There's one main difference between the Upper and Lower Antelope Slot canyons that may help you decide which to choose if you care to do only one : The lower has a series of steps that you take in order to get to the very bottom. In all, there are probably five or six sets, some of them with say 20 steps, and others with four or five. If you so happen to fall, you're not going to go tumbling into outer space or down a clif,f because you are tightly surrounded by the walls of the canyon. It would be no different than slipping down the steps in your house, Lord forbid.
The series of steps can be daunting only because they are narrow. There is little fear-factor because you can't really "see down," so you don't have the feeling that you're suspended in air, and because there are railings for you to hold on to. I had been told there are ladders, but they're stairs. You're holding onto railings rather than rungs.
At the end of the slot, when you're exiting, there's one large set of steps that takes you above ground. Once you're above ground, you walk over some slick rock to return to the parking lot.
In the Upper slot, on the other hand, you enter the slot at ground level, you walk through it at ground level and then you turn around and exit out the same way you went in. No stairs involved.
As for which is more scenic - I didn't see much difference. It depends more on the time of day and the amount of light that's getting in rather than the actual rock formations.
Please visit some of my other travel locations. Feel free to email me if you have questions or comments.
BY CITY:Boston | Carson City | Coeur d'Alene, ID | Colorado Springs | Duluth, MN | Durango, CO | Fort Benton, MT | Galveston, TX | Independence, MO | Juliette, GA | Leadville, CO | Morro Bay, CA | New York City | Sacramento | San Diego | Savannah | Seattle | Sedona, AZ | St. Louis | Stillwater, MN | Tombstone| Tucson | Washington, D.C.
BY STATE:Alaska| Arizona | California | Colorado | Georgia | Idaho | Maine | Michigan | Minnesota | Montana | Nevada | New Mexico | North Carolina | Oregon | South Dakota| Texas | Utah | Washington | Wisconsin | Wyoming
BY REGIONS, LANDMARKS AND NATL PARKS, FORESTS AND MONUMENTS: the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest | Antelope Island on the Great Salt Lake | Arches NP | the Badlands | Big Sur | Bighorn Canyon | the Biltmore Estate | the Black Hills | Blue Ridge Parkway | Bodega Bay | Bridges of Madison County | Bryce Canyon | Canyon de Chelly | Canyonlands NP | Death Valley | Devils Tower| Garden of the Gods | Glacier NP | the Grand Canyon | the Grand Tetons | the Great Sand Dunes NP | Gulf Shores, AL | the Hearst Castle | Highway 287 | Hoover Dam | Hovenweep NM | In search of Barns and Bridges | Kure Beach | Lake Powell | Lake Tahoe | Little Bighorn Battlefield | Mackinac Island | Martha's Vineyard | Medicine Bow NF | Mesa Verde NP | Monterey Bay | Monument Valley | Mount Rainier | Mount Rushmore | Mount St. Helens | Napa Valley | Natural Bridges NM | Niagara Falls | OK City (bombing) NM | the Olympic Peninsula | Organ Pipe Cactus NM | the Outer Banks | the Petrified Forest and Painted Desert | Pictured Rocks NL | Point Reyes Natl Seashore | Rocky Mtn NP | the Royal Gorge | Saguaro NP | Shenandoah Valley | Sleeping Bear Dunes NL | the Sonoma Coast | Sunset Crater NM | Texas Hill Country | Tonto NM | Tonto Natural Bridge | Tybee Island | Valley of Fire | the Vermillion Cliffs | White Mountains NF | Yellowstone NP | Yosemite NP | Zion NP
OUTSIDE THE U.S.: Austria | Budapest, Hungary | Canada | East Africa | Europe, here and there | France | Germany | Greece | Italy | Morocco | the Netherlands | Portugal | Puerto PeƱasco, Mexico | Russia | Scotland | Spain | Switzerland | Tunisia | Turkey
OTHER: HOME |My Favorites | the Andreas family, Moab | Vilseck DoDDS teachers' reunions | Madi's Page
All images within 'The Wandering Chick' Web site are copyright protected. They may not be downloaded or otherwise copied.
Choose another Arizona location from here:
A second trip into the Upper Antelope Slot Canyon