The Perfect 7-Day Page and Kanab Family Road Trip Itinerary
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Plan the perfect 7-day Page and Kanab road trip with Antelope Canyon, Lake Powell, Best Friends Animal Sanctuary, Coral Pink Sand Dunes, and Zion.
Estimated reading time: 24 minutes
If you want the gorgeous red rocks and crazy desert landscapes of the Southwest without spending your entire vacation inside crowded national parks, I have a fantastic road trip idea for you.
Spend a week in Page, Arizona and Kanab, Utah.
Seriously.
These two little desert towns are close enough that they work perfectly together, but there is more than enough to do between them to fill an entire week. You can explore slot canyons, play on sand dunes, cruise around Lake Powell, volunteer with animals, hike through hoodoos, see Horseshoe Bend, and eat some surprisingly good food along the way.
And with one exception at the very end of the trip, you aren’t building your entire vacation around national parks.
That means you don’t have to spend every morning worrying about getting into a park before the parking lots fill up. You aren’t planning your whole day around shuttle systems. And you aren’t constantly competing with thousands of other people trying to see the exact same three things.
Don’t misunderstand me. I LOVE national parks.
But sometimes it is really nice to have a Southwest vacation where the national park is the side trip instead of the entire trip.
For this itinerary, I would spend three nights in Page and three nights in Kanab, giving you seven days to explore the area.
And honestly? This would be such a fun family trip.
Why Page and Kanab Work So Well Together
Page and Kanab are only about 75 miles apart, so you’re looking at roughly an hour and fifteen minutes of driving between the two.
That is nothing out West.
It also means you don’t have to spend half of your vacation packing and unpacking.
Stay three nights in Page.
Move to Kanab.
Stay three nights there.
Done.
Page gives you Lake Powell, Horseshoe Bend, Glen Canyon and the famous Antelope Canyon tours.
Then Kanab gives you an entirely different group of adventures—Peekaboo Slot Canyon, Coral Pink Sand Dunes, Best Friends Animal Sanctuary, Belly of the Dragon, the Toadstool Hoodoos and several other wonderfully weird desert stops.
And because Kanab sits right in the middle of some of the prettiest scenery in southern Utah, you can easily finish the trip with a day trip to Zion National Park.
You get a little bit of everything without changing hotels every single night.
That alone makes me happy.
Where Should You Fly Into?
The nice thing about this particular road trip is that I don’t think there is one obvious answer.
You could fly into Las Vegas and drive over.
You could fly into Phoenix and start in Page.
You could incorporate this into a longer Arizona or Utah road trip.
Or, depending on airfare and the rest of your plans, you could even fly into one airport and home from another.
Page and Kanab are so close together that I wouldn’t obsess over which town you visit first. Pick whichever direction makes the most sense with your flights.
For this itinerary, though, I’m starting in Page and finishing in Kanab.
Page and Kanab 7-Day Itinerary at a Glance
Here is how I would divide the week:
Day 1: Arrive in Page, check into your hotel, visit Horseshoe Bend and make an easy bonus stop at the Shell Station Cave.
Day 2: Glen Canyon Dam, Glen Canyon Overlook, Upper Antelope Canyon, lunch in Page and the Navajo dinner show.
Day 3: Lower Antelope Canyon and an afternoon on Lake Powell.
Day 4: Drive to Kanab, volunteer at Best Friends Animal Sanctuary and take a Peekaboo Slot Canyon tour.
Day 5: Coral Pink Sand Dunes, a UTV adventure and Belly of the Dragon.
Day 6: Toadstool Hoodoos and the Moqui Sand Caves.
Day 7: Day trip to Zion National Park before heading home or continuing your Southwest road trip.
That sounds like a lot when you look at it all together.
And it is.
But I don’t think this itinerary feels frantic because most days are built around one major activity and a couple of smaller stops nearby.
You aren’t driving four hours every day just to get somewhere interesting.
Where to Stay in Page
My pick in Page is the Hyatt Place Page/Lake Powell.
This is where we stayed, and I would absolutely stay here again.
The rooms were comfortable, the hotel had gorgeous desert views, breakfast made mornings easy, and the location worked really well for everything we wanted to do around Page.
