need itinerary help - AZ in winter with kids
 

we are looking to possibly take a trip to arizona before the end of january, and we need help planning the itinerary. we wanted to choose a destination that wasn't too cold (we are floridians and don't really own much in the way of winter clothing!), however, i'm concerned that the parts of arizona we'd like to see aren't well suited to january travel. maybe someone can help me out!

we only have 5-7 days to work with. flights aren't finalized yet, but most likely we will fly in/out of PHX and rent a car. we have 2 kids, ages 4 and 7, and a baby, who will be 11 months old by the time we go. we like the outdoors, and are not planning this trip to go and lounge by a pool (we can do that here), and we prefer to steer clear of zoos, childrens museums, etc unless they are particularly stellar (we have those kinds of things close to home). here's an outline of what we'd like to see...

Tucson - Kartchner Caverns SP, pima air & space museum, maybe some time in Saguaro NP as long as we're down there, sonora-desert museum maybe.

Sedona - an easy hike for kids (need recommendations), would like to experience a vortex if possible. unfortunately, we can't do the pink jeep tour because the minimum age is 18 months.

Holbrook area - wigwam motel, petrified forest NP, route 66

Grand Canyon - day trip or overnight? not sure what is recommended this time of year. would like the kids to check out the junior ranger program. we'd walk the rim trail for some parts, and take the shuttle to hermits rest, desert view drive. we won't be hiking into the canyon.

those are pretty much the highlights we'd like to see. i'm not sure the most efficient way to go about it. also not sure if we should base ourselves in flagstaff and daytrip to sedona/holbrook/grand canyon. that way we can adjust our itinerary for weather. however, i think that flagstaff is cold, which sort of defeats our purpose of a mild spot in january.

all recommendations are welcome. thanks in advance. this board is always great.

I'd concentrate on Phoenix and Tucson if you're looking for "warmer" weather. Sedona/Flagstaff/GC can be COLD in January. I've visited Tucson in January and it snowed so even there you can't be assured of the weather. With that said, it should be in the 60's/70's. There is plenty to do between Tucson and Phoenix. The Desert Museum is a must do, especially with kids - it's a zoo and botanical gardens rolled into one. Saguaro Nat'l Park is beautiful with lots of easy hiking trails, and Sabino Canyon is beautiful as well. I'd suggest bringing a backpack frame to carry the little one.

if you drive to Grand Canyon, spend the night. Petrified Forest is worth a few hours at if you are driving close to it, but is not one of my least favorite parks.

my daughter wasn't impressed with GC at all at age 6. We went then when she was 13, and she thought it was spectacular then.

so far, i think we'll start in tucson for 2 days, seeing the sights i mentioned.

on day 3, we'll head back north of phoenix, passing through sedona (with hiking time here), ending in flagstaff for the night. depending on the day, maybe we can check out the lowell observatory for an evening program.

from here, i'm stumped as to the best way to do GC and PF and back to phoenix in the most efficient way.

the reason for petrified forest is because it's close to the wigwam. our son is a huge fan of Cars, and we've implicitly promised him a stay at the wigwam if we go to arizona :) petrified forest looks close, so we can just tie that in. i know it's a bit out of the way, but i think it would be worth it.

i know the kids probably won't care too much about the GC, but at this point, it's more for us, and we're just toting them along on our travels. we'll make it kid-friendly, but obviously we've picked the location and not them :)

Just to reiterate - Flagstaff will be cold in January. Snow and ice cold. And Grand Canyon will also likely to be same.

Are you familiar with driving in these conditions on what can be tricky roads?

I can't imagine trudging around Grand Canyon in January with a baby and 2 young children who aren't used to cold. They will need boots,hats, mittens, jackets to keep warm. Florida clothing won't cut it north of Phoenix.

