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Grand Canyon and Sedona
Posted on 10/2/23 at 1:44 pm
Posted on 10/2/23 at 1:44 pm
Might be taking the wife and 2 kids (17 and 11) to GC and Sedona this year in early April and looking for advice.
-Plan the trip myself or book one on-line with guided tours?
-If I read correctly we can only do the South rim this time of year vs both North and South-correct ?
-Any must dos in Sedona and GC ?
-How many days do i need for both Sedona and GC ? I was thinking 2 days for each, but was not sure.
We would fly into Phoenix is my guess and start the trip in Sedona, but open for suggestions and advice ? The wife and i are in decent shape and good for basis hikes for us and the kids.
-Plan the trip myself or book one on-line with guided tours?
-If I read correctly we can only do the South rim this time of year vs both North and South-correct ?
-Any must dos in Sedona and GC ?
-How many days do i need for both Sedona and GC ? I was thinking 2 days for each, but was not sure.
We would fly into Phoenix is my guess and start the trip in Sedona, but open for suggestions and advice ? The wife and i are in decent shape and good for basis hikes for us and the kids.
10
Posted on 10/2/23 at 2:26 pm to PCBourbon
For Sedona it really depends on how much hiking you might want to do.
Posted on 10/2/23 at 2:40 pm to PCBourbon
Rent a Jeep in Sedona and do some trails.
Posted on 10/2/23 at 2:51 pm to PCBourbon
Fly into Flagstaff if you can. You can see the south rim of the canyon in a day unless you want to hike down into it some. Sedona is great, there's plenty of fantastic hiking and other things to do. Plus the food is excellent.
Posted on 10/2/23 at 4:21 pm to PCBourbon
If you spend a day in Phoenix before driving up, I suggest a half day kayak down the lower salt river. I just did that this weekend, and it was really a highlight of our Phoenix trip. The water was a cool 55-60 degrees, gently flowing to light rapids, incredible canyon and mountain views, and lots of wildlife. We saw roadrunners, lots of wild horses, bald eagles, and more. We booked kayaks through Saguaro Lake Ranch for about $80 pp.
Also highly suggest Fry Bread House. Pretty close to the airport, under $15 pp, and it was excellent (Native American tacos and great desserts).
Also highly suggest Fry Bread House. Pretty close to the airport, under $15 pp, and it was excellent (Native American tacos and great desserts).
Posted on 10/2/23 at 6:25 pm to PCBourbon
Fly in to Phoenix or Flagstaff. Drive to the South Rim and stay two nights at any available property in the park. This gives you an afternoon and then one full day there. Drive on Desert View heading east, stopping at all overlooks. In Cameron you can stop at the Cameron Trading Post and get some Indian fry bread to go. Head south to Sedona. Once past Flagstaff you’ll take 89A towards Sedona for a beautiful drive in.
In GC your kids are old enough to go down South Kaibab trail to Ooh Aah Point or Cedar Ridge. You’ll need to take a shuttle bus to the trailhead, and there is an extensive fee shuttle system throughout the South Rim to use. I also really enjoyed walking the Rim Trail from the village to the West. There are multiple overlooks, and the shuttle bus stops every mile or so, so you can walk a mile or two then ride to the next overlook and continue that way until the end then ride the bus back.
At the National Park website, research the hikes, closures, how the shuttle system works, and things to do.
Grand Canyon hikes
In Sedona, plan three nights. we did the Pink Jeep tour which we found VERY underwhelming but it is popular. I think the Broken Arrow is their most popular tour. We did the devils bridge hike to the end but there is zero chance I’d let my kids go out on the bridge … although the hike there is cool. There are many other great hikes in Sedona on my list to try when we go back.
Sedona hikes
You absolutely don’t need a guided tour for this trip. 1. Make accommodation reservations 2. Research things to do and hikes for each location 3. Download alltrails app if you are going to hike in Sedona … not necessary for GC as you really can’t get lost if you just do the basic trails.
Option: fly into Las Vegas, cross Hoover Dam, drive on Rte 66 towards Grand Canyon, stopping at Delgadillo’s Snowcap Drive in for ice cream, on way to GC.
The North Rim is closed in April.
