If you are in Las Vegas or are thinking of visiting any time soon, here is some advice for things to do if you are an outdoors type. Many people do not realize that Las Vegas is in good and close proximity to several national parks and protected spaces, and because of this proximity many travelers actually use Las Vegas as the starting point on their national parks trips. Las Vegas is positioned in the middle of the Mojave Desert, around half way across the area that is underpopulated and in between settlements. This made it a good stopover during the times when the west was being populated, where people traveling from the east coast to California could rest and restock before continuing their trip. Because of the remote nature of southwestern national parks, Las Vegas makes good sense as the logical starting point when you are visiting them. Some of the most popular destinations from Las Vegas are Bryce Canyon, Zion Canyon and The Grand Canyon, but one destination gets overlooked many times because it is not on any list of national parks. That area is Antelope Canyon outside of Page, AZ. This area of Navajo land is about 4.5 hours drive from Las Vegas.
Antelope Canyon is one of the most unique areas on earth. It is a slot canyon formed through flash flood water rushing across a sandstone base over the course of thousands of years. The sandstone erodes easily, which is how this “crack in the earth” was formed while not having continual flowing water the way other canyons are. Antelope Canyon is dry and without a river at the bottom, which gives it an eerie feeling amidst the beauty. The walls as an assortment of reds, browns and oranges and are gritty to the touch, feeling like compressed sand. The floor is a loose sand and dirt mixture, and the wally tower above you allowing only the direct above light to make it down. At certain times of the year the sun’s position will be right to allow light beams to make it all the way to the floor of the canyon. This makes for a magnificent photograph that looks like another planet, and which can be made even more spectacular by throwing handfulls of sand up and through the beams for the photograph. There are tours to Antelope Canyon that are specifically for photography, where hours can be spent setting up the perfect shot and waiting for the sunbeam to be in the perfect position. While ours are not “photographic tours” where we will spend that much time, they are still going to provide you with ample time to photograph the walls and light beams during our walking tours. Antelope Canyon is one of the most beautiful places in the world, and should not be missed if you have made it to the Las Vegas area. We offer Antelope Canyon tours as part of our larger multi-day tours that also include additional national parks.