Jerome, Grand Canyon and???
 

My husband and I were able to secure 4 nights at the grand Canyon for April 2013...one night in a rim cabin at the Bright Angel Lodge, 2 nights Phantom Ranch, and then back to the Bright Angel cabin. We will fly into Phoenix and plan to travel to Jerome for the first night. We had originally intended to travel to Monument Valley, Canyon de Chelley, and the Petrified Forest, and had also talked about ending our stay at a spa in Sedona before heading back to Phoenix on the last day. Because we were at the mercy of the dates available at Phantom Lodge, the remaining gaps may be too small to travel AND enjoy these sights....any suggestions or alternate ideas in order to adequately explore AZ? We enjoy biking, hiking, exploring...
Saturday: Fly into Phoenix and travel to Jerome
Sunday:
Monday:
Tuesday: Bright Angel Lodge, orient to the Grand Canyon
Wednesday: Hike and Stay at Phantom Ranch
Thursday: Phantom Ranch
Friday: Hike out of the canyon and stay at Bright Angel Lodge
Sat;
Sun
Mon
Tuesday
Wednesday: Fly out of Phoenix

Although we've made the trip to the Petrified Forest several times, I think it's one you could safely skip. If you are going that way anyway, you could do a detour to drive through and only spend a couple of hours.

Near Jerome - Montezuma's Castle, Montezuma's Well (National Park/Monument sites).

In Jerome - don't miss the Gold King Mine/Museum, very interesting and a real hoot. http://www.goldkingmineghosttown.com/ And of course the Jerome State Historic Park.

Lots of good hikes right around Sedona.

You have time for some if not all that you mention. Petrified Forest only takes a few hours.

Hiking to Phantom sounds GREAT!!

Personally, I would spend the first 3 nights in / around Sedona. Jerome is great for a visit, but that really takes less than a day.

After leaving the GC, why don't you go up to Page and spend a day or two there? Horseshoe Bend, Antelope Canyon, maybe a float trip and/or Lake Powell cruise.

Then down to Flagstaff, seeing Wupatki National Monument & Sunset Crater. Also, Walnut Canyon. Petrified Forest and Walnut Canyon are good to do from Flag.

So, if we stay in Sedona the first few days and visit Jerome as a day trip should we consider going north to Page...is that something that we should consider rather than east to Monument Valley and Canyon de Chelley? Any opinions?

I would want to do it all. If you have to make a choice, then if you are most interested in Native American history, go to Canyon de Chelley (but do hire a Navajo guide to take you into the canyon), intereesting scenery Monument Valley, if you want to see some of geologic wonders and a great big dam, go to Page.

For some exercise and Native American history, go to Walnut Canyon, about 10 miles east of Flagstaff, right off I-70 with a set of stairs, down then up to some cliff dwellings you can go into. Or Wupatki, off 89.

You also can visit sites near Sedona, check in the VC for directions or take a Pink Jeep tour and as slucick mentioned Montezuma's Castle and well.

I have a few pictures of the Page sites if you want to get an idea of the things mentioned there at
www.flickr.com/photos/emalloy2009/sets In the 2008 set.

Sounds like a fantastic trip.

Thanks for the input....We really do want to see it all! We just don't want to be unreasonable as far as time to enjoy. We are now thinking the first 3 days Sedona or Flagstaff, Pink Jeep tour, Jerome, Montezumas Castle and Well, up to Grand Canyon, one night Monument Valley, one night Canyon de Chelley, stand on a corner in Winslow, AZ. (just to say we did it!), then last day at a spa either Sedona, Scottsdale,or Phoenix! I love this forum for trip planning so I am open to any ideas and suggestions to make this trip truly memorable. Thanks!!

Make sure when you leave Sedona/Flag, you take US-180 up to AZ-64 and enter Grand Canyon from the west side. Then you leave you will drive all the way back across going east toward Monument Valley to avoid too much back-tracking.

I'd also recommend you go all the way to Scottsdale for your last night so you're not rushing your last day.

I would go to Sedona, do Jerome as a day trip and then after visit Page area and do a Glen Canyon rafting trip and maybe end with a spa night or two in Scottsdale as it will be great that time of year.

Oct/Nov 2011, we did a trip that started w/ 3 nights in Sedona, 2 nights GC, 1 night Page, last 2 nights back in Sedona. Flew in & out of Phoenix. We really loved Sedona; lots of great hiking. We also loved GC & wished we'd had extra time there so glad you have a couple of extra nights! Page was fun too - we did the smooth river raft trip recommended by Lookin_Glass & really enjoyed that too.