Option 2 if you want to drop Sedona … fly into LV, drive to GC for two nights, drive to Page, AZ for one night to see Antelope Canyon and Horseshoe Bend, drive to Bryce Canyon for one night [gorgeous and incredible hiking here and beautiful scenic drive through park], drive to Zion and stay three nights [We loved Cable Mountain Lodge]. Drive back to LV to fly home.
In GC your kids are old enough to go down South Kaibab trail to Ooh Aah Point or Cedar Ridge. You’ll need to take a shuttle bus to the trailhead, and there is an extensive fee shuttle system throughout the South Rim to use. I also really enjoyed walking the Rim Trail from the village to the West. There are multiple overlooks, and the shuttle bus stops every mile or so, so you can walk a mile or two then ride to the next overlook and continue that way until the end then ride the bus back.
At the National Park website, research the hikes, closures, how the shuttle system works, and things to do.
Grand Canyon hikes
In Sedona, plan three nights. we did the Pink Jeep tour which we found VERY underwhelming but it is popular. I think the Broken Arrow is their most popular tour. We did the devils bridge hike to the end but there is zero chance I’d let my kids go out on the bridge … although the hike there is cool. There are many other great hikes in Sedona on my list to try when we go back.
Sedona hikes
You absolutely don’t need a guided tour for this trip. 1. Make accommodation reservations 2. Research things to do and hikes for each location 3. Download alltrails app if you are going to hike in Sedona … not necessary for GC as you really can’t get lost if you just do the basic trails.
Option: fly into Las Vegas, cross Hoover Dam, drive on Rte 66 towards Grand Canyon, stopping at Delgadillo’s Snowcap Drive in for ice cream, on way to GC.
The North Rim is closed in April.
Option 2 if you want to drop Sedona … fly into LV, drive to GC for two nights, drive to Page, AZ for one night to see Antelope Canyon and Horseshoe Bend, drive to Bryce Canyon for one night [gorgeous and incredible hiking here and beautiful scenic drive through park], drive to Zion and stay three nights [We loved Cable Mountain Lodge]. Drive back to LV to fly home.
Posted on 10/2/23 at 9:13 pm to PCBourbon
Did the same trip last year with wife and two boys (11 and 17). I highly recommend renting a can am (or other side by side) and going offroading. The place you rent from will provide you with GPS and trail maps. We had a blast exploring Sedona this way. Also did the south rim of grand canyon but didn't spend the night there.
Also did a UFO tour if you're into that sort of thing lol. Saw a bunch of crazy stuff!
Also did a UFO tour if you're into that sort of thing lol. Saw a bunch of crazy stuff!
Posted on 10/3/23 at 2:29 am to Droplinebacker
quote:
Also did a UFO tour if you're into that sort of thing lol. Saw a bunch of crazy stuff
Like what?
Posted on 10/3/23 at 6:45 am to PCBourbon
If you have never been to Phoenix I’d spend a day there or maybe the day of your arrival. There’s some decent hiking spots within the cities to get out in the desert with nice views and to see the seguaros. I don’t know the city well but I’m sure there’s good stuff to do there.
Grand Canyon is incredible but unless you are going to hike down it’s a day trip. It’s basically the same incredible view over and over. I’ll get hated for that and I’m being facetious but depending on your family that’s the truth. I know your kids are older but we planned on spending 3 nights at GCNP and left after 2 because I have little kids and we ran out of things to do. I’m not by any means saying you will do the same because you won’t. But outside of viewing it from the top of the rim or hiking down into it there’s basically nothing else.
I’d consider some stops outside of those two popular spots to get away from people. There’s multiple national forests for example with 1000s of acres.
Grand Canyon is incredible but unless you are going to hike down it’s a day trip. It’s basically the same incredible view over and over. I’ll get hated for that and I’m being facetious but depending on your family that’s the truth. I know your kids are older but we planned on spending 3 nights at GCNP and left after 2 because I have little kids and we ran out of things to do. I’m not by any means saying you will do the same because you won’t. But outside of viewing it from the top of the rim or hiking down into it there’s basically nothing else.
I’d consider some stops outside of those two popular spots to get away from people. There’s multiple national forests for example with 1000s of acres.
