A 48-hour Solo Trip to Page, Arizona Was Exactly the Getaway This Mom Needed

The remote town in Northern Arizona is full of adventure and wonder.

Fact checked by Sarah ScottFact checked by Sarah Scott

At first, I didn't want to go. I didn't want to travel to a new and exciting place without my husband or kids. Not because I was nervous to travel alone, but because I wanted to experience it all with my family.

My husband was supportive though, encouraging me to take an opportunity presented to me to visit the town of Page in Northern Arizona. I had wanted to go to this area just a few months earlier during a family trip to Scottsdale, Tucson, and Flagstaff, but we couldn't make it happen. So, now was my chance.

I put a lot of mom guilt aside. My husband enlisted his mom to help with the schlepping of our two daughters to dance, soccer, and lacrosse—never mind the daily grind of wake-up, lunch-making, homework-helping, bedtime, and everything else we do.

Even as I got in my Lyft to head to the airport early on a Wednesday morning, I felt sad. I felt guilty. I felt like I was leaving my family behind to head out on an adventure that they weren't going to get to have. It was only going to be about 48 hours total on the ground in Arizona. But as it turned out, it was exactly what I needed.

All About Page, Arizona

Page, Arizona is a town of about 7,500 people in the northern part of the state. It's about 10 miles south of the Utah border and is surrounded by the Navajo Nation.

The town uses the tagline "The Center of Adventure" in its tourism materials and that couldn't be more true. On the surface, the town is set in the middle of the desert. But there is so much more to it.

Page is home to one of the most photographed places in the United States, Antelope Canyon. There are also several other slot canyons surrounding it. You may have also heard of Horseshoe Bend or Lake Powell. Those are just some of the sites you can visit in the area.

The region definitely has it all: hiking, off-roading, horseback riding, boating, and fishing. In 48 hours, I didn't even scratch the surface of this beautiful part of the United States.

Day 1 was long but so worth it

Traveling from the East Coast to Arizona for two nights and one full day seemed kind of crazy, and I knew it would be such a long day. After leaving New Jersey on a 7 a.m. flight, I made it to Phoenix safe and sound where I met a small group of journalists I would be traveling with, eager for our day ahead.

We were scheduled on a short flight from Phoenix to Page which was delayed due to a mix-up. There is only one commercial airline that flies into Page Municipal Airport with limited flights per day. Despite the confusion, I'd recommend the 45-minute flight instead of the four-and-a-half-hour drive. It allows for more time for adventure!

Everything is close in Page. The airport was a mere three-minute drive to our home for the two nights, the Hyatt Place Page/Lake Powell. Because of our delay out of Phoenix, it was a quick check-in and bag drop-off in our rooms before heading out on our first adventure: a tour of Secret Antelope Canyon and Horseshoe Bend with Jeri from Horseshoe Bend Slot Canyon Tours.

The slot canyons are all on the Navajo Nation. The land has so much history and is sacred to the Navajo. Therefore, it can only be accessed as part of a tour with a Navajo guide. Secret Antelope Canyon is located on Jeri's family's land.

As part of Horseshoe Bend Slot Canyon Tours, our access to the canyon was basically private. When one tour comes out, another goes in, allowing for time to explore and take the endless amount of photos you'll want to take.

Jeri took us to Secret Canyon in an open-air, safari-type vehicle for a fun off-road experience. Once at the canyon, Jeri not only showed us every nook and cranny, explaining the geology and showing us the rock formations, but she also helped us all become iPhone experts. She knew exactly where to take every photo to get the optimal shot and she also helped us all learn about settings on our phones we didn't know we had.

Every twist and turn inside the canyon painted a different picture. The light changed. The feeling of awe grew, and I knew we were in a very special place. I couldn't wait for the rest of our adventures.

After leaving Secret Canyon, Jeri took us not to the public viewing area for Horseshoe Bend, but to a much more private area on Navajo land. The City of Page runs the public parking area with a 1.5-mile walkable path to the viewing area. You can park for a small fee in one of the hundreds of spots.

But where we were, the viewing was unimpeded by others taking photos and we took in all that this majestic view had to offer. We asked questions and learned about the water levels and the formations. And yes, Jeri also showed us the best (panoramic) angles to take our photos with.

Back in the open-air truck, we returned to the tour operator's storefront in Page. If we thought that adventure was amazing, we knew we had so much more in store for us for the rest of the trip.

