Page, Arizona

Page is a small town in northern Arizona on a mesa above Lake Powell. Reclamation built it in 1957 to house the workers who poured the Glen Canyon Dam. Today Page is the base for three of the most photographed places in the Southwest: Antelope Canyon, just east of town on Navajo land, Horseshoe Bend and the lake.

The things to do in Page each run on different rules. Antelope Canyon needs a Navajo guide, and Horseshoe Bend is a city car park and a short walk. Lake Powell sits at about a quarter of its capacity in 2026. We checked every price and status here on 26 October 2026 on the operators', the city's and the Park Service's own pages.

Where do Antelope Canyon tours start from Page?

Antelope Canyon tours start a few miles east of Page, from operator offices in town or from the companies' own sites on Highway 98, because the canyon lies on Navajo land outside the city. Every visit needs an authorised Navajo guide and a Navajo fee of $15 per person, per location, per day. On 26 October 2026 tours started at $80.50 for Lower Antelope and ran from $85 to $135 for Upper.

Our Antelope Canyon guide compares Upper, Lower, Canyon X and Secret Antelope, and lists which operators include the fee in their price. It also covers the light beams, the bag rules and the flood closures. Book before the trip: from March to October the midday Upper tours sell out days ahead.

How long is the walk to Horseshoe Bend?

The walk to Horseshoe Bend is 1.5 miles there and back on a hardened, step-free path. It takes about 20 minutes each way, and the City of Page gives about 137 feet of elevation gain. The overlook stands roughly 1,000 feet above the Colorado River where it loops around a sandstone butte.

The bend lies inside Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, but the car park belongs to the City of Page, off US 89 between mile markers 544 and 545. Parking costs $10 for a car or a motorhome and $5 for a motorcycle. Pay in cash or by physical card: the city stopped taking tap-to-pay, and the national park pass does not cover it.

The gate opens from sunrise to sunset, and the city warns that times may vary. Its tourism site adds that payment is cash only on holiday weekends. The second half of the trail and the overlook stand on Navajo Nation land, though Horseshoe Bend is not a Navajo tribal park, and our Horseshoe Bend guide covers the walk in full.

The trail has two shade shelters, the overlook has none, and the walk has no water anywhere. Railings stand only on the viewing platform, so the rest of the rim edge is open. The City of Page's visitor site says the city may require a shuttle once the lot is full on holidays and busy weekends; its Horseshoe Bend site does not mention one, and an emergency ordinance bans drop-offs at the entrance and along US 89.

How low is Lake Powell in 2026?

Lake Powell sits at about a quarter of its capacity in 2026. On 24 October its surface stood at 3,526 feet, 174 feet below full pool. At the end of September it reached 3,518 feet and 22 percent of live capacity. The Bureau of Reclamation expects it to fall below 3,510 feet during the 2027 water year.

The low water shuts most of the south end of the lake to motorboats. Wahweap Stateline Auxiliary is the only ramp near Page that still takes them. Wahweap Main and Antelope Point launch kayaks and paddleboards only, at the paddler's own risk.

Lake Powell Resorts has suspended its boat tours from Wahweap to Rainbow Bridge and into Antelope Canyon, while its scenic dam cruise and dinner cruise still run. Antelope Point Marina still sells a one-hour Antelope Canyon boat tour from $50.

Rainbow Bridge, a natural bridge in Forbidding Canyon, lies about 50 miles up the lake, three to four hours each way by speedboat. Its dock no longer reaches the shore. Boaters beach or wade through mud and then walk about a mile to the bridge.

Kayaking into the lake end of Antelope Canyon still works from Antelope Point Marina, where Paddle Lake Powell rents boats. The canyon arm is wakeless at all times, and the Glen Canyon entrance fee applies.

What does Glen Canyon charge, and what is open at the dam?

Glen Canyon National Recreation Area charges $30 per car for seven days, $25 per motorcycle and $15 per person on foot or by bicycle. Its entrances take no cash. Glen Canyon is not one of the eleven parks with the $100 non-resident surcharge, and the America the Beautiful pass covers its entrance fee.

