Lower Antelope Canyon

Lower Antelope Canyon is the second of the two well-known slot canyons on Navajo land near Page. Like Upper Antelope, it lies in the LeChee Chapter of the Navajo Nation and is part of Lake Powell Navajo Tribal Park. Its Navajo name is Hasdez' twazi', which the tribe translates as 'spiral... arches'. It formed the same way as the upper canyon, in Navajo Sandstone scoured by floodwater and sand.

The two canyons feel very different. The tribe describes Lower Antelope as shaped like a 'V', narrow at the bottom. You squeeze through on stairs, and the tribe says plainly that if you are claustrophobic, this canyon is not for you. It sits lower than Upper Antelope, at about 3,704 feet, and its walls rise about 120 feet above the streambed. Wikipedia notes five flights of stairs inside, with a climb out by stairs at the end. Sand falls from the crack above and can make the steps slippery.

Access works the same way as at Upper Antelope. You must go with one of the two Lower Antelope tour operators the Navajo Nation lists. You pay the tribe's entry fee of $15 per person, per location, per day, plus the tour price. The tribe issues no photography or filming permits for Upper or Lower Antelope, because the canyons are so crowded. Dogs, drones, alcohol and firearms are all banned on tribal park land.

This canyon has a deadly history. On August 12, 1997, a flash flood killed 11 tourists in Lower Antelope Canyon. Very little rain fell at the canyon that day, but a thunderstorm upstream sent water down the basin. The old wooden ladders were swept away. Wikipedia reports that the ladders are now bolted in place, cargo nets are installed at the top, and the fee booth keeps a NOAA weather radio and an alarm horn. Even so, rain far away can still fill the slot with little warning. The Navajo Nation says flash floods are most likely during the July-to-September monsoon but can happen at any time. Weather closures are possible.

The canyon closes on Thanksgiving, Navajo Nation Family Day, Christmas and New Year's Day. Because the Navajo Nation uses daylight saving time and Page does not, check which time your tour ticket gives between March and November.