Grand Canyon to Phoenix - points of interest
 

We'll be driving from the Grand Canyon to Phoenix. Are there points of interest we should stop and see on the way?

Thanks.

Before I, or anyone else, can give you a meaningful answer, we MUST know exactly (1) what you are hoping to experience ("I like everything" is no help), (2) how much time you are planning for the journey between these two spots, and (3) what is your budget ("Not to much" is NOT an answer).

A seller of crystals at a day spa near a "vortex" may interest you more than a structure abandoned seven centuries ago. Or maybe vice versa. Maybe you want to do this drive in one day, or maybe a week. Maybe you'd be willing to spend hundreds of dollars on a guided tour, maybe not. At present, we have no idea.

We can tell you PLENTY of things that WE would enjoy, but we can't know if ANY of them would be things that YOU would enjoy. Even though many people will undoubtedly try, NOBODY can give you any useful info.

Plain and simple, we can't tell you where to find something until you tell us what it is you're looking for.

We stopped and had lunch at a really nice town called Prescot, well worh a visit.

I was going to give you some info, but Paul has forbidden me from speaking.

Seriously, though, a lot of people stop in Sedona. You may want to do a little research about the town before you get there. I assume you'll be making the drive during daylight hours; that's a must to be able to see the redrock formations.

There are so many possibles it's hard to know where to start. But I'll venture a few that I liked...
Sedona as mentioned above, the Oak Creek Canyon Drive between Flagstaff and Sedona . Montntezuma Castle National Monument south of Sedona, the old mining town of Jerome, perched high on the mountainside and, if you go south on 89A there are a few AZ wineries with tasting rooms you can visit.

<<<We stopped and had lunch at a really nice town called Prescot, well worh a visit.>>>

Perfect example of why we need to know what interests <i>you</i>. While Prescott is a perfectly nice place to live, I see absolutely no reason for tourists to visit (and yes, I've been there several times).

Assuming south rim, here are some suggestions:

If you leave via the east entrance then maybe a brief stop at the Cameron Trading post to check out their Navajo blankets and sand paintings. If you started early this is a good place to get breakfast. Then between Cameron and Flagstaff you can take the loop road thru Wupatki and Sunset Crater National Monuments. Wupatki is the more interesting of the two.

http://www.camerontradingpost.com/
http://www.nps.gov/wupa/

If you take the south entrance/exit instead and at Valle take the turn-off to Flagstaff (skipping Williams) then a stop at the Museum of Northern Arizona might be of interest.

http://www.musnaz.org/

This gets you to Flagstaff ... there's also Walnut Canyon NM about 8 miles east of Flag (out of your way a bit), another place with Indian ruins, though these are cliff-dwellings and the Wupatki ruins are more open. http://www.nps.gov/waca/

From Flag a good bet is taking 89a off of I-17 thru Oak Creek Canyon into Sedona. Most people prefer spending more time in Sedona but at least you can see the red rocks and gauge whether you'd want to visit longer later. Good place for lunch. http://www.visitsedona.com/ ... then take the road out of town that goes directly to the freeway, where it's not far to Montezuma Castle NM ... http://www.nps.gov/moca/ (After a while these Indian ruins start to look alike to the casual observer) :)

Jerome is worth a detour if you like old mining towns, but it's pretty small. http://www.azjerome.com/

Once south of Jerome I'd just head for Phoenix.

I realize there are too many places on the list, so a suggested route would be taking the east entrance and looping thru Wupatki, then 89a into Sedona. This will probably eat up 2-3 hours, especially if you stop for lunch. If any of the other places look interesting to you then go for them as well ...

Bill H does almost exactly what I would recommend. I would add going over Mingus Mtn. From Jerome to Prescott and then to Phoenix, but this would add about an hour to the travel time.

If you end up in Flagstaff, you have to try the Diablo Burger which we found by accident. The "old town" area is interesting for a short visit but we really found Sedona much more worthwhile.

Thanks all . We're spending thre days in the Sedona area before we go to the CG. I expect to leave GC around noon and will spend most of the afternoon driving. I am really just looking for interesting places to stop along the way to break up the drive back to Phoenix (we are flying out from there).

This is a great little book for driving Arizona. Its out of print, but you can get it used on Amazon. We have used our copy for many trips.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/091...F8&me=&seller=

Let me make certain I understand your situation:
1) your drive from The Canyon to Phoenix will be a total of one afternoon.
2) you will have already spent three days in the Sedona area, seeing (I presume) everything that interests you in that area during those three days.

Since you'll need most of the afternoon, even if driving along the interstate, to get to Phoenix before, it seems clear that you won't be able to either (1) get far from interstate exits or (2) spend much time at any one exit you stop at.

All I can suggest is to make quick stops at Anasazi ruins at NPS sites along the way. These would include Wupatki Canyon, Walnut Canyon, Tuzigoot, and Montezuma's Castle.