A Photographer’s Weekend Escape to Page, Arizona: Canyons, Cool Air & Golden Hour Views

When the pandemic shifted our travel plans, we got creative—trading far-off destinations for photography-friendly escapes close to home. We packed up the gear and headed north to Page, Arizona, a small town with some of the most iconic landscapes in the Southwest, and it turned out to be the perfect weekend getaway from the summer heat of Phoenix.

Iconic Desert Landscapes Through the Lens

For a travel photographer, Page is a dream. Our first stop was the Glen Canyon Dam, where the sheer scale of the concrete wall and the dramatic views over Lake Powell made for a striking contrast between natural and manmade landscapes.

From there, we made our way to Horseshoe Bend, one of Arizona’s most photographed views—and for good reason. That dramatic curve of the Colorado River, especially at golden hour, is one of those places that hits just as hard in real life as it does in the frame. The light, the layers, the shadows—it was everything a landscape photographer could ask for.

Antelope Canyon: Light, Spirit & Preservation

The true highlight of the trip was photographing Lower Antelope Canyon, guided by Ken's Tours—members of the Navajo Nation—who care for and protect this sacred land. As a photographer, I’ve long admired the way light slices through the slot canyons, illuminating the red rock walls in a surreal glow—but being there in person was a whole different experience.

Our Navajo guide not only led us safely through the winding passages but shared the canyon’s deeper meaning. For the tribe, Antelope Canyon is sacred, and access is treated with deep respect. Tours are kept small, and care is taken to preserve the land's fragile geology and spiritual presence. Every step, every frame, felt intentional and reverent.

Food, Sunsets & The Sweetest Ending

After a full day of chasing light and soaking in desert air, we kept dinner low-key with crispy fried chicken and cold beers at BirdHouse—the kind of local spot that hits just right after a day of shooting in the sun.

But the real treat came at Sunset 89, where we wrapped up the evening with the Warm Banana Bread Pudding: made with Hawaiian sweet rolls, topped with house-made vanilla bean ice cream and salted Kahlua caramel. It was every bit as indulgent as it sounds—and then some.

Gray Mountain: A Different Kind of Desert Story

On the drive home, we spotted an abandoned motel in Gray Mountain, Arizona, just off Highway 89—about 40 miles north of Flagstaff and near the edge of the Navajo Nation. The building, originally constructed in the 1950s by the Whiting Brothers, has sat empty since 2005, slowly weathered by time and desert wind.

Artist Thomas “Breeze” Marcus, who helped transform the space through mural work, shared powerful words that shifted how we saw this place. What looked like a crumbling structure from the roadside became something much more complex and meaningful:

“Gray Mountain AZ... sits just before the boundary of the Diné/Navajo Nation. Native people have inhabited the area for centuries. Today, people from the Navajo Nation as well as Hopi sell handmade jewelry, pottery, etc. on roadsides... Many of them use this as a big part of their income because it isn’t always easy to find work in these extremely isolated communities.”

“Like the abandoned uranium mines that have caused serious health and environmental implications nearby, these abandoned spaces are echoes of outsiders taking advantage of an area, consuming what they need for profit, then discarding what’s left over like a roadside carcass.”

“For the privileged, this abandoned motel looks like a playground to take selfies and explore. For the people that live near here, it’s a reminder of the past, but also shows the contrast of how a community can be overlooked and in some ways forgotten about.”

“It doesn’t deter the people of these nearby communities from moving forward and having the resilience that Native people have always carried.”

Breeze was invited to help paint the space by @jetsonorama, and was joined by fellow artists including @jerrelsinger, a local Diné/Navajo artist who grew up across the highway, along with @vyalone, @dmiles1_apache, and @livknoki.

Why Page Is a Must-Visit for Photographers

Whether you’re shooting on a DSLR or your phone, Page, Arizona offers some of the most photogenic desert scenery in the American Southwest. From the texture-rich slot canyons of Antelope, to the winding river below Horseshoe Bend, it’s a playground for natural light and composition lovers.

And the best part? It’s just a few hours from Phoenix, making it the ideal weekend photo escape that feels worlds away.