I had been wanting to explore Horseshoe Bend and Slot Canyon so Arvin and I decided to finally make it happen! We flew from New York to Vegas, rented a car and drove to Antelope Canyon (which was around a 4 hour drive - one way). We spent a total of 3 days there which gave us enough time to see everything we wanted to without getting bored.

We got lucky and discovered a company called: Horseshoe Bend Slot Canyon Tours : which allowed us to visit a secret slot canyon - avoiding the large crowds from Upper and Lower Antelope. We were also given a private Navajo viewpoint of Horseshoe Bend located immediately adjacent to the congested National Park Service viewing area. With less than a 100 meter walk from the truck to the private Horseshoe Bend Overlook - we had the place all to ourselves at sunset.

The tour began with boarding a shaded, open-air, 4x4 tour truck and taking a short three-mile drive from Page, AZ on Highway 89. We exited the highway and enjoyed a thrilling six-mile off-road adventure drive through sandy washes, rolling hills to arrive south of Lake Powell in Antelope Canyon. We then proceeded with a 300-meter nature walk to the entrance of one of the longest slot canyons to be toured on the Navajo Nation. We had up to an hour to photograph and meander through the slot canyon and back out to the vehicle for the return ride back to the Horseshoe Bend Overlook on Navajo land.

The highlight was avoiding the congested public parking lot for the Overlook as well as avoiding the large crowds. The undulating sandstone provided various angles and views of the Colorado River.

I’d advise booking accomodation in advance - Amangiri as Wyndham Hotel in Page are popular places to stay at.