It also feels just a little nicer than your average road-trip hotel, which I appreciated after spending the day climbing through slot canyons and wandering around in the desert.
For a three-night stay, this would easily be my first choice.
Day 1: Arrive in Page + Horseshoe Bend
Don’t make your first day complicated.
Depending on where you’re coming from, you’ve probably already spent several hours driving.
Check into your hotel, unload your stuff and then head over to Horseshoe Bend.
This is one of those places that you have probably seen approximately 9,000 times on Instagram.
It is still worth seeing in person.
The walk from the parking lot isn’t difficult, but it is exposed and there isn’t much shade. If you’re visiting during warmer months, bring water and don’t underestimate the desert heat.
Once you reach the overlook, though, the view is ridiculous.
The Colorado River basically makes this enormous horseshoe-shaped turn through the canyon below you, and the scale is hard to appreciate until you’re actually standing there.
I would plan Horseshoe Bend for the later part of the day, especially if you’re visiting when temperatures are warmer.
You could also time your visit closer to sunset if that works with your arrival.
Add the Shell Station Cave
If everyone still has some energy, this is a good time to add one of Page’s quirky little roadside stops.
The Shell Station Cave isn’t something I would rearrange an entire vacation around.
But that is exactly why I like adding places like this to a road trip.
You’re already there.
It’s unusual.
It doesn’t take long.
And it gives you something completely different from the big-ticket attractions you’ll be doing over the next couple of days.
Then head into Page, grab dinner and call it a night.
Tomorrow is your big sightseeing day.
Day 2: Glen Canyon + Upper Antelope Canyon + Navajo Dinner Show
Day two is probably your busiest day in Page, but everything fits together really nicely.
Start with donuts.
Because vacation.
Then spend the morning around Glen Canyon before heading to your Upper Antelope Canyon tour around midday.
Glen Canyon Dam
First, stop at Glen Canyon Dam.
Even if you aren’t particularly fascinated by dams, this one is impressive simply because of the scale.
The dam holds back Lake Powell and sits inside this enormous red-rock landscape that already looks dramatic before somebody decided to build a gigantic concrete wall through the middle of it.
Spend some time at the visitor center, look out over the dam and Lake Powell, and learn a little about the history of the area before heading to your next stop.
Glen Canyon Overlook
Next, make the short drive to the Glen Canyon Overlook.
This is exactly the kind of stop I love on a road trip.
You don’t need half a day.
You don’t need a huge hiking plan.
You just get another gorgeous view of the canyon and the Colorado River.
And because your big adventure is coming later in the day, this is a perfect morning stop.
Tour Upper Antelope Canyon
Then it is time for one of the biggest reasons people come to Page.
I would try to book your tour around midday.
The lighting inside the canyon changes throughout the day, and midday tours are especially popular because of the way the sunlight enters the canyon.
You do need to visit Antelope Canyon with an authorized Navajo guide, so this is one of the activities I would reserve well before your trip.
Upper Antelope Canyon is also quite different from Lower Antelope Canyon, which is why I think it is worth doing both if this is your big Page vacation.
You’ll do Lower Antelope tomorrow.
Lunch at R.D.’s Drive-In
After your canyon tour, head back into Page for lunch.
I’d go casual and grab something at R.D.’s Drive-In.
By this point, you’ve already seen a dam, wandered around a canyon overlook and toured one of the most famous slot canyons in the world.
You do not need a complicated lunch.
Keep the Afternoon Easy
This is where I intentionally would not shove another giant attraction into the itinerary.
Go back to the hotel.
Swim.
Rest.
Wander around Page.
Get coffee.
Let everybody decompress for a little while.
Because your day isn’t quite over yet.
Navajo Dinner Show
That evening, go to the Navajo dinner show.
This was one of those experiences that added so much more to our visit than I expected.
Page sits within the Navajo Nation, and so much of what people come here to see—including Antelope Canyon—is connected to Navajo land and culture.
The dinner show gives you a chance to learn more about that culture through storytelling, music and traditional dancing.
And it is genuinely entertaining.
For families especially, I think this is a fantastic way to end the day.
Then head back to the Hyatt Place and get some sleep.
Tomorrow, you’re going back underground for another slot canyon—and then spending the afternoon on the water.