We wanted to visit Jerome & MV, but decided to save those for a future trip. Also hankering to visit Bryce & Zion in the not too distant future!

Congrats on scoring 2 nights at Phantom Ranch; we'd love to do that in the future as well. This visit we stayed at El Tovar which was very nice.

bsktfan,

If you really want to do it all:

Sedona 3 nights, do your day trips from there. Jerome, Montezuma Well & Castle, are much closer than Flag.

Enter GC through south entrance (there is no west entrance). Exit through east entrance,lunch at Cameron Trading Post (have the mini Navajo Taco, it is not really "mini" at all) up to Page for the rest of the day & overnight(Sat). Then to Monument Valley, C de Chelly, overnight (Sun). On Monday, to Flagstaff, stopping at Standin' on the Corner Park in Winslow. Also drive through Petrified Forest, if time.
http://www.standinonthecorner.com/

Right across the street is a neat Route 66 shop.

Also drive through Petrified Forest, if time.

Overnight in Flag, see Walnut Canyon, Sunset Crater, Wupatki National Monument, then to Phoenix for Tuesday night.

"Enter GC through south entrance (there is no west entrance)."

I'm sorry for the mistake. The entrance to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon is on AZ-64 which runs east-west from Grand Canyon Village to Cameron.

Sheri, you are describing the east entrance. The south entrance is also on 64, which runs from Williams, on I-40 west of Flagstaff, up to the GC and then out the east entrance to Cameron. I think you really meant the south entrance when you earlier said "west". In any case, entering from the south and exiting to the east makes sense from the standpoint of avoiding doing any backtracking.

Thanks everyone, lots of good advice. Just wanted to mention that I noticed that some of you are "real" Fodorites. I was reading my Fodor's guide to the National Parks of the West and saw quotes from emalloy and spirobulldog. I have mapped a tentative trip to look at mileage. We can do the itinerary I listed above with 16 hours of drive over the 12 days, longest drive is 4 hours GC to Monument Valley, most others are 2 hours...sort of shying away from Page because we hope to do Utah on another trip and may be able to add that then. I'm afraid to get to another area that has a lot of activities and then feel that we didnt give it the time it deserves (Page: float trip, hiking, etc.) My thoughts with Monument Valley and Canyon de Chelley is that they show us a lot of the AZ landscape and history and a bit of a rest from major hiking after coming out of the GC. Really want to end with a spa day...any suggestions in Scottsdale/Phoenix? It appears that the place to go in Sedona is Mii Amo atthe Enchantment Resort, would prefer to stay off site so as not to spend mucho $$ on that portion. I am open to suggestions!!

oh jeez, I'm not talking about the east entrance. Nevermind!

If you are going to be doing the circle from Grand Canyon, Monument Valley, Canyon de Chelly and go stand on that famous corner in Winslow, AZ, then I would add the Petrified Forest. I love hiking around the Petrified Forest but I only recommend it when people are going to be in the area anyways.

Utahtea

Having just driven this whole area - IMO - there is no special reason to spend much time in Jerome - other than to see it once. Zip over early one morning from Sedona and be back for an afternoon swim, whatever.

And if you think the driving is too much - just west of Monument Valley - is the Navajo National Monument - which is like a "mini" Canyon de Chelley, but it has two different cliff dwellings. http://www.nps.gov/nava/index.htm

Actually - the roads in the area are pretty good and again - if you start out early - you can cover a lot of ground.

From the GC to Page is about 2 and a half hours - and you could do the fun/half day float trip - and be in Monument Valley 3 hours later - in time for sunset. http://www.americansouthwest.net/ari...distances.html

We also enjoyed the Petrified Forest (3 hours or so including driving time from the freeway) and a stop at the Painted Desert - right on the freeway. http://tinyurl.com/7nldr7c and http://gocalifornia.about.com/od/azf...nteddesert.htm

Thank you for the links, Tomsd....especially the mileage chart. I'm making my flight arrangements in the next few weeks and then will start to book lodging. I looks like we really may be able to do it all!! Thanks for the tips and keep them coming!!

Maybe you should give us a rundown again of your current ITEN.

If you were coming from Vegas, Hoover Dam is worth a stop.

Petrified Forest isn't my favorite place, but I certainly would spend a couple of hours there, since you are that close. I just read the other day that John Muir would spend days there just staring at the trees studying them.

OK, Here's what I have so far.