In the evening, we enjoyed an amazing dinner back at Hyatt Place Page/Lake Powell's signature restaurant Prickly Pear Kitchen. This place should be at a five-star resort. The hotel's general manager, Nadia Sanatacruz plans out the seasonal menus herself inspired by her family's Sonoran background, and even does some of the cooking herself. We enjoyed prickly pear margaritas, appetizers of chips with salsa and guacamole, along with chicken quesadillas, chile rellenos, and carne asada. For dessert, Sonoran flan and Coyotas de Sonora (an empanada-like cookie).

My extremely long day ended with Navajo Storytelling by Eli Secody. Secody told us stories of his life in the Navajo Nation. He also played music for us. But I'll be honest. I had been awake and traveling for about 20 hours at that point, and it was time for bed.

Our stay at Hyatt Place Page/Lake Powell

Many of the hotels in the area are chains. But this Hyatt Place is in a class of its own. Santacruz has gone above and beyond to create a welcoming environment. The hotel evokes a warm, inviting feeling with its decor, and sunsets from the outdoor patio off the restaurant cannot be matched.

The Hyatt Place Page/Lake Powell offers something no other Hyatt Place does, and that is an adventure concierge. They will help you plan any excursion you want to take while you're visiting the hotel, including sight-seeing airplane and helicopter rides.

Seasonally, the hotel also offers packages that include the stay and activities like slot canyon tours. But my favorite perks of staying at the Hyatt Place were the complimentary cultural events like Secody's Navajo Storytelling and Dreamcatcher Workshops.

Visiting the Slot Canyons

My second day in Page was the day I was truly waiting for, and our only true full day in the area. After starting with a great breakfast from the hotel buffet, it was off on another adventure to visit the famous slot canyons.

These natural wonders are narrow in spots, and they wind through sandstone walls formed by winds and flash floods. They are known for their rich colors and are some of the most photographed spots in the country.

Jarrin Curley from Adventurous Antelope Canyon Tours picked us up at Hyatt Place and whisked us away to our next adventure experiencing the Dine (Navajo) playground. Curley took us in a four-wheel-drive vehicle through a sandy, dry riverbed to our first stop: Upper Antelope Canyon.

Upper Antelope Canyon

As one of the more popular tourist destinations, Upper Antelope had plenty of groups headed into the canyon. Despite the number of people, the one-way traffic and our tour guide's expertise still allowed for a feeling of privacy.

Like Jeri the day before, Curley was knowledgeable about every formation, nook, and turn in Upper Antelope. Using his laser pointer, Curley showed us the candlestick and the lion's head. He showed us how to create a low echo in an alcove and, of course, showed us how to take the most amazing photos. We also learned some fun facts, like Britney Spears' music video for her 2002 song "I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman" was filmed in Antelope Canyon and Glen Canyon National Recreation Area.

Upper Antelope is known as an A-shape canyon and, in some places, it can get very dark as the walls of the canyon come closer toward the top.

I mentioned the one-way traffic. When you come out on the other side of Upper Antelope, there's a short hike back up along a ridge which gives you an amazing view from above of what you were just inside. Heads up, there is a staircase that takes you back down to where the vehicles were parked.

Curley then took us to three other spectacular slot canyons: Rattlesnake, Owl, and Coyote. Each one is so different yet magnificent in its own right. He also took us back to Upper Antelope about an hour later to witness the magnificent light beams that shine into the canyon starting around 11 a.m. It's definitely something not to be missed.

Rattlesnake Canyon

Rattlesnake Canyon was amazing and possibly my favorite of them all. We were the only people inside the canyon during our tour. It is narrow in spots with so many twists and turns, and small arches. Sometimes you had to walk one foot in front of the other to squeeze through. There are also level changes in the canyon with small ladders to climb in some spots. This really made it feel like we were on an adventure!

At the end, there's a much larger ladder to climb to get out. When you get to the top, similar to Upper Antelope, you then walk along the top of the canyon. It was truly hard to believe that the small crack in the Earth we were seeing from above was the actual slot canyon we had walked through below.

This was the most unique of the slot canyons in this writer's humble opinion.

Coyote and Owl Canyons

Coyote Canyon was a bonus canyon that Curley took us in to show us an example of a V-shaped canyon. All of these slot canyons were along the same dry riverbed "road."

