Kayak Antelope Canyon on Lake Powell: 2026 Guide

The water end of Antelope Canyon is a winding, high-walled arm of Lake Powell that you can paddle into from Antelope Point, just outside Page, Arizona. It is a different experience from a slot canyon tour: open sky, tall sandstone walls, and still water, and on guided trips, a walk up the sandy canyon floor where the water ends. Low water has made launching harder in 2026, but kayak tours and rentals are running.

Conditions on Lake Powell change with the water level, so treat the details below as a snapshot from fall 2026 and confirm with your outfitter before you go.

Kayaking Antelope Canyon at a glance

Is this the same as Lower Antelope Canyon?

No. The famous slot canyon tours, Upper and Lower Antelope Canyon, are reached by road and require a Navajo guide. Paddling takes you into the canyon's lower reach, where it meets Lake Powell. Here the canyon is wider, with tall walls and open sky, and it narrows as the water runs out.

The two are different enough that many visitors do both, and they are close together: the road to Antelope Point leaves Highway 98 at the same turnoff as our check-in for Lower Antelope Canyon.

Launching in 2026: what low water means

Lake Powell has been running at roughly a quarter of its capacity in 2026, and that has changed how you get on the water at Antelope Point:

• The public launch ramp is open to kayaks, paddleboards, and other hand-launched craft only, and you launch at your own risk. Motorboats cannot launch there.
• The ramp is just under a quarter mile long, and the water stops about 60 feet short of its end. To reach the lake, you carry your boat down a steep, sandy, rocky hill, and back up afterward.
• Antelope Point Marina itself remains open, and boat tours run from it.

A few tips for the hill: go slowly, use your paddle as a walking stick, and give way to people carrying boats. On guided tours, the guides handle the boats. Rental customers may be asked to help carry gear on busy days.

Guided tour or rental?

A guided kayak tour is the easiest way in. The common format runs about four hours, with roughly 5 miles of paddling round trip and about 2 miles of walking up the canyon floor, and typically costs around $110 to $120 per adult in 2026. Outfitters running this trip include Kayak Lake Powell, Hidden Canyon Kayak, and Lake Powell Adventure Co., with morning departures that beat the wind. Some also offer shorter paddle-only trips.

Renting costs less and gives you freedom, from about $60 a day for a kayak or paddleboard, and some outfitters deliver to the ramp. You will need to handle the hill and navigate yourself. Inside the canyon, the whole channel is a no-wake zone, but watch for boat traffic near the mouth.

Prefer a boat tour?

If paddling is not for you, Antelope Point Marina runs a boat tour into the canyon, about an hour long with no stops, from about $50 per adult in 2026. Lake Powell Resort's Antelope Canyon boat tour from Wahweap was listed as unavailable until further notice in 2026, so check before planning around it.

Wind, weather, and safety

• Go in the morning. Wind tends to build in the afternoon, often right when you are paddling back.
• Respect the monsoon. Storms build roughly July through September. This canyon is the drainage for Antelope Creek, the same water that flash flooded Lower Antelope Canyon in 1997 and killed 11 people. If storms threaten, get off the water and out of the canyon.
• Wear a life jacket, carry water and sun protection, and check the forecast the morning of your trip.

Fees and getting there

From Page, drive east on Highway 98 and turn left at the Antelope Point Marina turnoff, the same road as our check-in. Antelope Point is on the Navajo Nation, and the gate charges its own entrance fee, about $30 per vehicle for one to seven days in 2026. Ask your outfitter whether it is included in your tour price.

One more thing to check: Antelope Point is on the Navajo Nation, which observes daylight saving time, while Page and our tours keep Arizona time. From March to early November, confirm which clock your kayak tour uses. Our Page time zone guide explains why.

Pairing a paddle with Lower Antelope Canyon

1. Morning: a guided kayak tour, launching early while the water is calm.
2. Lunch: back in Page. See our guide to restaurants in Page.
3. Afternoon: a Lower Antelope Canyon tour, arriving 45 minutes early for check-in. Leave plenty of buffer after the kayak tour and the climb back up the hill.

For more on the lake, see Lake Powell and Antelope Canyon, and for planning by season, our Antelope Canyon weather guide.

Launch conditions, prices, and tour availability are as reported in mid to late 2026 and change with the lake level. Confirm with the outfitter, Antelope Point Marina, or the National Park Service before you go.