Arizona long weekend suggestions
 

Hi Everyone! <BR> <BR>This forum has been a great resource for trips I've taken to California & Toronto. I'm seeking advice this time on a trip I'm planning out to Arizona in September/October. <BR> <BR>My mother & I will be traveling together, so there will be no intensive hiking. We're planning to stay for four nights in Sedona at the Sky Ranch Lodge and take day trips to the Grand Canyon, Painted Desert, Petrified Forest, etc. <BR> <BR>We're interested in getting the best views & cultural highpoints. The Pink Jeep Tour may be too rough (you're experiences??) Any galleries in particular you may recommend in Sedona? Curious about Jerome, AZ - too touristy? Train tours - which are the most worthwhile? We would be willing to consider a bus tour to the Grand Canyon if it's one of the best ways to see it without hiking down the canyon. <BR> <BR>Thanks so much for your valuable advice!!

The drive from Sedona to Jerome and back is incredible and it's not essential that you involve yourself in the touristy things while there. Just drive through the quaint little town to the museum; tour it; see the movie; and drive back to Sedona. <BR> <BR>Regarding the Grand Canyon: If you are not hiking, in my opinion, one day is enough but it is quite a distance from Sedona to go and come as well as see in one day. I recommend at least one over-night. Consider cutting your time in Sedona by one over-night. If you enter GC from the east (as opposed to the south) you will have a view of The Painted Desert along the horizon as you drive north from Sedona. <BR> <BR>Regarding Petrified Forest: I was never so disappointed in anything in my life. Never did I dream that something with 'forest' in its name would be a desert. A little goes a long way at this destination. IMHO.

I liked Flagstaff, a nice city 30 minutes from Sedona. Nothing earthshattering, but it had a lot of nice little shops and such.

I second the thumbs down on the Petrified Forest. I remember my parents taking us there as kids and being sucked in by the name. Would there be fossilized dinosaurs, groves of stony tree trunks frozen in time? <BR>Ha! An early lesson in PR recognition. <BR>Brought to you by the same people who named ElDorado Springs, Missouri and paradise, Nevada (Not! in both cases).

Slide Rock Park (Oak Creek Canyon area) right near Sedona is wonderful on a sunny day. You don't have to do a big hike to enjoy it. There are areas which can be accessed by stairs. I think about returning there to swim down the middle next time. Better than a water park for kids too.