Horseshoe Bend is a beautiful horseshoe shaped formation in northern Arizona. It is absolutely beautiful and crazy to think about how it has been formed throughout thousands and thousands of years. This post gives you everything you need to know about visiting Horseshoe Bend including fees, parking, and how far of a hike it is to help answer the question is Horseshoe Bend worth visiting?
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Where is Horseshoe Bend?
Horseshoe Bend is located in Page in northern Arizona. Page is a small area although there is everything you might need including grocery stores, hotels to stay at, and Lake Powell close by.
It’s about a 4 hour drive from Phoenix or a 2 hour drive from Flagstaff. Because it’s not really near any major cities it’s best to include Horseshoe Bend in an Arizona road trip!
- There is a really small airport in Page but you will probably have more options if you fly in or out of either Phoenix or Flagstaff because they’re much larger airports.
Things that are close by to Horseshoe Bend are Lake Powell (15 minutes driving), the south rim of the Grand Canyon (2.5 hours driving), Flagstaff (2 hours driving), Zion National Park in Utah (2 hours driving), and Monument Valley (just over 2 hours driving). There is plenty to do within a few hours drive so it’s definitely a place you want to have access to a car to get out and explore more!
Read More: 4 Hikes To Do in Sedona, Arizona
Fees for Visiting Horseshoe Bend
Horseshoe Bend is located within the Glen Canyon National Recreation area, however, the city of Page charges a fee in order to enter the area. It’s important to note that national park passes will not work for entrance into Horseshoe Bend.
- The entrance fee is $10 for cars and RVs. There really isn’t a way to get around the entrance fee as there is no parking on the street (it’s more of a highway) and only one entrance to get in.
- The ticket is only good for one entrance so make sure you have seen everything you want before leaving! It does not give you access the next day like some national park tickets do.
- If you want to visit for both sunrise and sunset you could get there first thing in the morning, then hangout for most of the day (one reason why we love traveling in our van), and then walk back over for sunset. We debated doing this but it ended up raining in the morning so we just went for sunset.
The parking lot is pretty big and has larger spots for RVs and larger campers. We got there around 6 PM (for sunset) in April and maybe a third of the parking lot was full.
- There are bathrooms in the far side of the parking lot too!
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How Far Is It to Hike to Horseshoe Bend?
From the parking lot it’s about three-quarters of a mile to the Horseshoe Bend outlook. The path is flat and well maintained so we would consider it more of a walk than a hike. I wore these hiking shoes but it definitely wasn’t necessary! I easily could have worn my Birkenstock sandals and been just fine on the path!
One of the nice things about Horseshoe Bend is that there is room to spread out and explore so you don’t have to feel like you’re on top of all the other visitors. There is room to go both to the left and right depending on what kind of view you want!
We found a nice spot a little to the right and set out our outdoor blanket to sit and relax! We would recommend giving yourself anywhere from 30 minutes to 1 hour to explore and take pictures. If you’re in a rush you can definitely do it quicker though. Especially if you’re short on time it definitely doesn’t have to be an all day activity!
Read More: Guide to Visiting Tucson, Arizona
When to Visit Horseshoe Bend
We visited Horseshoe Bend for sunset in April and enjoyed it so much! We arrived just over 1 hour before sunset which was perfect timing. It’s a popular time to visit so we weren’t sure how crowded it was going to be. But we actually noticed more people leaving than getting there as we were arriving. So if you’re interested in going at sunset definitely don’t let that deter you!
As the sun got lower and lower the sky got so pretty and made for some amazing pictures! If you’re a photographer this is definitely a place to bring your camera! We brought our camera and our tripod so we could get a picture of the two of us.
- If you do visit for sunset bring a jacket or warm layer! We were both surprised by how chilly it got by the time we were leaving. I was really glad to have my fleece with me otherwise I would have been really cold!
It can get pretty windy out at the lookout point because there’s nothing to stop the wind so if you can try to visit on a day when the weather isn’t calling for high winds. There is loose sand at the top so on windy days it kicks up the sand and gets all over you making it not that much fun to hangout and look at the amazing views.
- During the summer temperatures in Page get really hot so it’s best to visit when it’s not so hot. Otherwise try to go first thing in the morning or for sunset to avoid the hottest part of the day as there is no shade!
Read More: Ultimate Road Trip Packing List
Is Horseshoe Bend Worth Visiting?
In our opinion yes, Horseshoe Bend is worth visiting! The views are absolutely stunning and it’s not quite like anything else we’ve seen. The red rocks remind us of Sedona and the sheer size reminds us of the Grand Canyon but it’s unique in it’s own way! It is definitely worth adding to your list of places to visit in Arizona!