Sat: Fly into Phoenix, drive to Sedona (Oak Creek Canyon) possible stay at the Matterhorn Inn...just need a clean, inexpensive place to stay

Sun and Monday: Jerome, Montezuma's Well and/or Castle, some Sedona hiking or mountain biking

Tuesday: Drive to GC via stop in Flagstaff then enter in the South entrance. Orient to area. Stay at Bright Angel rim cabin.

Wednesday: Hike to Phantom Ranch...not certain if taking Bright Angel or Kaibab, still researching. Mules to carry our gear so that we just have to worry about ourselves and water...also did not want to fly with backpacks!

Thursday: GC hiking, overnight Phantom Ranch

Friday: Hike out of GC, overnight at Bright Angel rim cabin.

Saturday: Drive to Monument Valley, may stop at Page (is it really worth the effort for a few hours??). Would like to stay at The View if we can get a reservation and take a sunset guided tour.

Sunday: Early drive to Canyon de Chelley, drive the south rim so that we can hike the White House Ruins trail. Plan to continue to Hubbell Trading Post, Painted Desert, (Petrified Forest if there is time, but I read that the imagined forest is better than the real one!). Finish the day "Standing on a Corner" in Winslow, AZ and hope to stay at La Posada.

Monday: Leisurely drive, possibly Meteor Crater, Walnut Canyon, to the other side of Sedona, possibly Enchantment Resort.

Tuesday: Spa Day...aahh!!

Wednesday: Drive to Phoenix for late afternoon flight to Philadelphia.

How does this sound? Too much or OK? We are ready to book flights, these dates become available for booking this week...after that I plan to start booking hotels (other than the GC nights that have already been secured!) As always,I am very open to suggestion....Fodor's has never done me wrong!! Thanks!!

Sounds Good to me. Now the Paint Dessert and Petrified Forest are bascially in the same drive right off I-40. The main area of the petrified trees is really right at the end(or start, depending on which way you come from).

To me, unless you can stay a day or two at Page, not sure I would do that. Now, I haven't been there, but you can see Antelope Canyon, dam view, Rainbow Bridge requires a boat tour.

I still think, perhaps someone in your party might need a small daypack/backpack to carry snack and some water.

I really think your gonna want a guide at Canyon De Chelly too.

Theres nothing in Page worth the detour. Spend more time elsewhere.

As to Page you can see Best Dam View in 5 minutes, Horseshoe Bend in a half hour, Antelope Canyon in less than an hour if there is no wait for a tour (and you do want sunshine for this trip) - see my post above for link to pictures to see if you want to take the time to stop here.

At Canyon de Chelley I would advise getting a guide to take you into the canyon, not just a drive on the rim and hike to White House Ruin. If you just want to check it off your list and say you've been there, ok, but there is so much more to the Canyon that you can't see on your own.

As spirobulldog suggests, do take a small backpack/daypack for the things you will want on the hike into/out of Grand Canyon, like first aid kit, moleskin, extra socks, rain gear, water, snacks, etc. Call it a purse on the plane and stow your purse and plane snacks in it and stuff it under the seat.

Have a great trip!

Fiddely foo four: Lost my post again when trying to get a webpage - and here is one for the Navajo National Monument - which is 9 miles (north) off the road - about 20 miles before you reach Kayenta - the southern entrance to Monument Valley. http://www.nps.gov/nava/index.htm

It takes about what - two and a half hours to get from the Blue Angel Lodge to Kayenta - so you have time for a little "detour" to see some cliff dwellings en route to Kayenta - if you so choose.

And I would also bag Page this trip - and visit it another time - but we did enjoy our half day float trip from there - and would love to get to Antelope Canyon some time.

Also - Spirodog: LOL. Ole John Muir spent a lot of time contemplating nature's beauty. :)

Thanks everyone! We will be carrying daypacks for water and incidentals into the GC...just not the extras required for the overnight stay. I think we will skip Page this time and detour to the Navajo National Monument. If a guide is suggested for deChelley than that is what we will check into...I am willing to skip petrified Forest if we start to run out of time on that day.
Should I reserve MV and CdC guides prior to our trip or wait until we get to the Visitors Center? Also, any suggestions on which route to hike into/out of GC?

We only hiked on South Kaibab (beautiful views!) & rim trail, so can't speak to Bright Angel trail.

South Kaibab down, Bright Angel up is the usual route.

This website was very helpful for me on my trip. The layout has changed and it's not as well organized as before but still, lots of good info if you can find it.

http://www.hitthetrail.com/grand-canyon-hiking