In shortPaddlers put in at Antelope Point, the launch the Park Service points kayakers to, 9 road miles and about 15 minutes out of Page. The marina sits on Navajo Nation land and charges a $30 entrance fee, waived for National Park Service, Golden Age and Senior pass holders, with water departures checking in 45 minutes ahead. You paddle to the canyon mouth, then walk the last stretch.
$30marina entrance fee
45 minutescheck-in before water departures
1 hourshort lake cruise into the canyon
from $119kayak and hike tour, 4 hours
Where the lake sits beside the canyon
Lake Powell runs 186 miles long at full pool with 1,960 miles of shoreline, and the arm closest to Page pushes into the lower end of Antelope Canyon. The access point for that arm is Antelope Point, 9 road miles and about 15 minutes from Page, at 537 Marina Parkway, reached by Marina Parkway off Highway 98. Wahweap, the other base, is 8 road miles and about 14 minutes out of town on the opposite side of the lake.
Antelope Point Marina sits on Navajo Nation land and charges a $30 entrance fee to enter the marina area. According to the marina, National Park Service, Golden Age and Senior pass holders enter free, so carry the pass itself rather than a photograph of it. That fee is separate from whatever a tour costs, and it is separate again from the $15 per person, per entry charged by Lake Powell Navajo Tribal Park at the walking entrances.
Water departures from the marina check in 45 minutes before the posted time, the same lead time the boat trips use. The National Park Service treats Antelope Point as the key access point for kayakers heading for Antelope Canyon, because Wahweap sits 7.3 river miles away and is simply too far to serve paddlers. At current lake levels the Antelope Point Public Launch Ramp is closed to houseboats and small motorised boats and is open for paddlecraft launching only.
For the kayak tour listed on this site, you enter Antelope Point parking via Navajo Rte. 22B, just before Marina Pkwy, and meet the guide down by the water near the trailers. Put the address into Google Maps rather than Apple Maps, which the operator warns can send you to the wrong place.
Lake Powell boat tours into the water-filled canyon
The short cruise from Antelope Point into the flooded lower end of the canyon runs one hour, with multiple departures through the day. Antelope Canyon is a designated wakeless zone on Lake Powell, along with Labyrinth and Lost Eden Canyons and Rainbow Bridge, so the last part of the run is slow and quiet, with the walls rising straight out of the water. An antelope canyon boat tour on Lake Powell shows you the mouth and the broad lower gallery; it does not reach the narrow upper passages, which are walked on foot from the Highway 98 side.
The boat option on this site is the Antelope Canyon Photo Boating Excursion, 2 hours from $199, rated 5.0 ★ (245 reviews), with a captained boat and the fuel surcharge in the price. It launches from the Wahweap side, at the bottom of the launch ramp off 100 Wahweap Blvd in Page, where the striped bays on the left are the approved parking. Because that ramp is inside Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, the pass requirement applies to the vehicle you arrive in, at $30 per vehicle.
Take the boat if stairs and ladders are the problem. Nothing on it involves climbing, which is not true of either walking section of the canyon, and two hours on the water with a captain gives you time to work the light on the sandstone instead of moving with a group.
Lake Powell kayaking into Water Antelope Canyon
Lake Powell kayaking here means launching at the water's edge below the marina, crossing open water to the canyon mouth, then turning into the side cove where the walls narrow and close over you. The cove ends before the canyon does. You beach the kayak and walk the final stretch on sand and uneven ground to reach the water section on foot, usually with wet feet.
The guided tour listed here runs 4 hours from $119, rated 4.8 ★ (193 reviews), and supplies the kit, so you arrive with nothing but shoes you do not mind soaking. No official paddling distance is published for the route, so judge the effort by what it actually is: you paddle out and back under your own power, in a wakeless zone where there is no tow and no shortcut. Anyone who has done a few hours in a kayak before will be fine. If you have never paddled, expect the return leg to be the hard half, especially once the afternoon wind picks up across open water.
Safety rules on the lake are not negotiable. A correctly sized personal flotation device is required for every person aboard any craft on Lake Powell, kayaks included, and anyone aged 12 or under has to wear a Coast Guard-approved lifejacket for as long as the craft is moving. Book a morning slot: the Park Service warns that afternoon storms on Lake Powell can develop quickly, and that unmarked underwater hazards sit below the surface at low water.
- Included: performance kayak, paddles, life jacket, safety lesson, bottled water and access to Water Antelope Canyon
- Not included: the national park entry fee, waived if you hold a National Park Pass, plus gratuities and snacks
- Meeting point: Antelope Point parking via Navajo Rte. 22B, then down by the water near the trailers
- Cancelling: no charge if you pull out at least 24 hours ahead of the launch time
Kayak and hike at Antelope Point
Four hours from $119 with the kayak, paddles, life jacket and safety lesson provided, meeting down by the water at Antelope Point, which is the Park Service's access point for paddlers heading into Antelope Canyon.
