ANTELOPE CANYON
By Kayak
DISTANCE
13 km
out and back
TIME
4h
ELEVATION
0
Altitude: 1113m
Although there's - logically - no elevation gain, the time and distance to reach ground can vary a lot due to water level changes.
ESSENTIALS
SEASON
(of the report)
YOU'LL NEED
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Sunscreen + hat
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Strong arms
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Waterproof bags
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Swimsuits
BEFORE GOING:
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Check the weather. You'll be in a narrow canyon most of the time, even on a kayak you just don't want to have even a tinny chance of flash flood.
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It may sound obvious but you'll have to rent a kayak at Antelope Point Marina. It means that you shouldn't arrive too late because if I remember well at 3 p.m. they stop renting for the day to make sure everybody has the time to come back. Oh and I said a kayak because 1. You can't reach the end of the canyon with a boat. 2. I'm an environmental sciences student remember? :) 3. That's super exercise, your body will be grateful!
WHEN TO GO?
We did it two times in summer and it was perfect to escape Arizona's heat. Again, it will be crucial to check the weather conditions and ask someone at the marina about the water level, it can add some serious mileage to your trip, I can tell you... this is worse on water than anywhere else!
START - ANTELOPE POINT MARINA
You'll start on the lake and I suggest to follow directly the left shore as it is where the canyon will be onwards. I have to say it's kind of difficult in the beginning because as you're on a pretty large stretch you don't feel you're progressing. On the other hand, it's easy to avoid the boats you'll cross. For this first portion it took us about 40 minutes to reach the entry of Antelope Canyon.
At this point it is important to mention that the day of this report there was a lot of wind which made the canyon really wavy and more difficult to progress in.
The first part of the canyon is still broad enough to let boats pass, you'll have to be careful because there's a lot of turns which makes it complicated to anticipate. After 40 minutes you'll feel that the canyon is getting narrower every corner, this will also be a part where soon only kayaks can access!
I can't tell you exactly when you'll reach that point and even if you'll succeed. Some years ago we already tried to do it but we couldn't go further as it appeared there had been a flash flood some days before that dragged a lot of wood and wreckage, making it impassable.
Anyway, if you can go until the most narrow part you'll be rewarded by spectacular views and a there's a big chance you'll be all alone to enjoy them. Also it's kind of funny to navigate and be squeezed between pink cliffs, you'll need some coordination with your kayak partner (we rented a double kayak - a really good exercise for couples to communicate). After 40 minutes we finally reached ground and had the best lunch place ever (well, we had a few of them through our trips but this one is pretty special). We walked a little bit further up the canyon but didn't try to reach the famous lower Antelope as it could have been very far. Also keep in mind that you still have to row back all the way to the marina. TIP : take your flip-flops when walking in the canyon, I almost burned my feet.
As I told you before you'll feel squeezed in the canyon but please, don't try to turn your kayak around in the (too) narrow part. On our way back to the marina, a guy did it and it was a mess even just to try and help him because he was literally blocked with his kayak in between the two cliffs, consequently blocking all of us. Eventually someone freed him and made this traffic jam end.
As we were approaching the lake and so the broader section it got really hard to row because of the wind picking up. To give you an idea, it took us 1h40 to do a section we did in 1h the other way around. Just before we reached the lake there was a boat from Antelope's point marina that came to pick us up, they anticipated that it would be difficult to come back with strong winds. I'm super happy they did so I can keep a beautiful memory of this day!
I just want to add a last paragraph about the choice of using kayaks instead of boats. First of all, as I said before this is the only way to reach the end of the canyon. But also, it's much more respectful of the environment and moreover you'll feel proud of yourself to have reached a wild part of a well known canyon all by your arms strength. Nature appreciates that, thank you!