The dam itself, 710 feet high and finished in 1963 or 1964, depending on the agency, stands next to town. The Carl Hayden Visitor Center beside it opens daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Arizona time, but tours inside the dam have stopped. The Glen Canyon Dam Overlook, on Scenic View Drive, is a 940-foot walk down rock steps with handrails. It ends at a view of the dam face and the river below.

Lees Ferry, 43 to 45 miles from Page by US 89 and 89A in the Park Service's two figures, is where rafting trips through the Grand Canyon put in. It has no separate fee, only a Glen Canyon entrance with a card-only machine, open around the clock. Its first-come campground costs $26 a night.

Can you get a permit for the Wave from Page?

The Wave, the striped sandstone of Coyote Buttes North near the Utah line, needs a Bureau of Land Management permit for every hiker. Page lies inside the area where visitors can enter the daily lottery. The BLM allows 64 people a day: 48 from an advance lottery and 16 from the daily one.

• Advance lottery: apply on Recreation.gov four months ahead, with up to three dates and a group of up to six.
• Daily lottery: apply by phone from inside a geofence along US 89 between Kanab and Page, two days before the hike, between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. Utah time.

Each application costs a non-refundable $6, and a winning one pays $7 per person per day. The daily lottery runs on Utah time, an hour ahead of Page from March to early November. That is the Antelope Canyon clock trap in reverse.

Which clock do Page's tours run on?

Page's tours run on Arizona time, which is Mountain Standard Time all year, and that is where visitors miss their slots. Arizona does not move its clocks. The Navajo Nation, which includes Antelope Canyon, does.

From 8 March to 1 November 2026, a phone near Antelope Canyon may pick up a Navajo tower and jump an hour ahead of Page. At least seven Antelope Canyon operators state that their tour times are in Arizona time, and the Park Service advises setting devices to Arizona time for Antelope Canyon and Page. Read the time zone on the booking confirmation, not on the phone.

The Navajo clock does matter one way. The Wave lottery and anything booked in Utah, including Zion and Bryce Canyon, run on daylight time in summer.

When is Page too hot for the slot canyons?

Page is too hot for comfort from June to August, when July averages a high of 97°F. The slot canyons carry flash-flood risk from July to September. The averages below are NOAA's 1991 to 2020 normals for the Page station, at about 4,270 feet.

The danger in a slot canyon is rain that falls out of sight. In 1997 a distant thunderstorm sent a flood into a slot near Lake Powell that killed eleven hikers, an event the National Weather Service files as the Antelope Canyon flash flood. That is why tours stop when a warning goes out. April, May, late September and October are warm without that risk at its peak. Winter is cold and mostly dry.

How far is Page from the Grand Canyon, Zion and Monument Valley?

Page sits between the big parks of Arizona and Utah, about two hours from most of them, which is why so many loops pass through it. The distances below are approximate road distances from the centre of Page.

Page's airport has Contour Airlines flights to Phoenix and Las Vegas. Fill the tank in Page before heading south. The Grand Canyon's only service station is at Desert View, and the North Rim has no fuel at all in 2026.

Where do you sleep in Page?

Page has around 40 places to stay, with about 3,000 rooms between them, not counting the campgrounds. Lake Powell Resort sits at Wahweap Marina, eight miles from town, with an RV park and campground a short walk away.

Lone Rock Beach lies 12 miles north, on the Utah side of the state line. It offers primitive camping on the lakeshore at $14 a vehicle a night on top of the entrance fee, with no reservations. The Park Service warns that the roads turn to deep sand past the pavement. One Upper Antelope operator also rents a hogan, a traditional Navajo house, from $189 a night.

Page is the middle stop of our Southwest national parks loop, between Bryce Canyon and the Grand Canyon. Zion National Park is about 117 miles away. Page is also one of the main stops on any trip around Arizona.