★ 4.8/5 · 193 reviews
What the water level does to the route
The lake is well down on full pool, which means longer walks from the waterline at most launch points. The Park Service put Lake Powell at elevation 3,519.10 feet on 13 October 2026, against a full-pool elevation of 3,700 feet. The Bureau of Reclamation recorded 3,517.87 feet at the end of August 2026, holding 5.14 million acre-feet, or 22 percent of live capacity. Levels move through the season, so check the current reading the day you go.
Lower water means a longer walk at the end and a shorter paddle into the cove; higher water floats you further in. It also explains the ramp restrictions at Antelope Point, where motorised craft are out and paddlecraft are in, and why the guided kayak trip is the practical way to see this end of the canyon. In a release dated 15 September 2026 the Park Service confirmed Lake Powell remains open for water-based recreation and that a project to maintain access at Antelope Point Marina has been approved for completion in the coming months.
The water approach against the walking tours
These are two different experiences in the same drainage, and visitors book the wrong one all the time. Set against four hours of paddling, Upper Antelope is one short corridor of about 660 feet (200 m), travelled in a single direction, and the park has capped time inside at two hours since 1 May 2011. Lower Antelope runs roughly twice that length, about 1,335 feet (407 m), with Navajo Parks flagging tight passages and steep stairs. Both need a Navajo guide, both charge the $15 tribal park fee per person per entry on top of the tour price, and neither accepts America the Beautiful or Glen Canyon passes, because the canyon is not part of Glen Canyon National Recreation Area.
The water end is wider, brighter and seen from a kayak or a boat rather than from a sandy floor between walls 120 feet (37 m) high. No light beams are on offer here, there are no stairs to climb, and the strict bag rules of the walking canyons do not apply. If you have a single morning in Page and came for the narrow passages, book a walking tour and keep the lake for another day. With half a day to spend on the water and the arms for it, the kayak trip is the better use of the time.
| Tour | From | Duration | Best for |
|---|
| Lake Powell Kayak and Water Antelope Canyon Hike Guided Tour | from $119 | 4 hours | paddling from Antelope Point plus the walk into Water Antelope Canyon |
|---|
| Antelope Canyon Photo Boating Excursion 2 hours | from $199 | 2 hours | canyon walls from a captained boat, with no stairs or ladders |
|---|
| Award-Winning Lower Antelope Canyon & Horseshoe Bend Tour | from $160 | 14–15 hours | the narrow walking corridors and Horseshoe Bend with no car in Page |
|---|
Questions people ask
Is a national park pass needed to paddle at Antelope Point?
Non-motorised paddlecraft avoid the Glen Canyon vessel fee, but the park entrance fee still applies: $30 per private vehicle for seven days, or $15 per person arriving on foot or by bicycle. The kayak tour listed here does not include national park entry, and it is waived if you already hold a National Park Pass. Separately, Antelope Canyon itself lies outside Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, so no national pass covers the walking entrances.
Which months are best for the lake side of Antelope Canyon?
May, September and October are the comfortable months on the water at Page, with average daily maxima of about 79.1 °F, 84.3 °F and 71.0 °F. July is the hottest at about 96.0 °F, and January is cold, averaging near 42.9 °F by day with lows around 24.7 °F. Monsoon dates run 15 June to 30 September under the National Weather Service definition, and inside that window the sensible plan is an early paddle with a spare half-day held back.
Can I paddle on to Rainbow Bridge from Antelope Point?
No. Rainbow Bridge is about 50 miles by boat from Antelope Point and takes three to four hours each way in a standard speed boat. At current levels the courtesy dock there does not reach land, and the concessioner's scheduled Rainbow Bridge boat tour is unavailable until further notice. The alternative is a hike of roughly 14 miles one way around Navajo Mountain with a Navajo Nation permit.
If the slot canyon closes in bad weather, can I switch to the lake?
Bad weather can shut the slot canyons with very little notice, and Navajo Nation Parks sets that warning out in capital letters. The water trips leave from Lake Powell at Antelope Point or Wahweap and run on their own departure times, so they are a separate booking. Dropping a water booking costs nothing up to 24 hours before departure, so holding back a spare half-day in July, August and September works in your favour.
What about dogs and drones on the lake and at the canyon?
Navajo Nation Parks & Recreation prohibits littering, rock climbing, drones and dogs across all of its park lands, including Antelope Canyon. Pets must remain aboard the vessel at Lake Powell marinas and at Rainbow Bridge. Alcohol possession and consumption are prohibited across the Navajo Nation, which covers the marina area at Antelope Point.
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