Posted on 10/3/23 at 8:15 am to baldona
Grand Canyon (to me) is either a couple hour stop or a few days. Two days is not long enough for me to do what I would really want and just stopping in a few places, taking pics, shopping and eating lunch shouldn't take more than a few hours.
If Sedona is in your plans, stay there and drive up to the GC on a day trip.
If Sedona is in your plans, stay there and drive up to the GC on a day trip.
This post was edited on 10/3/23 at 8:16 am
Posted on 10/4/23 at 1:37 pm to PCBourbon
Went to Sedona in April. Did a little hiking coming down from Mesa Grill ( a must see/eat restaurant). There is a small, 10-15 min trail that gives you a great sunset spot. Also, we did an ATV tour through he mountains and valleys. Went through Arizona atv adventures. cant recommend that enough. We stayed in the bell rock area of Sedona and we're glad we did. It's right outside of Sedona proper. a lot more locals restaurants and less touristy. Top 5 places we've ever been. there wasn't a bad view our whole trip.
Posted on 10/4/23 at 5:05 pm to GRIZZ
We were each given military grade night vision goggles and a laser pointer. Saw weird stuff flying all over the sky. Only logical explanation is satellites. (Definitely not airplanes or jets...they were moving WAYYYY too fast for that.) When you pointed the laser at them (so that others in the group could also see what you were looking at), a couple of the objects flashed lights back at us. Not sure what satellites are able to do that. Really wild experience.
Posted on 10/5/23 at 12:11 pm to Droplinebacker
quote:
We were each given military grade night vision goggles and a laser pointer. Saw weird stuff flying all over the sky. Only logical explanation is satellites. (Definitely not airplanes or jets...they were moving WAYYYY too fast for that.) When you pointed the laser at them (so that others in the group could also see what you were looking at), a couple of the objects flashed lights back at us. Not sure what satellites are able to do that. Really wild experience.
Did the tour forbid you from taking video? If yes, doesn’t that seem to be a red flag?
Posted on 10/5/23 at 1:21 pm to Willie Stroker
No, they didn't prevent us from taking video. Not sure where you got that? But im not sure how to use a phone camera through night vision goggles. Without the goggles you don't see sh*t.
This post was edited on 10/5/23 at 1:22 pm
Posted on 10/5/23 at 1:25 pm to FishinTygah84
Agree wholeheartedly about the Mesa Grill and Arizona ATV Adventures. We stayed at the motel right by the Mesa Grill (up on top of the hill.) Highly recommend that as well. The motel is built on a supposed vortex- not sure what that means but we enjoyed it alot.
Posted on 10/5/23 at 2:04 pm to PCBourbon
We did a star gazing event and it was legit. See the Milky Way, planets, all sorts of cool shite.
Posted on 10/5/23 at 4:41 pm to Droplinebacker
quote:
When you pointed the laser at them (so that others in the group could also see what you were looking at), a couple of the objects flashed lights back at us.
no worries, that's just the satellite taking a 40billion megapixel photo of you for the FBI.
prayers sent
Posted on 10/5/23 at 4:45 pm to Droplinebacker
quote:
Agree wholeheartedly about the Mesa Grill and Arizona ATV Adventures. We stayed at the motel right by the Mesa Grill (up on top of the hill.) Highly recommend that as well. The motel is built on a supposed vortex- not sure what that means but we enjoyed it alot.
we spent the night in kayenta which was really interesting; very 'wild west' with mostly native americans in that area and packs of wild horses wandering through town digging in the dumpsters.
and yes, rez dogs everywhere. sad, really. i can't stand to see abandoned dogs and my empathy got the best of me a few times and fed and petted a couple.
anyway, 163/191 to moab is amazing. i would plan an extra day if you have a rental to head up to canyonlands or bryce. MUCH BETTER THAN GRAND CANYON. you can actually drive down the side of the canyon to the floor if you have the nerve for it.
Posted on 10/5/23 at 5:50 pm to Droplinebacker
quote:I dont think its just "coincidence" that the Mesa Grill is also the closet eatery to the Airport Mesa Vortex...
Agree wholeheartedly about the Mesa Grill
Posted on 11/15/23 at 1:45 am to FishinTygah84
quote:
Mesa Grill
Is this at the Sedona airport?
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