Grand Canyon to Antelope Canyon: Drive and Route

Grand Canyon South Rim to Antelope Canyon is about 130 miles and takes roughly two and a half hours, heading east on Desert View Drive and then north on US-89 to Page, Arizona.

The two canyons are close enough that visiting both in one trip is straightforward, and they are different enough that neither feels like a repeat of the other.

Grand Canyon to Antelope Canyon at a glance

From the South Rim

Leave Grand Canyon Village heading east on Desert View Drive (AZ-64). This is the better route by a wide margin, because it runs along the rim with several overlooks before exiting the park at Desert View, where the Watchtower stands.

From the east entrance, AZ-64 continues to Cameron, where you join US-89 north for the final stretch into Page. Cameron Trading Post is a natural stop for fuel and food.

From the North Rim

The North Rim is a very different proposition. It sits higher, gets far fewer visitors, and closes to vehicle traffic for roughly half the year, generally from mid-October until mid-May depending on snow.

When it is open, the drive runs north on AZ-67, east on US-89A across Marble Canyon and the Navajo Bridge, and then south on US-89 into Page. It is a spectacular drive and takes about the same time as the South Rim route.

Check current North Rim status with the National Park Service before planning around it.

Doing both canyons in one trip

They complement each other well. The Grand Canyon is about vastness and standing at a rim looking out. Antelope Canyon is the opposite experience, narrow and enclosed, where you are down inside the rock with walls within arm’s reach.

A workable plan is Grand Canyon in the morning, drive to Page in the afternoon, canyon tour the next morning. That avoids trying to squeeze a fixed tour time onto the end of a long driving day.

Worth stopping for

• Desert View Watchtower — on the way out of the park, and the last big rim view you will get.

• Cameron Trading Post — a long-standing stop on US-89 with Navajo-made work and a restaurant.

• Navajo Bridge — if routing via US-89A from the North Rim, worth the stop.

• Horseshoe Bend — just outside Page, about twelve minutes from the canyon.

Booking your tour

Unlike the Grand Canyon, Antelope Canyon is on Navajo Nation land and requires an authorized Navajo guide. You cannot drive up and walk in, and tours fill weeks ahead in summer.

See our Upper vs Lower Antelope Canyon comparison if you are choosing between the two, then reserve your tour. Our guide to getting to Page, Arizona has drive times from everywhere else nearby.