FAQ’s

When is the best lighting in the canyon?

This is definitely our most asked question, and for good reason.  Though there’s not a perfect answer for this question, we believe this to be the best possible.  Being the canyon is not a straight line, and more serpentine like, also being it runs in an almost perpendicular path with the sun there is not necessarily a “best lighting” time of the day.  We have a shifting departure schedule to ensure we are not visiting the canyon during “bad lighting” times of the day, and to maximize the available sunlight coming through our canyon.  Because of this all of our tours are guaranteed to give you a great visual and photographic experience.  The color variances change quite a lot throughout the day with early morning and later afternoon canyon time revealing deeper reds, purples and blues  and the midmorning through midday exposing vibrant oranges and reds throughout the canyon from the light refraction off the beautiful Navajo sandstone.  Most amateur photographers agree that the mid morning hours are probably the easiest to capture beautiful images due to the amount of light to work with. Though with good camera use there are a variety of beautiful colors and formations that can be captured throughout the day.

When is the best time to photograph light beams? 

Another very popular question here.  Light beam photography has become known worldwide from the highly photographed upper Antelope Canyon light beams that peaks through the ceiling briefly during different times of the year.  The truth is that these “light beams” are most present during mid to late spring and are usually photographically enhanced from the throwing of sand nearby to create a fine dust that the sun refracts off to better expose the beam.  Yes very amazing on photo, yet very hard to capture at it’s best due to it’s limited availability during the day and decreased availability the further out of spring, not to mention the amount of people also trying to seek the same shot.  Secret Canyon also has a few diagonal  beams of light that are best captured during the spring months, and also better enhanced using extra techniques such as throwing sand nearby.  Once in the canyon most people find themselves less concerned with the mythical/majestic light beams and more amazed and astonished by the amazing colors and formations within Secret Canyon.  Though if this is your one and true desire to capture a beam of light, we recommend a tour departure time just before noon.

How much is the deposit to reserve a tour? How can I pay?

In order to guarantee any tour we do require a deposit equal to the amounts listed below:

1-2 persons = total tour cost

3-8 persons = cost of 2 adults + tax (for the specified tour)

8 + persons = 25% of total tour cost

Deposits can be made by phoning our reservation office at 928-645-2266 during our normal business hours.  Visa, Discover, or MasterCard are the forms of payment accepted for deposits at this time.

What is the cancellation policy?

We just need 48 hours notice prior to your tour departure time and we’ll provide a full refund minus a $20 service fee.  There is no fee if you’d like to reschedule your tour for another available time.  If we have to cancel a tour for any reason (i.e. weather related) you will be offered to move your tour to another available time, or provided a full refund.

Weather*

Keep in mind that we are in the desert.  This being said we are considered a desert because we don’t see much precipitation, especially rain.  If it looks like it might rain the day of your tour, it might. If it by chance does rain over the area of your tour, It will likely though only last for a few minutes as desert thunderstorms are usually smaller, typically faster moving, and historically just don’t last long.  So don’t worry your tour will likely still run, and we guarantee it will still be beautiful and awesome!

Can we bring something to eat and drink?

We do provide bottled water for every tour.  Feel free to bring extra beverages for hydration.  On the Secret Canyon Adventure we only allow the addition of light snacks on the tour, such as granola bars or trail mix. On the 3 Canyon Adventure or Photo Tour you may want to bring a little something extra as we do have time to stop for 5 – 10 minutes to snack. 

Where is the departure location?

We depart from our store located at 12 N. Lake Powell Blvd. Page, AZ 86040.