Arizona

From the Grand Canyon to Route 66!

Arizona might just be one of the most beautiful states there is. From the vast grand canyon, to the beautiful nature in Sedona, to the quirky Route 66…. it has it all!

Check out our full vlog here:

This trip was taken in March 2021.

When we visited Arizona, we flew into Las Vegas and home from Phoenix. Our itinerary looked a bit like this:

Day 1 – 1.5

This road trip started in Las Vegas – check out our Nevada page for the beginning!

Day 2

After our tour of Hoover Dam, we started our journey down Route 66. This is the quirkiest and most awesome road trip. I still dream of going back and driving more of it one day. We made stops at Kingman (El Trovatore Motel has the worlds longest Route 66 map), The Giganticus Headicus, Hackberry General Store and then a few stops in Seligman.

Seligman was the highlight for sure! Not only did it have an amazing lunch spot called Sno Cap, but it also had a lot of fun old cars and memorabilia to see in town.

We stopped at Angel Deldaillo’s Barber Shop which has been around since 1950. Angel is credited with helping bring tourism back to Route 66 by founding the Historic Route 66 Association of Arizona, after larger highway systems started to bypass these small towns.

Angel’s brother opened the Sno Cap restaurant in 1953 where we had an awesome lunch. They have picnic tables and delicious food, along with tons of vintage cars. The creators of the movie Cars interviewed both brothers when making the movie, and you can absolutely see why.

Our last stop on Route 66 was the town of Williams, where we walked around and saw a few gift shops. There was a Gas Station Museum we had planned to visit, but they were closed at the time.

Route 66 Tips:

• Cell phone coverage is spotty! Make sure you know where you want to stop before you go on this trip, and write out the exact distances between locations, so you know when to be looking for your next stop.
• There are not that many restaurants or stores (including gas stations!), so we filled up the gas tank before we left, and also brought along some drinks and snacks.
• The drive from Vegas to the Grand Canyon with all of these stops took us ALL DAY. We got up around 5am and didn’t make it to the Grand Canyon until almost 5pm. If you’re doing this same drive, I’d make sure you’re ready for a long day or find a place to stay in the middle. You don’t want to miss sunset at the Grand Canyon.

Onto the Grand Canyon! We finally arrived late afternoon. We stayed at the Kachina Lodge for the night and were SO happy we did. There are a few options when visiting the Grand Canyon:

• Williams – about 1 hour drive to the South Rim. Good amount of options for hotels here, plus restaurants and some other things to do like a Wildlife Park and some small mountain coasters. This might be a good place to stay if doing the same drive and you don’t want to get up at 5am like us. Downside – you will likely either miss the sunset or have to drive back in the dark (lots of backtracking if going back the next day).
• Tusayan – 15 min drive to the South Rim. This was our 2nd option. There were a few hotels and not many restaurants, but it was close enough that you would be able to visit 2 days in a row.
• Inside the Park – if you can get a reservation and the price is OK, do this! We were so glad we did. We stayed at the Kachina Lodge which was literally steps from the rim. There are 2 other hotels in the park that are also nice, but Kachina was the cheapest. In 2021 when we went, it was $275/night which was really expensive, and I’m sure it’s more now. Worth it! The room is bare bones and nothing special at all.

The BEST part of staying in the park was that we were able to walk along the rim trail in the evening, and watch sunset steps from our hotel. Then – we came back out to look at the stars once it was dark. Finally, we were able to get up super early and watch sunrise as well. There were minimal restaurants and convenience stores in the park, so we brought in food for dinner and breakfast – and to save some money.

Getting to see the sun rise and fall over the Grand Canyon is a really special experience.

Day 3

After watching the sunrise, we packed up and before leaving, drove over to Yavapai Point. More stunning views. There were certainly a lot more places we could have seen while here, but we did feel like we got quite a few good views after walking the rim trail, and hitting up a few view points. It was also VERY cold in March, but not crowded at all.

Our first stop on our day 3 drive was Flagstaff for lunch at Tourist’s Home All Day Cafe. This cafe was delicious. We didn’t spend much time in Flagstaff, but something about that town has stuck with me over the years! Very cute vibe and would love to go back.

