Phoenix, Grand Canyon & Sedona with kids
Mar 6th, 2015, 06:30 AM
#1
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Phoenix, Grand Canyon & Sedona with kids
We are planning a 9 day trip in April with our 3 kids ages 7, 11, and 12. We travel frequently but this is our first time to this area except for a couple of business conferences. Kids are very adventurous. We arrive Saturday night in Phoenix at 11:15pm. Here is our plan so far:
4/18- stay night in Phx airport hotel
4/19- try to sleep in & then head to Grand Canyon. Arrive at GC and check in to Yavapai Lodge. Walk around village, grab dinner, watch sunset.
4/20- bike ride at the rim. Picnic lunch. Hike down some portion of Bright Angel trail. Dinner at El Tovar for son's 8th birthday.
4/21- Visit more viewpoints, maybe do another hike. Let kids pick out souvenirs. Head to Sedona by 4. Check in to Red Agave.
4/22-4/24 explore Sedona. Pink Jeep Tour, rent a Polaris, Red Rock Slide, Chapel of Holy Cross, Bell Rock, Oak Creek canyon Trail
4/24- leave Sedona by 4pm for Phoenix. Check in to Arizona Grand Hotel.
4/25 & 4/26- Relax at hotel
4/27- Drop husband off at airport. Maybe visit the Phoenix zoo? Checkin to airport hotel
4/28- 7:30am flight for kids & I
Here are my questions:
On 4/19- Should we stop on the way to GC? Thinking maybe Montezuma's castle or a nice lunch with a view somewhere. Any suggestions? Thinking everyone will be tired/cranky from late night & flights so 4 hours straight in the car may be tough.
4/20- anyone know if El Tovar has a kids menu? I know older kids will like adult menu but not sure what 8 yr old will eat (and it is HIS birthday!).
4/21- Is Bright Angel trail best choice for a hike with kids? Kids can probably handle about 3 hours of hiking. Is 4pm a good time to leave the park in terms of traffic?
4/22-4/24- anything we are missing in Sedona? Are any hikes better for kids than others? Our kids really like a goal in mind when the hike (they like to hike TO something, not just hiking to hike). Will it be too cold to swim at Slide Rock? Any restaurant recommendations with kids?
4/24- will traffic be bad trying to go into Phoenix on a Fri afternoon?
4/25-4/26- any suggestions for things to see/do around Phoenix?
4/27- Is Phoenix zoo worth a visit? Just looking for something low key to do that is not too far from the airport.
4/18- stay night in Phx airport hotel
4/19- try to sleep in & then head to Grand Canyon. Arrive at GC and check in to Yavapai Lodge. Walk around village, grab dinner, watch sunset.
4/20- bike ride at the rim. Picnic lunch. Hike down some portion of Bright Angel trail. Dinner at El Tovar for son's 8th birthday.
4/21- Visit more viewpoints, maybe do another hike. Let kids pick out souvenirs. Head to Sedona by 4. Check in to Red Agave.
4/22-4/24 explore Sedona. Pink Jeep Tour, rent a Polaris, Red Rock Slide, Chapel of Holy Cross, Bell Rock, Oak Creek canyon Trail
4/24- leave Sedona by 4pm for Phoenix. Check in to Arizona Grand Hotel.
4/25 & 4/26- Relax at hotel
4/27- Drop husband off at airport. Maybe visit the Phoenix zoo? Checkin to airport hotel
4/28- 7:30am flight for kids & I
Here are my questions:
On 4/19- Should we stop on the way to GC? Thinking maybe Montezuma's castle or a nice lunch with a view somewhere. Any suggestions? Thinking everyone will be tired/cranky from late night & flights so 4 hours straight in the car may be tough.
4/20- anyone know if El Tovar has a kids menu? I know older kids will like adult menu but not sure what 8 yr old will eat (and it is HIS birthday!).
4/21- Is Bright Angel trail best choice for a hike with kids? Kids can probably handle about 3 hours of hiking. Is 4pm a good time to leave the park in terms of traffic?
4/22-4/24- anything we are missing in Sedona? Are any hikes better for kids than others? Our kids really like a goal in mind when the hike (they like to hike TO something, not just hiking to hike). Will it be too cold to swim at Slide Rock? Any restaurant recommendations with kids?
4/24- will traffic be bad trying to go into Phoenix on a Fri afternoon?
4/25-4/26- any suggestions for things to see/do around Phoenix?
4/27- Is Phoenix zoo worth a visit? Just looking for something low key to do that is not too far from the airport.
Mar 6th, 2015, 08:52 AM
#2
How late will you be arriving on 4/18?
Would you consider going to Camp Verde from the airport and going to Out of Africa? http://outofafricapark.com/
You could drive through Sedona on the way to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. Staying at an airport motel would be a letdown for most kids.
Would you consider going to Camp Verde from the airport and going to Out of Africa? http://outofafricapark.com/
You could drive through Sedona on the way to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. Staying at an airport motel would be a letdown for most kids.
Mar 6th, 2015, 08:54 AM
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Bright Angel is ok, especially since you can access it directly from the rim/village area. Any length you'll be able to hike with the kids will be hugging the canyon wall and be a seemingly endless series of switchbacks, and you won't get any aha vistas. I think the 1.5mi rest area is too far to go with kids that age - it would be a long hike back up. There is no water before the 1.5mi point, and the water there may still be off for the winter - I don't know. Point is, don't count on there being ANY water on any trail you hike.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bright_Angel_Trail.
Personally, I prefer S. Kaibab trail. Again, you can go to the 1.5mi point, but it's a long descent/ascent, so it too could be a 3-4hr total hike, with the 2nd half much harder than the first. No water available on S. Kaibab.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Kaibab_Trail
So net recommendation, see what it's like to go a short way down the BA trail - perhaps give yourselves 20min down, knowing it'll take twice that coming back up, for a total of about 1hr. Make your turn around based on time, not distance. Bring water (1 liter + per person (not a small 1/2 liter bottle only), plus food). For those light eaters, a cup of coffee for breakfast doesn't suffice for a hike, and nobody is going to carry you up.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bright_Angel_Trail.
Personally, I prefer S. Kaibab trail. Again, you can go to the 1.5mi point, but it's a long descent/ascent, so it too could be a 3-4hr total hike, with the 2nd half much harder than the first. No water available on S. Kaibab.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Kaibab_Trail
So net recommendation, see what it's like to go a short way down the BA trail - perhaps give yourselves 20min down, knowing it'll take twice that coming back up, for a total of about 1hr. Make your turn around based on time, not distance. Bring water (1 liter + per person (not a small 1/2 liter bottle only), plus food). For those light eaters, a cup of coffee for breakfast doesn't suffice for a hike, and nobody is going to carry you up.
Mar 6th, 2015, 09:00 AM
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"On 4/19- Should we stop on the way to GC? Thinking maybe Montezuma's castle or a nice lunch with a view somewhere. Any suggestions? Thinking everyone will be tired/cranky from late night & flights so 4 hours straight in the car may be tough."
Why drive all the way to GC on your first day and then backtrack to Sedona? I would stop in Sedona on the way to GC.
Why drive all the way to GC on your first day and then backtrack to Sedona? I would stop in Sedona on the way to GC.
