Should You Visit Upper Or Lower Antelope Canyon? - Earth Trekkers

The Bad

It Can Be More Crowded

If you read other, older blog articles, they may tell you to visit Lower Antelope Canyon because it is less crowded. This was not true in our case. We visited both canyons on the same day and both had identical crowd levels. Fewer tours are offered of Upper Antelope Canyon, so it could be less crowded, but that really depends on your timing with other tour groups.

In fact, Lower Antelope Canyon was so popular in 2017 that they experienced wait times of 1 to 3 hours just to enter the canyon. And that was even if you had a reserved time slot!

Since 2018, both Ken’s Tours and Dixie Ellis’ Tours offer fewer tours per day to cut down on waiting times to enter the lower canyon. They anticipate waiting times of no longer than 30 minutes to enter the canyon (as opposed to 1 to 3 hours) for peak season. This also means that fewer tours are offered daily. Now it is more important than ever to book your tour in advance.

So, Which One Do You Choose?

If you are looking for a fun experience and like the idea of exploring a narrow canyon, then Lower Antelope Canyon gets our vote. To avoid the worst of the crowds, visit this canyon early or later in the day, if you don’t mind missing out on the ideal lighting.

For photographers I recommend Upper Antelope Canyon. Personally, I found the upper canyon to have more of a “wow” factor than the lower canyon.

If you want to visit both canyons, I recommend visiting Upper Antelope Canyon at 10:30 am (best chance to see those light beams but make sure you book your tickets well in advance!) and Lower Antelope Canyon at 1:30 pm (even with a reservation, you might have to wait 30 minutes or longer to enter Lower Antelope Canyon midday when crowds are at their biggest).

If you want to avoid the crowds at Lower Antelope Canyon, consider booking one of the last tours of the day (although you will be sacrificing the better lighting conditions).

Whichever canyon you choose, expect large crowds of people, especially midday. The tour groups get ushered through the canyon rather quickly, making it feel like a rushed experience.

UPDATE: The popularity of these canyons has skyrocketed in recent years. To avoid disappointment, make your reservations far in advance (at a bare minimum, four months in advance, but up to six months in advance during the summer season). People have been writing in that May time slots are selling out in early February!

Canyon X

Several of our readers have let us know about a third slot canyon called Canyon X. If you are having trouble getting a time slot at upper or lower Antelope Canyon, if you want to take a photographic tour, or if you just want to visit a less crowded canyon, take a look at Canyon X. We have no personal experience but I think this one is worth a consideration, since upper and lower Antelope Canyons have become so popular and overcrowded.

Click here to learn more about Canyon X.

For more information about Canyon X, scroll down to the comment section and read Beth Wulf’s comments about what it is like to tour Canyon X. Thanks Beth!

If you have been to Canyon X and would like to share your experience, let us know in the comment section below. It would help our future readers! 🙂

Important Links

To see more of Upper Antelope Canyon, read our article How to Visit Upper Antelope Canyon.

To see more of Lower Antelope Canyon, read our article How to Visit Lower Antelope Canyon.

We used Antelope Slot Canyon Tours for our tour of the Upper canyon.

We used Ken’s Tours for our tour of the Lower canyon.

Tours of Antelope Canyon

You can also purchase entrance tickets through GetYourGuide to Upper Antelope Canyon, Lower Antelope Canyon, or Canyon X. I recommend doing this if tours are already booked for your dates of travel.

Tours & Tickets

So, which canyon will you choose? If you have visited Lower Antelope Canyon and Upper Antelope Canyon, which one was your favorite? Let us know in the comment section below.

More Information for Your Trip to Arizona

If this is part of a bigger road trip through the USA, visit our United States Travel Guide and our Arizona Travel Guide for more inspiration and travel planning tips.

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About Julie

Julie is the main author for Earth Trekkers. Hiker, foodie, wine aficionado, photographer, and triathlete, Julie loves traveling the world in search of new experiences and then sharing them on this site. Her goal is to make your travel planning process easier and to inspire you to visit new places.

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