Arizona Trip

[Rover_Anthony]

Hey OB Forum,

Glad to be part of the community. So I'm planning a road trip from Dec. 26-30ish to Arizona. I'll be leaving the LA the 25, staying in Palms Springs one night, then hitting the road towards Arizona. This will be my first time driving the Rover this far so I'm a bit reluctant. (But hey, thats what AAA is for right? )

I was planning on staying around the Flagstaff area, which is situated in between my points of interest. I wanted to visit the Grand Canyons area one day and Sedona the next. I'm hoping 4 days is adequate time to do that. I will be staying at a hotel for the most part. But wanted to camp out as well if possible.

I would like some recommendations, advice, knowledge that can be helpful in planning this trip. Weather, places to stay, camping places , places to visit along the way, anything would help.

Thank in advance for the comments.....

 

[KD7WCD]

Flagstaff in December? Do you like snow campaign? I am a Montana native and some of the worst snow storm I have ever driven out of have been in Flagstaff, AZ.

Keep an eye on tbe weather. It is hit or miss to what AZ winters will look like up there. Also take the North Rim of the Grand Canyon off the list. It is closed until spring.

If you look east from Flagstaff, the Painted Desert and Petrified Forest are a great area to explore. You can even make it up to Monument Valley and Canyon De Chelly.

If you are going to spend a little time in Sedona and want to do some offroading check out Broken Arrow. This will take you into the quintessential photo op areas of Sadona. And don't let the Jeep Tour guy tell you you can't go there. It is an open trail. The town of Jerome is a fun stop but avoid weekend crowds.

If it is looking like the weather is not going to corporate, you might think about staying South towards Tucson. This is a great time of year to camp in the low desert. If you like wine tasting keep going east from there towrds Tombstone. The Willcox are has some great wineries down there.

I'd offer to hook up with you and show you around the stat but I know we will be slammed with work over those dates starting in on rehearsal for a big stadium show.

There is a lot to see in AZ and this time of year it is not 110º out side at 8 PM.

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[Rover_Anthony]

Thanks for the feedback KD7WCD.

I will definitely consider all your recommendations and suggestions. I am going with the wife, so I do have to factor in everything you mentioned and some of the activities that we may or may not want to do.

Very kind of you to even consider showing me around. I'd definitely take a rain check on that some other time, and if you're ever in the LA area, i'l It's nice to be a part of the OB community.

 

[odingrey]

For Sedona, check out Schnebly Hill Road, for the Grand Canyon, you're going to probably have to do the south rim because of time. North rim visitor center is closed, but you could hit up other areas. Just expect a lot of snow and cold. If you still want to do north rim, check out Point Sublime.

 

[Rogue Beardsman]

The north rim Is closed in december. They close hwy 67 at jacob lake. So point sublime wont be a good option.

Also i agree with the above warnings. Flagstaff can get some nasty weather. Make sure you pack your layers.
When i lived in tempe az i took a class in flag and forgot to pack an ice scraper i had to use my credit card!.


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[odingrey]

The north rim Is closed in december. They close hwy 67 at jacob lake. So point sublime wont be a good option.

Also i agree with the above warnings. Flagstaff can get some nasty weather. Make sure you pack your layers.
When i lived in tempe az i took a class in flag and forgot to pack an ice scraper i had to use my credit card!.


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I was under the impression it was just the visitors center closed at Point Sublime? I have a trip planned up there in May and it should be closed then, should I be worried?

 

[Rogue Beardsman]

The season at the north rim is may 15th - october 15 th. So if your trip is after may 15th you will be fine. The 15th is when they open up the gates on hwy 67


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[odingrey]

Awwww, that sucks... We were hoping to do it a few days before Overland Expo West, which ends on the 14th.

 

[Rogue Beardsman]

What area are you coming from to get the flag for the expo? Theres a lot in the southern utah area that would be good to do that time of year.


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[odingrey]

Have a weekish trip planned for Bay area -> north of Yosemite -> North Rim -> Sedona -> Bay Area. Just happened to land in Sedona around the time of the expo, so I figured that was a bonus. If we can't make it, it won't be the end of the world.

Of course, we could always do the whole trip backwards...

 

[Ed B]

Awwww, that sucks... We were hoping to do it a few days before Overland Expo West, which ends on the 14th.

Although the North Rim may be closed the Kaibab National Forest is open and there are many fantastic views of the canyon that can be accessed from Forest Service roads. Get the North Kaibab Ranger District map which shows those roads.

 

[1Louder]

I was under the impression it was just the visitors center closed at Point Sublime? I have a trip planned up there in May and it should be closed then, should I be worried?

Point Sublime and visitors center are two very different places. The road gets closed way north of all of this. Sublime is 20 some miles down a dirt road to the west. Visitors center is at the end of the highway.

Plenty of stuff just outside the park on the north side just look at the maps.

