Our family is on a journey of a lifetime to seek adventure and embrace opportunity. The cool, and yet wild, part is that we don’t have a predetermined length of travel time figured out. We may travel a year, or two, or three! While we are unsure of our duration, we are very sure of our desired locations to visit. We have a pretty long list of places, adventures and sights to experience. But that doesn’t leave much room for backtracking. Our goal is to thoroughly enjoy the adventures and immerse ourselves in places without rushing. But once we depart to the next location, we don’t typically look back. However, there have been a few opportunities we just couldn’t resist, which is why we have been to Page, Ariz., three times in less than two months.
We made plans to meet up with friends in Page for a long weekend at the end of March. Prior to our rendezvous, we unexpectedly happened to pass through for a few nights. That’s when we fell in love with Lone Rock Beach and realized you could boondock, or set up camp, right there on the beach. We had yet to boondock for more than two nights and thought Lone Rock Beach on the Arizona/Utah border would be the perfect spot for our first go at it.
After we met up with our friends and explored Kanab, Bryce Canyon and Zion National Park, we backtracked to boondock at Lone Rock Beach. Our initial plan was to stay three nights prior to departing for Moab, but we loved it so much we stayed seven nights!
During our three visits to Page, we had so many incredible experiences and want to share them with you, too! If you are in the area or planning a trip to Lake Powell, these are the destinations we highly recommend you add to your list.
Horseshoe Bend (Page, AZ)
We’ve seen all the beautiful Instagram photos of Horseshoe Bend and just had to see it for ourselves … well, actually three times now. It was beautiful and definitely worth seeing but also a little disappointing. Out of all the places we have visited, this felt the most like a tourist experience. Our expectations were more of a hike to the magnificent sight somewhere in the wilderness. In reality, the visitor parking lot is right off the highway and has ample parking and space for RVs, too. There is a $10 fee to park and then you walk just under 1/2 mile on a paved path to Horseshoe Bend. It is a highly trafficked destination, and it’s best to go very early in the morning if you are hoping to avoid a ton of people. Another option to view Horseshoe Bend is by renting a boat, kayak or paddleboard and viewing it from the water as you float around the bend. In total, we were there for less than two hours, which left us much more time to explore than we expected.
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Horseshoe Bend (Page, AZ)
We’ve seen all the beautiful Instagram photos of Horseshoe Bend and just had to see it for ourselves … well, actually three times now. It was beautiful and definitely worth seeing but also a little disappointing. Out of all the places we have visited, this felt the most like a tourist experience. Our expectations were more of a hike to the magnificent sight somewhere in the wilderness. In reality, the visitor parking lot is right off the highway and has ample parking and space for RVs, too. There is a $10 fee to park and then you walk just under 1/2 mile on a paved path to Horseshoe Bend. It is a highly trafficked destination, and it’s best to go very early in the morning if you are hoping to avoid a ton of people. Another option to view Horseshoe Bend is by renting a boat, kayak or paddleboard and viewing it from the water as you float around the bend. In total, we were there for less than two hours, which left us much more time to explore than we expected.
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Lees Ferry/Spencer Trail (Page, AZ)
On the other side of Page, Ariz., opposite the Lone Rock Beach and Horseshoe Bend area, is Lees Ferry. This beautiful region offers camping, hiking, rafting the Colorado River and more! We took a day trip to hike Spencer Trail and lounge along the Colorado. Spencer Trail was an intense hike with breathtaking views of the canyon and Colorado River. What we didn’t expect was how strenuous the hike would be, and we are fairly skilled hikers. For starters, the entire trail is devoid of shade. While you are baking in the sun, you’re hiking up switchbacks on the face of the cliff while climbing a staggering 1,500-foot elevation gain in just under 2 miles. A few of our friends turned back before getting to the top because they didn’t have enough water. Be sure to pack extra water if you tackle Spencer Trail. Just down the way from the main parking lot you will find pull-offs and sandy areas to picnic, relax and watch the rafters go by along the Colorado. It was the perfect spot to picnic and get rehydrated after hiking Spencer Trail.
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Antelope Canyon (Page, AZ)
Another well-known destination in Page is Antelope Canyon. It was high on our list, too, because we had yet to experience hiking a slot canyon. What we didn’t know was that the entrance to Antelope Canyon is on Navajo land and the only way to hike through on land is by hiring a Navajo guide. At the time of our visit, all of the tours had been shut down. However, there is another option for adventure enthusiasts. You can paddle into the backside of the canyon, only accessible by Lake Powell. We rented kayaks through Lake Powell Paddleboards and Kayaks and kayaked about an hour and a half into the canyon. You can pull your paddleboards or kayaks on land and hike through a section of Antelope Canyon that isn’t on Navajo land. The canyon is amazingly beautiful and full of interesting rock textures and features. We recommend packing hiking boots and changing into them once you get to the hiking areas. One thing to note: Arizona does not recognize daylight saving time. Our phones kept switching back and forth between Arizona and Utah time. It was rather confusing when trying to figure out when to head back in order to return the kayaks on time. So be sure to confirm the time if you rent watercraft!
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If Page, Ariz., wasn’t on your bucket list, it should be now! Believe it or not, there are still places in Page we have yet to visit, which only means we will be coming back for a fourth or even fifth time. Maybe we will see you there!