Day 3: Lower Antelope Canyon + Lake Powell
For your last day in Page, I would do Lower Antelope Canyon in the late morning and then spend the afternoon on Lake Powell.
And yes, I would do both Upper and Lower Antelope Canyon on the same trip.
Normally I am not a huge fan of paying twice to see two versions of basically the same attraction. But these really didn’t feel the same to me.
We did Lower Antelope Canyon, and I loved it.
It is definitely more physical than Upper because you have the ladders and some tighter spaces, but I did not think it was hard. It was actually really fun.
Our guide was also fantastic with photos. He knew exactly where to stand, where to point the camera, and how to get those crazy glowing sandstone shots everyone wants.
So if you are spending three nights in Page anyway, I would not skip Lower.
I would book it late enough that you can have breakfast at the hotel first and not feel like you have to sprint out the door.
Lake Powell in the Afternoon
After the canyon tour, grab lunch and head to Lake Powell.
This is one thing we did not do on our Page trip, and I wish we had.
I would probably book a scenic boat tour rather than try to make this some huge boating day. At this point in the trip, I think sitting down and letting someone else take you around for a couple of hours sounds pretty nice.
And it gives you a completely different view of the same landscape you have been seeing from overlooks and inside slot canyons.
Then I would keep the evening simple.
Dinner in Page. Maybe swim at the hotel. Pack up.
Because the next morning you are moving to Kanab.
Where to Stay in Kanab
For Kanab, I would stay at Canyons Boutique Hotel.
This is one of those places where I would rather stay somewhere with a little personality than just pick whatever chain hotel happens to be cheapest.
Kanab is small enough that location is not a huge issue anyway, and Canyons Boutique Hotel puts you right in town for dinner and all the little shops.
Also, Kanab has way better food than you would expect for a town its size.
I have an entire post on where to eat in Kanab, so I am not going to turn this into a restaurant guide too. But I would absolutely plan on eating in town while you are here.
Day 4: Best Friends Animal Sanctuary + Peekaboo Slot Canyon
This is probably the most logistically annoying day of the trip, but I still think it works.
You are driving from Page to Kanab in the morning, and I would try to get a volunteer shift at Best Friends Animal Sanctuary before doing Peekaboo Slot Canyon later in the day.
The thing you need to pay attention to is the time change.
Page and Kanab are close together, but during daylight saving time, Utah is an hour ahead of Arizona.
Which is exactly the kind of thing I would forget and then be annoyed about.
So if you book an early volunteer shift, leave Page earlier than you think you need to.
Best Friends Animal Sanctuary
If you have animal-loving kids, I think this is a no-brainer.
Best Friends is right outside Kanab, and you can actually volunteer there instead of just taking a tour.
I love that.
Depending on your kids’ ages, you may be able to volunteer with dogs, cats, rabbits, horses, or another part of the sanctuary.
You definitely want to look at the age requirements before you book, because not every opportunity is open to younger kids.
But this is one of the things that makes Kanab such a fun family destination.
You can spend one day riding around sand dunes and another morning helping at an animal sanctuary.
That is a pretty good mix.
Peekaboo Slot Canyon
After Best Friends, grab lunch in town and then do a Peekaboo Slot Canyon tour.
And yes, this is your third slot canyon.
I know.
But this one is different enough that I would still do it.
For one thing, getting there is half the adventure.
The road is sandy, and I would not mess around with trying to drive it myself unless you really know what you are doing.
I would book a guided tour and let somebody else deal with that.
Peekaboo also feels much less formal than Antelope Canyon.
You are not being moved through on the same kind of tightly scheduled tour. It feels more like you are just out in the desert exploring something cool.
So even though you have already done Upper and Lower Antelope Canyon, I still think this one earns its spot.
Afterward, check into the hotel and go get dinner.
That is plenty for one day.
Day 5: Belly of the Dragon + Coral Pink Sand Dunes
I would keep most of this day pretty easy because the real activity is at the end.
And this is where I would do Coral Pink Sand Dunes.
But specifically at sunset.
Not at 1 p.m.
Belly of the Dragon
Start with Belly of the Dragon.
This is basically one of those odd little roadside things that takes about 30 minutes and makes your road trip better.
