Antelope Canyon

I went to Antelope Canyon this weekend between floods. I'm not sure what flood was worse--the rain or the tourists. For those of you who haven't been down there in a few years, the canyon is now a full-blown tourist attraction. You must now pay a $6.00 parking fee in additon to your tour fee. There were ten jeeps parked outside the entrance to the cave on Saturday, carrying 100-150 people. Amazingly, the canyon cleared briefly for some long exposure shots near the entrance, but it was a constant struggle to find a clear spot to put a tripod. The guides at least allow you to pay an additional $10.00 to stay an extra hour to photogaph. While it was still a great place to go, I can't imagine trying to shoot light beams in the summer in the height of the tourist season. As an aside, the flood waters and damage in southern Utah were truly amazing last weekend. Seeing five inches of rain in three days wasn't so great, though. Hopefully, all that rain will bring some wildflowers next spring.

I can't believe a guide would take a group into a slot canyon in these conditions. Yikes. I sure wouldn't.

Guy

That is exactly why i go to Lower Antelope Canyon. I'll agree that the lower canyon is becoming quite busy, but nothing compared to the upper. I was in the lower about 2 weeks ago. There were about 10-12 vehicles there, but at no time did i feel crowded. In fact, i pretty much had the canyon to myself, maybe only seeing 5-10 people in 4+ hours of photography.

Adam

Ditto, Upper Antelope can be exasperating with all the "non-photographer" / tourists arriving in waves. Lower Antelope is much more relaxing. Even better are the -other- slots.

Ken