Deb

DebitNM, thanks for clarifying. I've read mixed things about january at GC.

my husband is a native new yorker and has lots of experience driving in snow/ice, so i'm not too worried about that. i'm concerned that the road to GC might close and then we cant' get there to stay over. that's why i thought a daytrip might be better.

as far as wintry clothes, we can maybe borrow some from friends, or even conveniently pick some up in the after-xmas shopping. it would sort of be a pain to drag all of that along though, for just 1 day or so!

i think we could find lots to do in tucson/phoenix, but really our main point of going out there is to see the GC. i don't really want to go all the way out there and NOT see the GC. it just so happens we have the time and some airline tix, but we just have to use it by the end of january. maybe we'll just let it lapse...?

Don't let the tickets lapse! That would be a waste. Can you change your destination? It would be far nicer for all of you to come here to the SW when the weather is nicer and doing the things you want to do will be so much more appreciated.

I too am originally from NY so I know about NE roads. Trust me, when I moved out here in 2001, it was a way different story.

The roads don't get plowed, sanded, salted and end up nice and dry in a few hours here as they do back East.

The mountain roads can be narrow, barely plowed, they get ash/cinders on them [IF that] and can get closed pretty quickly.


Honestly, I would rethink this if it were me. I have a good bit of family in NY [all originally from NY] and they aren't big into coming here in Winter.

Tucson should be mild enough and it will have a variety of nice things to do. Leave Flagstaff and GC for another trip. I understand "being so close," but with 3 small children, I wouldn't chance it.

Deb

deb,
thanks for the input. i'm going to see if i can get the tix extended. we could maybe save this trip for next spring break..then the baby will be old enough for the pink jeep tour :) and i always have a tough time coming up with spring break plans!

there's lots of places we *could* go, but i try to keep myself limited to the places i REALLY want to see (yellowstone, grand canyon, pacific northwest, rocky mtn NP/colorado, new hampshire foliage, alaska, hawaii). of those, GC seemed like the best bet in january (well, hawaii did weather-wise, but not the long flight with 3 small kids to get to a beach vs hopping in the car for 10 min and going to our beach!)

well, keep the input coming. you never know when someone else might be looking for the same info too.

update: my husband still wants to try to take the trip in january if possible. he isn't worried about snow or road conditions.

so maybe someone can help out with a good plan for attempting to get to the grand canyon :)

My husband and I took a trip to Sedona in Jan. 2006. The weather was very nice-the afternoons in the high 60s. We also drove to the Grand Canyon one day and the weather was also fine there-no snow.

I too would suggest you stay in the southern part of Az if you want warmth outside in Jan. Tucson offers many things that the 4 and 7 year old would enjoy and especially the Sonara Desert Museum. It has walking trails with live animals exhibited in natural habitat, a bird santuary with birds everywhere that you can sit and watch and they sometimes fly right to you. At certain times they have a birds of prey demonstration which is very well done. Sabino Canyon would be good for easy hiking trails. There are also areas around Tucson with Indian history and housing. Old Tucson has some interesting things. Tombstone, AZ, offers a retreat to the "old west" with stage coach rides, shoot outs, Ok corral etc. which IMO the two older children would enjoy. It is not far from Tucson.

IF the weather is good, Sedona would be a fun stop, but Flagstaff and GC would be questionable at best. Get your tickets for Kartchner Caverns on line early to be assured of getting in. Also check on their minimum age requirements since I have never seen small children there.

There are many things to do in and around Tucson so don't let your tickets expire. End of Jan./early Feb. is Gem Show time in Tucson so check for lodging availability before you lock into flights as the area is usually fully booked for that show. That too is an experience you might enjoy.

"so maybe someone can help out with a good plan for attempting to get to the grand canyon "

Watch the weather forecast and bookmark the state road conditions website. Then be flexible with your plans - check hotel availability for the areas you want to go, and don't make reservations unless absolutely necessary. That way if the weather looks great for the Grand Canyon at the beginning of your trip you can just go as opposed to sticking with a plan based on hotel reservations.

You'd have to check with Wigwam to see what their availability is for your trip dates - that's likely going to be the toughest place to find a room last minute. Everywhere else, I'd say just book some rooms with a decent cancellation policy and be prepared to cancel and go to the Grand Canyon when the weather cooperates. It's not like the roads are icy and impassable every single day.

