First Trip to Arizona!
 

Please help live ten days well in Arizona! Landing in Phoenix Sat. October 19, would like to see that city first. We know we want to spend some days n Sedona. Grand Canyon: no mules or jeeps! We're in decent shape for 61-63, thought we'd bike around the South Rim, but I'm nervous about hiking down. Is it wise?

Interested in history, archaeology. Navajo and Hopi cultures, not tourist traps. Canyon de Chelley? Painted Desert? Petrified Forest? Flagstaff? Winslow? We leave from Phoenix Monday October 28. Thanking you in advance,

Judy and Steve

Lots of great hiking in Sedona.

After the Grand Canyon, you might want to drive up to Page to see Lake Powell, Antelope Canyon and Horseshoe Bend for one or two nights, then on to Monument Valley for one night, then drive up thru' the Valley of the Gods and down to Canyon de Chelly.

Definitely include Canyon de Chelly. It's a mini Grand Canyon and well worth visiting.

Not much to see or do in Winslow, but La Posada Hotel is worth seeing/staying overnight and the town is on the old Route 66. You can easily get there from the Canyon de Chelly in a half day, passing thru' and briefly stopping off at the the Petrified Forest and Painted Desert along the way.

Could it be that we passed through Winslow on our way to the Chiricahuas? My geography is poor, but I seem to recall that, and once you've had the pleasure of standing on a corner in Winslow, Arizona, etc., there isn't much there. But the Chiricahuas are spectacular and I highly recommend a visit, and a hike if possible.

NewBe:No, you passed through Willcox, east of Tucson in Southern AZ, way, way south of Winslow which is in Northern AZ.
Steve and Judy..Make sure you visit Canyon de Chelly, a treasure. You can drive around the rim but then to go down into the canyon, you'll go with a Navajo guide. I highly recommend Adam Teller

Oh gosh. Thank you. My ignorance really knows no bounds.

I just realized I forgot to mention the White House ruins hike in Canyon de Chelly and was about to post about it.

Glad it was mentioned already.

I recommend the Heard Museum in Phoenix- native American history, art, artifacts- very interesting. They have a nice little dining room too - loved the corn chowder.

Frank Lloyd Wright's house in Scottsdale is very interesting.

Enjoyed a stop at Montezuma's Castle between Sedona and Phoenix

I know you said " no jeep tours" but really, it was so much fun!!

"but I seem to recall that, and once you've had the pleasure of standing on a corner in Winslow, Arizona, etc., there isn't much there."

The city council should hire a girl to drive by in flat bed Ford just to make it a special moment.

My 52-year-old husband has hiked down into the Grand Canyon numerous times, and it is a grueling hike. You start by going down, and it is easy, so you can go a long ways pretty quickly; but going back up is quite another story. You can take a long time going back up.

There are the Tusayan Ruins at the Grand Canyon, and a Tusayan Museum that provides a glimpse into Pueblo Indian life at Grand Canyon some 800 years ago. I realize that isn't Navajo or Hopi, but I thought you might be interested, and admission is free. Here is a virtual tour of the Tusayan Ruins: http://grand-canyon.untraveledroad.com/TusayanRuin.htm

On highway 64, between Cameron and the Grand Canyon entrance, there are numerous Indian trading posts and gift shops. Most of the gifts, I understand, were actually made in China; but the Indians do the selling, so you can find people to talk to about their culture and history.

Canyon de Chelly is gorgeous, and you can drive along the rim, but it requires a guided tour to go into the canyon. It is on a Navajo Indian Reservation, so it would be worth taking the tour with a Navajo guide for much more information on their culture.

Sharon

Good suggestions so far. I agree a guided tour of canyon de chelly is gorgeous.
Driving north from Sedona through Oak Creek Canyon is also a beautiful drive. Nearr the top of the canyon is the trailhead for the West Fork Trail which is an easy hike along the streamed with towering red canyon walls.
In addition to the Heard Museum in Phoenix, the Musical Instrument Museum is suppose to be excellent if that interests you.
Enjoy your trip.

Is the requirement of a guided tour at Canyon de Chelly something new? Or are people mistaken about the need for a guide?

I did the White House ruins tour on my own in 2010, as did many other hikers I saw.

Has it changed since then?

Of course, in this case, since the OP is interested in the native American culture, a guided tour should be done anyway, but I'm just curious.

I'm getting out my copy of the Canyon de Chelly brochure.

"Travel in the canyons only when accompanied by a park ranger or a Navajo guide. The White House Trail is the only exception to this rule."

"White House is not a Navajo structure. Built and occupied centuries ago by ancestral Puebloan people, it is named for a long wall in the upper dwelling that is covered with white plaster."

I was there in 2011 and took a million pictures around the rim, but I didn't take the time to hike the White House ruins. The rim pictures, if you are interested, can be found here: http://arizona.untraveledroad.com/Canyon-de-Chelly.htm

Sharon

We were just at Canyon de Chelly last month. You can definitely hike down into the canyon via the White House ruins trail. There are also some ranger-led hikes into the canyon.

There are guided tours with native guides off the main loop trail at Monument Valley, too. Monument Valley is a spectacular place but definitely full of tourists including many European tourists.

Canyon de Chelly is a National Monument rather than a Narional Park as the Navajos want to maintain control and ot is on their lands.Many live in the canyon during the summer months.