Why go
Around the small town of Page, three famous sights sit within half an hour of each other. Antelope Canyon is a narrow slot of rippled sandstone lit from above. Horseshoe Bend is a 1,000-foot drop to a perfect loop of the Colorado River. Lake Powell fills a maze of flooded canyons and is best seen by boat.
Further out are the big parks. Zion is a deep green canyon between red walls, Bryce is an amphitheatre of orange rock spires at high altitude, and Monument Valley, on Navajo land, is the skyline of every Western you have seen.
When to go
April, May, late September and October are the best months, with warm days and cool nights. July and August are very hot around Page, often above 100 degrees, and summer storms can bring flash floods that close the slot canyons at short notice. Winter is cold, clear and quiet, with snow on the rocks at Bryce.
Where to base yourself
The area around Page and Lake Powell is the base for Antelope Canyon, Horseshoe Bend and the lake, and Monument Valley is about two hours east. Zion and Bryce are each roughly two to two and a half hours away, so they work better with their own nights: Springdale for Zion, and a lodge near the rim for Bryce. Kanab, in between, is a useful small town for a stop.
What we would build into your trip
A slot canyon walk with a Navajo guide, timed for the middle of the day when the light reaches the canyon floor. Horseshoe Bend early or late, when it is cooler and calmer. A private boat on Lake Powell to reach the side canyons, and a morning in Monument Valley with a Navajo guide who can take you beyond the public loop road. In Zion we plan around the park shuttle, and a helicopter or small plane is a good way to see how the whole landscape fits together.
Good to know
Antelope Canyon can only be visited with an authorised Navajo tour operator, and the popular times sell out, so we book ahead. Horseshoe Bend is a 1.5-mile round-trip walk with little shade, and the car park charges its own fee. Zion's main canyon road is closed to private cars for most of the year and served by a shuttle.
Page has a small airport with flights from Phoenix. Otherwise it is a drive of about four and a half hours from Las Vegas or Phoenix. Clocks are confusing here: Utah and the Navajo Nation change for summer time and the rest of Arizona does not, so check which time your tour is using. The North Rim of the Grand Canyon lost its lodge to wildfire in 2025 and has only partly reopened, so we check before including it.