I've been to the Grand Canyon in February - roads were in perfect shape on the way in, then we got 5-6 inches of snow overnight. Roads were decent on the way out that afternoon.

nlg, collegemom, and whereweare, thanks for the feedback. nlg, i've read several other people's reviews saying things were fine, but i guess you never know what the weather will do!

collegemom, my husband wants to check out tombstone also. maybe he can take the kids and i will check out kartchner on my own :) kids are not allowed on one of the tours, but they're ok on another. after reading though, i'm not sure i want to pay all that money for all of us to check it out when the kids might get scared or the baby decides it's time to cry!

whereweare, i was thinking of basing ourselves in flagstaff and making daytrips to GC or petrified forest or wherever, depending on weather and road conditions. i don't really like setting out with no reservations or having the feeling of not really knowing where we're going to sleep each night. i also wonder if they'll let you just check out the wigwam motel without staying there. that would solve that issue too.

thanks for all the help!

just checking to see if anyone else has had experience traveling to the grand canyon in january... :)

Hi...I haven't been to the Grand Canyon in Jan, but have been to Sedona in mid-April and FROZE! It actually snowed and I had only brought sandals.

Margy

I think your best plan would be to book your trip and plan on watching the weather in order to decide if you should go to Tuscon first or last.( I know this is hard to wait on a hotel. If the weather is going to be good, then head up to Grand Canyon, Holbrook, and Sedona. I would definitely plan on staying overnight or two then head back to Tucson and stay for another couple of days then fly out of Phoenix. Or do it in reverse. Just remember that the drive from Phx to the Flagstaff is about 2 hours. So from Flagstaff to Tucson is about 4 hours. Arizona weather can be extreme.. before and during over Christmas we had rain, snow and ice Flagstaff and the Grand Canyon had around 20 inches of snow...today its beautiful and 65 degrees with no storms in site. But still only 36 degress in Flagstaff. We go long periods of great weather and then BOOM!

I went to Grand Canyon in February and it was a total bust. It was so cloudy that the only way you knew there was a canyon was by the cliff on the other side of the railing at the overlooks. We waited for a few hours but it never cleared and we ended up leaving without even seeing the canyon at all.

I'd skip the trip or focus on Tucson, and south. Tombstone would be fun for the kids and the Sonoran Desert Museum is also child friendly.

Save northern Arizona for a warmer time.

meab, my DH grew driving in rural and urban new england and thought he wouldn't mind driving around the GC area in the late winter. He was deeply humbled after encountering the roads out there in late winter/early spring. There are long stretches with neither lighting nor sufficient guard rails, at elevations of 3K and more between Phoenix and Sedona etc. Factor in the weather changes at higher elevations that can occur with little warning, and it's not for the faint of heart.

If you really want to go out there, you will find the Phoenix area has much to do--South Mountain has a lot of clearly marked trails, one or two of them would be great for little kids. My DS lives out there and hikes and does rock climbing, and he took me to South Mountain on Christmas Day and we did what he called the Senior Citizens' Trail(it's actually the Desert Classic/Beverly Canyon trail). :-)

Don't discount the Botanical Garden and the Zoo--they are marvelous. The BG has a magical display of glass sculpture (Dale Chihuly is the sculptor) incorporated into the gardens, lighted at night, going until sometime in February. The garden itself is unlike any other I've ever seen. Lots of places to stop for a hot chocolate or a snack, too. Great place for your older kids. There are recreations of Native American living conditions, and kids can go into the huts/teepees etc. There are volunteers who man 'stations' to give demonstrations of plant life, Native Amer. life etc and they are especially geared to the kids.

One other thing about the Grand Canyon: don't go out there expecting lots of safeguards. There are few areas with railings. We were there once--and I forget which part of the GC it was--and there was a family with 2 rambunctious boys running around the parking lot which was perilously close to the cliff edges. There was a dusting of snow on the ground.The parents of the boys weren't ignoring them but didn't have a handle on them. I got so anxious watching them that I insisted to DH that we get out of there. We went to a different area where we could enjoy the view without waiting for disaster. The GC isn't a theme park managed by Disney.