Day #3 – Horseshoe Bend

Today was another early morning! 5am alarm to get ready, pack, head to Starbucks, get gas, and get on the road. From Flagstaff its a 2.25 hour drive to Page, AZ to visit Horseshoe Bend and Antelope Canyon.

Travel Tip

There is a time zone change between Flagstaff and Page depending on daylight savings time. Call a few days before your tour (assuming you are heading to Upper & Lower Antelope Canyon) and ask your tour company if they are in the same time zone as Flagstaff or not. I didn’t know this until I was on the road and had no service to call. Luckily, I still made my tour.

Horseshoe Bend

After realizing I left a little too early from Flagstaff and the time zone change was in my favor, I had an extra hour before my tour so I headed to Horseshoe Bend. Horseshoe Bend and the Antelope Canyons are about 10-15 minutes away from each other.

I thought Horseshoe Bend would be simple: park the car, walk 1 minute, take a few pictures and leave. Nope, I was wrong. There’s a hike involved! It’s only a little 3/4-mile hike, but its still worth noting.

Horseshoe Bend Tips

Arrive early. The crowds get larger as the day goes on. I arrived as 8:30am and there was at least 50 people already there. Maybe 100.
Plan to walk/hike. There is a 0.75 mile walk/hike from the parking lot to the photo area. You can wear flip flops for the walk/hike but just know that you’ll need 15-20 minutes of walking time each way. I’d suggest giving yourself at least an hour to properly see the canyon without feeling rushed.
Decide how important lighting is. The lighting wasn’t great at 8:30am. There were tons of shadows in my photos but less people to push through. I’d assume mid-day and early afternoon would be better for photos but harder to avoid the crowds.
Bring your camera equipment. If possible, a fish eye less would’ve taken a better shot. Is there an app for that? I didn’t have a fancy camera, just my iPhone 5 and a selfie stick and I think my photos were great.
Use the bathrooms before you come. There are no bathrooms on site. After 2.25 hours in the car, I needed to go. There’s a visitor center nearby and a gas station halfway between Horseshoe Bend and the Antelope Canyon tours.