It is a drainage tunnel.
That is literally what it is.
But the inside has been carved and eroded in such a weird way that it looks like you are walking through the inside of some giant creature.
Hence Belly of the Dragon.
It is not something I would plan an entire day around, obviously.
But you are already in Kanab, and it is nearby.
So go.
Take some pictures.
Let your kids think it is weird.
Then move on.
Just keep an eye on the weather because, again, drainage tunnel.
Flash flooding and drainage tunnels are not a cute combination.
Take It Easy in the Afternoon
I would not add another major attraction here.
Go back into Kanab.
Eat lunch.
Walk around.
Hang out at the hotel.
Whatever.
You have been doing things every day for almost a week at this point.
You do not need to squeeze another scenic overlook into every available hour.
And honestly, you want to save your energy for later.
Coral Pink Sand Dunes at Sunset
This is how I would do Coral Pink Sand Dunes.
I would book one of the sunset UTV tours that includes s’mores and stargazing.
That is the experience.
You could absolutely drive out to the park, walk around the dunes for a while, and leave.
But if I am building a family vacation around Kanab, I want the fun version.
I want the UTVs.
I want the sunset.
I want the s’mores.
And I want the desert after dark.
The dunes are already gorgeous during the day, but that pink-orange sand at sunset is going to be so much prettier than baking out there in the middle of the afternoon.
Some tours also include sandboarding or sand sledding, which would be really fun too.
I would probably eat an early dinner before you go because you may be out there for a while.
Then just enjoy it.
Ride around.
Watch the sunset.
Make s’mores.
Look at the stars.
This is exactly the kind of thing I want on a family road trip because it actually feels like an experience.
Not just, “Okay, everybody get out of the car. Look at the thing. Take a picture. Get back in.”
And after that, you are done for the day.
Go back to Kanab and go to bed.
Because Day 6 is another desert day, and then you have Zion to finish out the trip.
Day 6: Toadstool Hoodoos + Moqui Sand Caves
For your last full day in Kanab, I would do two things that are both weird and beautiful.
The Toadstool Hoodoos.
And the Moqui Sand Caves.
Neither one is an all-day activity, which is kind of perfect at this point.
You have already packed a lot into the week.
Toadstool Hoodoos
Start with the Toadstool Hoodoos.
This is one of those places that looks like somebody dropped a bunch of giant mushrooms into the desert.
The hoodoos have these big rock caps sitting on top of narrower columns, and the whole area is really photogenic.
The hike is not especially long, which is another reason I like it for this itinerary.
You are not trying to conquer some giant trail.
You are just getting out into the desert for a while, seeing something really unusual, and then moving on.
I would still bring water and sun protection because there is not much shade.
But overall, this is a pretty easy add.
Moqui Sand Caves
After that, head over to the Moqui Sand Caves.
These are not actually ancient caves.
They are man-made sand caves, and you have to scramble up a short section of sandstone to get into them.
That part is worth knowing before you go.
It is not hard if everyone in your group is reasonably mobile, but it is also not just a flat little walk from the parking area.
Once you are inside, though, the views out over the desert are pretty great.
And honestly, this is another one of those places where the appeal is partly just that it is unusual.
You are sitting inside a giant sandstone cave looking out at southern Utah.
That is cool.
Afterward, head back into Kanab.
Have lunch.
Maybe do some shopping.
Maybe take a nap.
I would not force another activity into the day unless everybody still has energy.
At this point, I would be perfectly happy with a slow afternoon.
Day 7: Zion National Park Day Trip
And then, yes.
I would finish the trip with Zion.
I know the whole point of this itinerary is that you do not have to spend your entire week inside national parks.
But if you are already in Kanab, I would not skip Zion completely.
You are way too close.
So for Day 7, I would drive over for a day trip and keep it simple.
I would not try to do every major hike in the park.
I would not build some insane checklist.
I would just pick one easy or moderate trail, drive through the park, enjoy the scenery, and let Zion be the grand finale.
What Should You Do in Zion for One Day?
If this is your first visit, I would focus on the main canyon.
Depending on the season, you may need to use the park shuttle.
And yes, this is where you finally get the national park crowds you have mostly avoided all week.
