How to Get to Antelope Canyon from Las Vegas, Phoenix and Page
Antelope Canyon is not a place you can drive into. It sits on Navajo Nation land just outside Page, Arizona, and Navajo Nation Parks & Recreation allows visits only on a guided tour: personal vehicles are not even allowed at the Upper canyon. So “getting to Antelope Canyon” really means two trips. First you get yourself to Page. Then you get to the check-in desk of whichever operator you booked, and the operator takes it from there.
The first leg is long from almost everywhere. Page is about 275 miles from Las Vegas and roughly 275 miles from Phoenix, around four and a half hours of driving either way, and the nearest big airports are those two. The second leg is short, usually ten to thirty minutes, but it is easy to get wrong, because the canyons are spread along two highways, each operator starts somewhere different, and the clocks around Page do not agree with each other.
This guide covers both legs: the drives from Las Vegas and Phoenix, flying into Page, the time-zone trap that makes people miss tours they have paid for, and exactly where each kind of tour begins.
Where Antelope Canyon actually is
“Antelope Canyon” is a wash that runs north to Lake Powell, with several separate slot canyons along it. The tribal park that manages them, Lake Powell Navajo Tribal Park, sits just east of Page. What matters for getting there is that each section has its own operators and its own starting point:
| Section | Who runs it | Where you check in | How you reach the slot |
|---|---|---|---|
| Upper Antelope Canyon | Several Navajo operators | An office in Page, or the tribal park gate on Highway 98 | Operator’s truck or van |
| Lower Antelope Canyon | Ken’s Tours and Dixie’s | Their own sites, east of Page on Highway 98 | On foot from the check-in booth |
| Canyon X | Taadidiin Tours only | Milepost 308 on Highway 98 | Short walk from the office |
| Secret Antelope Canyon | Horseshoe Bend Slot Canyon Tours | Off US-89 south of Page | Off-road truck |
| The lake end of the canyon | Kayak outfitters | Antelope Point public launch ramp | Kayak, then on foot |
You cannot walk from one canyon into another, and most tours cover only one. Decide which canyon you are booking before you plan the drive; our Upper vs Lower guide compares them.
Driving from Las Vegas
Las Vegas is where most visitors start. Dixie’s, one of the two Lower Antelope operators, puts the canyon at about 275 miles from Las Vegas, or roughly 4 hours 30 minutes without stops.
The usual route:
- I-15 north out of Las Vegas, through the corner of Arizona and the Virgin River Gorge, into Utah towards St. George.
- Southeast through Kanab, cutting across southern Utah.
- US-89 south into Page, with Lake Powell opening up as you approach town.
Many people route through Zion National Park on the way, which adds time but little distance. If you do, treat it as a two-day trip rather than a detour.
Can you do it in a day? Technically. Round-trip driving is about 9 hours, before you add the tour itself, so at least one leg will be in the dark. The operators who see these visitors every day recommend at least one night in Page. If your schedule really only allows one day, book an early-to-midday tour so you are not racing sunset on the way back, or let someone else do the driving on a guided day tour (more on those below).
Antelope Canyon Tours, which calls itself the oldest canyon tour company in Page, gives the drive from Las Vegas and Phoenix as 5hrs rather than four and a half. Budget for the longer figure: fuel stops, roadworks and a slow lunch in Kanab add up.
Driving from Phoenix and Flagstaff
From Phoenix it is roughly 275 miles and about four and a half hours, and there is only one sensible way:
- I-17 north to Flagstaff, climbing out of the Sonoran Desert. Flagstaff is about 2 hours 15 minutes in.
- US-89 north from Flagstaff, across open high desert along the western edge of the Navajo Nation, straight into Page.
Coming this way you pass the Horseshoe Bend turnoff just before town, which makes it an easy stop on the way in. A night in Flagstaff splits the drive neatly if you are arriving late.
Phoenix and Flagstaff are on the same clock as Page all year, which makes this the simplest approach for timing.
Flying in: Page or a hub
The closest airport is Page Municipal Airport (PGA), in town. The National Park Service notes that Page is served by a commercial airline and that rental cars are available at the airport; Dixie’s lists Contour Airlines with daily flights from Phoenix, and Avis and Hertz on site. Most travelers still fly into a hub and drive, because the hubs have far more flights and usually lower fares.
Drive times to Page, from Dixie’s airport comparison:
| Airport | Drive to Page | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Page Municipal (PGA) | In town | Daily flights from Phoenix; car rental on site |
| Flagstaff Pulliam (FLG) | About 2 hr 15 min | Small regional airport |
| St. George Regional (SGU) | About 2 hr 45 min | Handy if Zion is on the trip |
| Las Vegas Harry Reid (LAS) | About 4 hr 30 min | The most flights; pairs with Zion and Bryce |
| Phoenix Sky Harbor (PHX) | About 4 hr 30 min | Pairs with Sedona and the Grand Canyon |
| Salt Lake City (SLC) | About 6 hours | Only if fares are much better |
Phoenix also allows a hybrid: fly into Sky Harbor and connect to Page rather than driving. Whichever you choose, you will want a car in Page. Lower Antelope Canyon’s operators do not run shuttles from town, and the other sights are spread out.