On our drive to Sedona, we made a few stops. First, we went to Oak Creek Vista to look at a viewpoint and check out some of the Native American craft booths that were setup. Then we stopped at Indian Gardens – this place was so cute with a cafe and seats with blankets.

Our evening consisted of taking the kids to a park so they could run around for a bit, getting some dinner and then checking out sunset at Crescent Moon Park.

Lodging: We stayed at an AMAZING hotel in Sedona. The rooms themselves were basic, but the VIEWS! Don’t bother paying for a room with a view, because all around the hotel they had shared balconies with firepits and couches. They also had a nice hot tub and breakfast area as well. Pics below were taken from the hotel!

Day 4

Our 4th day it was raining in the morning, so we didn’t get out early to hike as we planned. We had initially planned to go to Devil’s Bridge, but without getting an early start, and the real possibility of insane crowds, we picked some different hikes. (we drove by later and saw massive crowds!)

Our first hike was Soldiers Pass – Devils Kitchen – 7 Sacred Pools – Cave (total 4.3 miles)

This hike was gorgeous. It was not challenging at all, except for the last part up to the cave, which you could skip. It had a lot of variation in scenery, and we were also lucky that it had rained because the pools were filled. Parking was tricky here – and it may be smart to even take an uber to the drop off point. We drove around until we found a spot to park, but it was super limited.

After our morning hike, we headed into town to do some shopping and eat lunch at the Outlaw Grill. Then – on to our favorite activity of the trip, the Pink Jeep Tour. This is a must do. It was an absolute blast, a little scary (my thoughts only), and we got to see all kinds of areas that we wouldn’t have otherwise seen.

Day 5

This morning started with a sunrise hike for Brian, checking out Cathedral Rock. The kids and I skipped out on this one because it was a little too challenging for them. Brian loved it, and got some great views.

Once he returned, we headed out to hike as a family at Boynton Vista. This was a pretty quick hike with beautiful views. It also was really special because there is a man that hangs around there handing out stones shaped like hearts. We still have ours in our home today!

We stopped for a quick break at the park before heading to lunch at Red Rock Cafe. We got breakfast burritos and a cinnamon roll that was basically the size of the table!

After we ate enough sugar for the whole week, we drove to Baldwin Trail, a 2 mile trail that took us near streams, overlooked Cathedral Rock and had sweeping views of the valley. This might have been our favorite trail, and was not nearly as crowded as others. The kids really enjoyed playing near the river at the end.

On the drive back, we stopped at Chapel of the Holy Cross. This place was so crowded we couldn’t even find parking. I gave up and decided I didn’t care enough to visit, so I dropped Brian and one of our kids off to go see it, and circled the parking lot to then pick them up when done.

Day 6

This morning we were sad to leave Sedona! We made one final stop at the Tlaquepaque Art/Shopping center before heading onto Phoenix. We made a few stops along the way, starting with Montezuma Castle. These are ancient cliff dwellings (over 800 years ago!) and it’s a really neat, easy walk along a trail to see these. Don’t forget to stop at the Native American fry bread stand in the parking lot on the drive out!

For lunch we drove to Rock Springs Cafe for amazing burgers and pie’s. They also had some great little craft shops that we checked out while waiting for our table.

Along the drive, we also were able to pull off the highway (exit 236) to see a bunch of huge cacti – none of us had ever seen ones so big before!

Finally, we ended our day staying in Scottsdale at a great Hilton property (Canopy) that was walking distance to restaurants and had a great rooftop pool.

Day 7

Our final day started with another sunrise hike for Brian, this one at Camelback Mountain. Another hike with amazing views for Brian!

When he returned, we walked to a nice breakfast at Morning Squeeze, before heading out for one final quick stop at Hole in The Rock Park.

Final Thoughts

Arizona is magical! Sedona might be one of the most beautiful places we’ve been. There are so many amazing hiking opportunities, beautiful nature and great food. Arizona is a place we want to go back to and see even more of the beautiful state!