But that is okay.
You only have to deal with them for one day.
I would pick one hike that works for your family.
Something like the Riverside Walk would be easy.
If you want something a little more adventurous, you could look at one of the shorter trails depending on conditions and everyone’s energy level.
The point is not to exhaust yourselves.
You have already had a full week.
Just enjoy Zion.
Take the shuttle.
Stop at the overlooks.
Walk a trail.
Have lunch.
Then head out.
If you are flying home from Las Vegas, this can also work really well as your last stop before you continue west.
A Few Things I Would Book Ahead of Time
This is not one of those trips where you need to reserve every meal six months in advance.
But there are a few things I would absolutely book early.
Upper Antelope Canyon.
Lower Antelope Canyon.
Best Friends volunteer shifts.
Peekaboo Slot Canyon tour.
Coral Pink Sand Dunes sunset UTV tour.
And probably the Lake Powell boat tour too.
Those are the things I would not leave to chance.
Everything else is pretty easy to work around.
Watch the Time Zone
I already mentioned this, but I am mentioning it again because it matters.
Page and Kanab are close.
But depending on the time of year, they may not be on the same time.
Arizona does not observe daylight saving time.
Utah does.
So during part of the year, Kanab is one hour ahead of Page.
If you have a tour or volunteer shift booked, check the time carefully.
This is exactly the sort of tiny travel detail that can ruin your morning if you miss it.
Don’t Overpack the Days
The easiest way to make this itinerary miserable would be to add too much.
You do not need four attractions every day.
You do not need to stop at every overlook.
You do not need to turn every afternoon into another hike.
Some of the best parts of this trip are already built around really memorable experiences.
Antelope Canyon.
Lake Powell.
Best Friends.
Peekaboo.
Coral Pink Sand Dunes.
Zion.
That is enough.
Leave some room for meals, hotel time, and wandering around.
Especially if you are traveling with kids.
Is One Week Enough for Page and Kanab?
Yes.
I actually think seven days is a really nice amount of time.
Three nights in Page gives you enough time to see the big attractions without trying to cram everything into one day.
Then three nights in Kanab gives you enough time to explore the area without driving back and forth from Page every single day.
And finishing with Zion gives you one national park day without turning the entire trip into a national park marathon.
Could you spend longer?
Absolutely.
You could add Bryce Canyon.
You could spend more time around Lake Powell.
You could add another day in Zion.
You could even turn this into a much bigger Southwest road trip.
But for a one-week family vacation, I think Page and Kanab work really, really well together.
You get slot canyons.
Sand dunes.
Lake Powell.
Animals.
Hoodoos.
Caves.
Good food.
And one of the most beautiful national parks in the country at the very end.
That is a pretty great week.
More Week-Long Family Road Trip Ideas
If you like having a full week mapped out without changing hotels every single night, I have several other itineraries that work really well for families:
- 7- and 10-Day Northern California Itinerary: San Francisco, Monterey, and Yosemite — A great mix of city time, the coast, and one of the best national parks in the country.
- Canadian Rockies Itinerary: The Perfect 7-10 Day Road Trip for First-Time Visitors — Banff, Lake Louise, the Icefields Parkway, and some seriously ridiculous mountain scenery.
- Epic 7-Day Yellowstone and Grand Teton Itinerary (Complete Family Road Trip Guide) — One of my favorite road trips for families because you get wildlife, geysers, waterfalls, mountains, and so many easy scenic stops.
- Ultimate 7- and 10-Day Alaska Summer Road Trip Itinerary — If Alaska is on your bucket list, this itinerary gives you a really good first taste without trying to see the entire state in one trip.
- Ultimate 5 Day Washington DC Itinerary for First-Time Visitors — Not technically seven days, but if you want a family trip where you can pack a ridiculous amount into less than a week, DC is hard to beat.
- Utah Mighty 5 Itinerary (10 Days): A Realistic, Family-Friendly Road Trip — If Page and Kanab just make you want even more red rocks, this is the bigger version.
- Washington National Parks Road Trip: How to Visit Olympic, Mount Rainier & North Cascades — Three very different national parks in one trip, with rainforests, mountains, waterfalls, beaches, and alpine scenery.
