Painted Desert from Grand Canyon
 

Has anyone travelled from the South Rim to Flagstaff via Rt. 64 to Rt 89 through a small section of the Painted Desert? What is there to see along the way?

If you are taking about the drive from the Grand Canyon visitor center to Cameron, AZ there are many stops to view the Grand Canyon all the way to Desert View.

After you leave the park you will start decending and you have a panoromic view of the area. Just before you reach Hwy 89 is a turn off for the Little Colorado. There is a open Navajo mall and a short walk to the overlook.

You really don't see much of a "Painted Desert" up close, it is more off in the distance as you descend. If you are traveling north on Hwy 89 you see some areas that look like "painted desert"

My pictures of Hwy 89 as we traveled north:

http://www.utahtea.lithium.com/vacat...3/hwy%2089.htm

Utahtea

Thanks.
We are actually staying at the South Rim for 2 nights, then heading to Sedona. When we looked on the map, we noticed that the Painted Desert wasn't too far away, and were wondering if we should take rt 64East to 89, opposed to 64 South to rt 40. Looking forward to checking out your pictures.

We were surprised how "unpainted" the Painted Desert looked - there were some attractive parts, but most was longer, flatter and greyer than I had expected.

diffy,

I would come into the Grand Canyon via I-40 and 64 because it's a little shorter drive but I would exit on Hwy 64 towards Desert View and Cameron to see the scenic overlooks and Hwy 89 south. You won't see as much of the painted desert driving south on Hwy 89, but as you leave the Grand Canyon you will have some really good views. You might also consider taking the Hwy 395 loop to Wupatki National Monument.

Utahtea

Just 2 weeks ago we did the route that utahtea suggested. However we had been to the painted desert near Holbrook, so the views on this route were't as impressive as what we'd seen a few days earlier. Worth it though just to get different scenery on your drive and to stop by Wupatki. We were heading from GC to Sedona as well and drove through Oak Creek Canyon just before sunset. A nice drive, but to me not as amazing as I expected after hearing so many raves about it.