When Upper or Lower close for rain
Storms upstream send flash floods through the slots even when Page stays dry, and the canyons close, sometimes on the day itself, mostly during the monsoon from roughly July to mid September (best time of year to visit has the months). Outfitters sometimes rescue the day. When Lower flooded, AACT moved one reviewer's group to an earlier Upper slot, and a review on Viator's Canyon X page describes guests sent there from Lower.
Do not build a plan on it. A cancelled tour usually ends in a refund or a new date, and Canyon X booked on Viator as a backup stays non-refundable. The trips in Antelope Canyon by kayak or boat are no rescue either, since storms cancel those too. Families with small children or slow walkers should read our guide to kids and limited mobility first. If you still lean toward the classic pair, our Upper versus Lower comparison helps you choose.