What made our visit to Owl Canyon the most special was we actually saw a Great Horned Owl perched on a ledge of the canyon. We also got to see small lizards throughout. (We also got to see a couple of Black Widow spiders on our adventures but I'll leave it at that.)

A Cultural Experience

After a busy morning, we got to have lunch back at Prickly Pear Kitchen where we sampled the most delicious mocktails made with Cleanco non-alcoholic tequila and gin. We ate fish tacos, which were amazing (and I don't even normally eat fish).

After some R&R sitting on the beautiful patio overlooking the desert, it was time to get ready for an amenity at the Hyatt Place that I was really looking forward to—a dreamcatcher workshop. According to the website PowWows.com, dreamcatchers are traced back to the Ojibwe people. The women started weaving these "magical webs" to protect their babies. They became more popular among Native Americans in the 1960s and 1970s.

Pearl Seaton taught us all about how the dreamcatchers help bring in the good dreams and keep out the bad. We then learned how to weave our own dreamcatchers and channel whatever we were feeling in the moment into making it. Seaton taught us the meanings of the beads we wove into the dreamcatchers. The white shells represent females. The turquoise stones represent males. The brown juniper beads keep the bad spirits away, and the black stones benefit sleep.

I chose to use three white shells to represent myself and my two daughters and two turquoise stones to represent my husband and our dog. There were plenty of juniper beads and black stones to help with sleep as much as possible. I had so much fun doing this craft and made two dreamcatchers, once for each of my daughters. It was the perfect handmade souvenir to bring home to them.

Then it was off to dinner at Red Heritage, a Native American Dinner Theater run by the Navajo. This was a fascinating stop on our trip. Our Navajo frybread tacos were delicious. But beyond the food, it was so interesting to learn about Navajo customs and history. We learned how they made the yarn to weave beautiful rugs and were treated to Native American music and performances, including a flute, drumming, and dancing.

Lake Powell—The Ultimate Playground

Our last adventure also sadly marked the end of our trip, but it was also the most relaxing and serene way to wrap it all up. We were heading out for a boat ride on Lake Powell.

Lake Powell is a man-made reservoir located on the Colorado River. It crosses the border between Arizona and Utah. The lake is 186 miles long and has nearly 2,000 miles of shoreline. According to the City of Page's website, that's longer than all of the West Coast of the U.S.

You can imagine it is the place to be in the hot Arizona summer. Between its natural beauty and endless recreation, it's the perfect location to go fishing, kayaking, paddleboarding, or boating. There are sunset dinner cruises and multi-million dollar houseboats.

For our excursion, we were on a patio "tri-toon" boat from Antelope Point Marina. In the summer, these types of boats are popular for groups to rent because they have a full kitchen, a bathroom, a grill, and also a waterslide. They will pull them up to a beach and then camp there.

Our captain, Ken Reynolds, is the General Manager at Antelope Point Marina. He took us through a very different part of Antelope Canyon from what we had seen on foot a day earlier. The walls of the canyon went up about 100 feet from the water. The sunshine and the blue sky made for beautiful reflections from the cliffs as the ducks danced in front of the boat.

We also got a brief look at the mouth of Navajo Canyon, where the walls soar up over 400 feet. I think we all enjoyed the fresh air and breeze on our faces as we took in yet another spot of wonder.

48 Hours Left This Mom Wanting More

Before I knew it, we were off the boat and back on our small Contour Airlines flight back to Phoenix before I got on another plane bound for New Jersey.

That flight gave us one last adventure though. We flew over a part of the Grand Canyon. While I've seen it from the ground, there was something about seeing it from the air that was truly awe-inspiring.

This trip left me wanting more because 48 hours just wasn't enough time. It left me wanting to experience more of not only Page, Arizona but all of the many other magnificent places the United States has to offer.

I missed my family, but I also enjoyed meeting new people, seeing new places, and doing things on my own. I went to bed when I wanted to. I didn't have other responsibilities or kids to drive around. It was the break I needed (albeit too short!). But yet I was still Mom. The second night, my 14-year-old texted asking for help with her homework just minutes after my 11-year-old asked if she could FaceTime to say goodnight.

They were certainly jealous of the places I got to see and the things I got to do. We're already talking about going back, but also including many of the other natural wonders within a short drive of Page: Zion National Park and Bryce Canyon National Park. I can't wait until my next adventure: with...or without my family.

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