Spending a week at a timeshare in Sedonna next July. Interested in golf (probably flagstaff for more pleasant temps), GC, Vegas, low impact hiking. Any must sees/dos for a couple's first trip to the area.

I was there in July 1999 to visit my cousin and the weather was warm but perfect. My cousin told me it was monsoon season which means you could see rain, but temps were cooler than most of the summer.

The GC of course is a fabulous day trip from Sedona. There's also a place nearby where you can see ruins of Native American dwellings built into the side of a cliff. I'm sorry I don't recall the name of the place, but anyone in town should be able to help. (or perhaps another poster?) Another good day trip would be Jerome, it's a beautiful drive.

The best breakfast in Sedona will be at the Coffee Pot. They have any kind of omelette you can name, and some you've never heard of. All of the food is good.

You mentioned Vegas--please tell me you're not going to do that on a day trip. It's 277 miles (per mapquest) and it's not like there's a speedy interstate running between the 2 cities. You will find plenty to keep you busy in AZ, IMO Vegas would be a waste.

Have a great trip.

I think the Native American cliffside dwellings are called Montezuma's Castle, correct?

Yes, you are correct, trippin: Montezuma's Castle.

Steve27: here is a link to our trip report from Sedona in July, 2005:

http://fodors.com/forums/threadselec...1&tid=34655352

Good luck with your planning,

MY

I think you are right, trippinkpj.

Please allow me to re-state what I said above about a speedy interstate between Sedona and Vegas. As you probably know already, I-40 will take you through a good part of the drive to Vegas, but not all the way. For my taste, 277 miles is too far for a day trip. The only way I would encourage this is if you've never been to Vegas, you are just dying to see it, and staying overnight is out of the question. But that's just me.

PM/MY: Excellent suggestions. If we drive to Vegas, we'll definitely do an overnight. Should GC be an overnight? Are the July temps at GC conducive to low impact hiking?

The GC is not a long drive, I think it would be fine as a day trip. I've only been to the rim of the GC and temps were fine, but I'm told it gets hotter as you hike down. Here's a page from weatherbase.com with stats:

http://www.weatherbase.com/weather/w...=195320&refer=

After I posted I found this page with temps of the inner canyon, it is indeed hotter.

http://www.weatherbase.com/weather/w...=533420&refer=

If you make the trip to Montezuma Castle, head up the road a bit (10 miles or so) and also visit Montezuma Well and the V Bar V Petroglyph Site (administered by the National Forest Service). Also, you can visit Tuzigoot National Monument outside of Cottonwood.

Not sure what you mean by "low impact" hiking. If you mean easy or non-strenuous, then your best bet at the Grand Canyon is to just walk along the rim trail. If you choose to hike into the canyon a bit, it will get hotter as you descend. It also takes twice as long to ascend as it does to descend, so factor that into your hiking plans. Lots of people swear you should spend a night at GC to catch the sunset/sunrise. In summer, you'll have plenty of company if you decide to do that.