One practical rule from the operators: book the canyon first, then the flights. Tour times are fixed and limited, and it is far easier to build travel around a confirmed slot than to find a slot that fits flights you have already bought.
The time-zone trap
This is the single most common way people miss an Antelope Canyon tour, so it is worth getting straight before you leave.
- Page is on Mountain Standard Time all year. Like the rest of Arizona, it does not observe daylight saving time. It is always the same time as Phoenix and Flagstaff.
- The Navajo Nation does observe daylight saving. Its land starts just outside Page, and the canyons are on it.
- Utah observes daylight saving too, and the state line is only a few miles north of Page.
- In 2026, daylight saving runs March 8 to November 1. In winter everyone shows the same time; from March to early November, Page is one hour behind its neighbors.
How that lines up with where you are coming from, from March to early November:
| Starting point | Compared with Page |
|---|---|
| Phoenix, Flagstaff, Sedona, Grand Canyon | Same time |
| Las Vegas | Same time (one hour behind Page in winter) |
| Kanab, Zion, Bryce Canyon, St. George | One hour ahead |
| Monument Valley and the Navajo Nation | One hour ahead |
Now the part that catches people. The tour operators run on Page time, even though the canyons are on the Navajo Nation. Antelope Canyon Tours says its tours run on Arizona time, the same as Phoenix. Taadidiin Tours at Canyon X says it does not operate on daylight saving time and is the same time as Page all year. Dixie’s says the time on your booking is the time in Page. The kayak outfitters state their meeting times in Arizona time.
Meanwhile your phone sets its clock from the nearest cell tower, and around Page that tower may be on the Navajo Nation or across the line in Utah. In summer your phone can jump an hour ahead without warning, sometimes while you are standing in the operator’s parking lot. The fix:
- Set your phone’s time zone manually to Phoenix while you are in the area, and switch it back when you leave.
- Ignore the rental car’s clock.
- Read the confirmation and treat the time on it as Page time.
- Coming from Utah or Monument Valley in summer, remember you gain an hour on the way in.
From Page to each canyon
Once you are in Page, the last leg depends entirely on what you booked.
Upper Antelope Canyon
You cannot drive to the Upper canyon yourself; personal vehicles are not allowed there, and you ride in the operator’s vehicle. There are two kinds of starting point:
- An office in town. Antelope Canyon Tours, for example, meets and departs from 22 South Lake Powell Blvd in Page. Your car stays at the office, and the drive to the canyon takes 20 minutes, half on paved road and half on dirt. Check-in is 30 minutes before tour time.
- The tribal park entrance. Antelope Canyon Navajo Tours is at the entrance to the tribal park, 3 miles east of Page off Highway 98, with a 15-minute shuttle each way to the canyon.
The trucks and vans are rugged and the dirt section is bumpy. Antelope Slot Canyon Tours uses enclosed, climate-controlled 4x4 vans, which is worth knowing if anyone in your group minds dust or heat.
Lower Antelope Canyon
Lower Antelope is the one you drive to yourself. Both operators are just east of town on Highway 98; Dixie’s says its site is less than 10 minutes from Page. Parking is free, with room for RVs and buses, and there is no shuttle from town.
Arrive 45 minutes before your tour time to check in and sign the waiver, then walk roughly 10 minutes from the booth to the canyon entrance. In total you spend about 1.5 hours at the site for a one-hour walk.
Canyon X
Canyon X is farther out: Taadidiin Tours’ office is right off Highway 98 at Milepost 308, about 12 miles east of Page, at the southern end of the Antelope Canyon wash. There is no pick-up service. Arrive 30 minutes early for the waiver and check-in. GPS directions have been known to go wrong, so search for the operator by name rather than relying on an address.
Secret Antelope Canyon
This tour starts on the other side of town: 3 miles south of Page on US-89, 0.4 miles south of the Horseshoe Bend Overlook. From there an off-road truck drives 6 miles (approximately 30 minutes) across Navajo land to the trailhead. Allow about 2 hours in all.
The lake end, by kayak
The kayak-and-hike tours meet at the Antelope Point public launch ramp. The National Park Service directions: three miles east of Page on AZ Highway 98, then north on BIA Hwy N22B. It is about 9 miles by road, roughly 15 minutes. Note that one outfitter specifically says it does not launch from Antelope Point Marina, so check the confirmation.
Because Antelope Point is inside Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, your vehicle needs a park pass: $30 per week per passenger vehicle, and the park does not accept cash. This is the one Antelope Canyon trip where a national park pass helps; at the Navajo canyons it is not accepted.
Without a car
It can be done, but it is awkward:
- Public transportation around Page, Wahweap and Antelope Point is provided by the Helping Hands Agency, according to the National Park Service.
- Upper Antelope from town works without a car of your own, because the operator drives you from its office to the canyon.
- Lower Antelope and Canyon X are a drive east of town, and neither operator runs a shuttle. A taxi can get you to the check-in, but you will need one back too.
- From Las Vegas, Antelope Canyon Tours says plainly that it does not pick up in Las Vegas or the surrounding areas. If you have no car, a guided day tour from Las Vegas is the realistic option.
Day tours from Las Vegas
A guided day tour from Las Vegas solves three problems at once: the 9 hours of driving, the time-zone arithmetic, and the booking of a Navajo-permitted canyon tour. The trade-off is a very long day and a fixed schedule.
Before you book one, check:
- Which canyon. Upper, Lower, Canyon X and Secret Antelope Canyon are different places with different walks. The listing should name it.
- Whether the Navajo fee is included. Navajo Nation Parks charges $15 per person, per location, per day. Some tours fold it in; others collect it on the day.
- Time inside the canyon. One Upper operator says it spends on average 30 to 40 minutes inside the slot; Lower Antelope walks run 60 to 90 minutes. Compare that, not the length of the day.
- What else is on the itinerary. Many add Horseshoe Bend, which costs nothing extra in time if it is on the way.
The tours page lists the day tours alongside the tours that start in Page.
Adding Horseshoe Bend
Horseshoe Bend is the natural partner to Antelope Canyon, and it is close:
- Where: the parking lot is off US Highway 89 about 5 miles (8 km) south of Page.
- Parking: the lot is on city land, and the City of Page charges $10 for a car, truck or RV and $5 for a motorcycle. Park passes are not accepted for parking.
- The walk: 1.5 miles (2.4 km) round trip on a hardened path, about 20 minutes each way, with two shade structures but none at the overlook.
- Hours: the lot is open from sunrise to sunset.
- No stopping on the highway: Highway 89 is a 65 mph road, parking along it is banned, and the city prohibits drop-offs and pickups at the entrance.
Summer temperatures at the overlook can exceed 100°F (37°C), so go early or late, not at midday. That fits well around a canyon tour: Horseshoe Bend at sunrise, a canyon tour mid-morning, or the reverse in the late afternoon.
Three ways to plan the trip
One night in Page (the easy way). Drive up from Las Vegas or Phoenix, arrive in the afternoon, see Horseshoe Bend near sunset. Take your canyon tour the next morning and drive back. Nothing is rushed, and the time zone has a whole evening to sink in.
Two canyons in a day. Upper and Lower are separate tours a short drive apart. Book them with a comfortable gap, remember you cannot hike from one to the other, and keep your Navajo fee receipt from the first: Dixie’s will refund the $15.00 fee at Lower Antelope if you already paid it at Upper, Canyon X or Waterhole Canyon the same business day.
Las Vegas in one day. Possible, but long: about 9 hours of driving plus the tour. Leave before dawn, book a midday slot, and be clear whether Page is on the same time as Las Vegas (summer) or one hour ahead (winter). A guided tour from Las Vegas is the calmer version of this day.
Before you set off
- Booking confirmation for a named canyon and a time, read as Page time.
- Phone set to Phoenix time.
- Navajo fee: know whether it is included or due on the day.
- No bags, no tripods: most canyon tours allow neither; our tickets and prices guide lists each operator’s rules.
- A park pass or $30 only if you are kayaking from Antelope Point.
- Water and closed-toe shoes, whichever canyon you visit.
Frequently asked questions
How far is Antelope Canyon from Las Vegas?
About 275 miles, or roughly four and a half hours of driving each way via I-15 and US-89 through Kanab. A same-day round trip means about 9 hours in the car before the tour.
How far is Antelope Canyon from Phoenix?
Roughly 275 miles and about four and a half hours by car, north on I-17 to Flagstaff and then US-89 to Page. Flagstaff is about 2 hours 15 minutes into the drive.
What is the closest airport to Antelope Canyon?
Page Municipal Airport (PGA), in town, with daily flights from Phoenix. Most visitors fly into Las Vegas or Phoenix instead, each about 4 hours 30 minutes away by car.
Can you drive yourself to Antelope Canyon?
To Lower Antelope Canyon and Canyon X, yes: you drive to the operator’s site and walk in with a guide. To Upper Antelope Canyon, no: you drive to the operator’s office or the tribal park gate and ride the rest of the way in its vehicle.
What time zone is Antelope Canyon in?
The tours run on Page time, which is Mountain Standard Time all year, the same as Phoenix. The surrounding Navajo Nation and Utah observe daylight saving, so from March to early November your phone may show an hour later than Page.
Is there a shuttle from Page or Las Vegas?
Not from the canyon operators: the Lower Antelope operators do not run shuttles from town, and Antelope Canyon Tours does not pick up in Las Vegas. Upper Antelope tours drive you from their own office or the tribal park entrance, and guided day tours run from Las Vegas.