 

[Rogue Beardsman]

Just a warning.

From my experience living at the north rim april- October for the last 6 years.
Before may 15th. While hwy 67 is closed. Any of the kaibab forest roads south of jacob lake have the potential of being blocked by fallen trees and a lot of snow. The forest service only patrols and clears some roads like fr22
Any forest roads that cross into grand canyon national park wont be cleared at all. So plan accordingly.


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[odingrey]

Point Sublime and visitors center are two very different places. The road gets closed way north of all of this. Sublime is 20 some miles down a dirt road to the west. Visitors center is at the end of the highway.

Plenty of stuff just outside the park on the north side just look at the maps.

Whoops, fumbled my words. Means to say only visitor center closed at north rim*

 

[odingrey]

Just a warning.

From my experience living at the north rim april- October for the last 6 years.
Before may 15th. While hwy 67 is closed. Any of the kaibab forest roads south of jacob lake have the potential of being blocked by fallen trees and a lot of snow. The forest service only patrols and clears some roads like fr22
Any forest roads that cross into grand canyon national park wont be cleared at all. So plan accordingly.


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I definitely can't handle very large fallen trees right now... Do they tend to clean up the point sublime trail?

Our dates aren't super solid tbh, it might be better to wait until later in the year if cutting it this close to the winter closure crops up these things.

 

[Rogue Beardsman]

I definitely can't handle very large fallen trees right now... Do they tend to clean up the point sublime trail?

Our dates aren't super solid tbh, it might be better to wait until later in the year if cutting it this close to the winter closure crops up these things.

I would wait if you can. Before the 15 the the road to point sublime will definitely be blocked up. They have to clear all the paved roads before the 15 th for guests to grand canyon lodge so the point sublime road gets put off until everything else is handled. So its a gamble. My friend works for park service in maintenance out there but he broke his leg and isnt very helpful on information right now. Hahah.

Im going to check if i have any of my maps with me for you. If there isnt too much snow. Swamp point , fire point , powell point, and monument point are great views that would be more accessible.



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[Rogue Beardsman]

Hey OB Forum,

Glad to be part of the community. So I'm planning a road trip from Dec. 26-30ish to Arizona. I'll be leaving the LA the 25, staying in Palms Springs one night, then hitting the road towards Arizona. This will be my first time driving the Rover this far so I'm a bit reluctant. (But hey, thats what AAA is for right? )

I was planning on staying around the Flagstaff area, which is situated in between my points of interest. I wanted to visit the Grand Canyons area one day and Sedona the next. I'm hoping 4 days is adequate time to do that. I will be staying at a hotel for the most part. But wanted to camp out as well if possible.

I would like some recommendations, advice, knowledge that can be helpful in planning this trip. Weather, places to stay, camping places , places to visit along the way, anything would help.

Thank in advance for the comments.....

In flagstaff there is some camping ( national forests) and a KOA option and a few established campgrounds in the winter but even if its not too snowy. Its going to be very cold.

Theres a string of cheap hotels on lucky lane in flag. They are old and outdated but i havent had any issues with bugs or anything. I stay in the howard johnson when i travel through sometimes for 40 bucks.

Though if you have it in the budget there are plenty of nice not questionable hotels also.

In flag theres a lava river tube. Its a underground lava tube that runs for about a mile or so. Its about 15 degrees cooler down there. Bring lots of flashlight and headlamps. Theres no light down there. Theres also snowbowl for skiing.

Have fun on your trip and be safe!



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[odingrey]

I would wait if you can. Before the 15 the the road to point sublime will definitely be blocked up. They have to clear all the paved roads before the 15 th for guests to grand canyon lodge so the point sublime road gets put off until everything else is handled. So its a gamble. My friend works for park service in maintenance out there but he broke his leg and isnt very helpful on information right now. Hahah.

Im going to check if i have any of my maps with me for you. If there isnt too much snow. Swamp point , fire point , powell point, and monument point are great views that would be more accessible.



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That would be awesome, thanks! I'll honestly probably just push the trip back to June. Thanks for the info!

 

[Jaydub514]

Hey there!

I'll be taking the trip from LA to Flagstaff/GCNP right around that time as well, we wanted to do something different this year for New Years instead of being packed somewhere like sardines :)

Hoping to see the Petrified Forest NP East of Flag as well while we are out there and stop by in Williams for some sights on the way back. Really hoping for not so crazy snow storms, but I know either way it'll be freezing cold out.

Will be going with another couple as well, so I'm trying to keep the anxiety level of the not so daring crowd down - is there anything you guys would recommend that would be fun to see?

 

[ChadHahn]

The summer is the best time to go to Flagstaff, and the Grand Canyon. Last year we went up in July and it was very pleasant, in the high 80s. The lava tube was fun although there were a lot more people there than I thought there would be.

I'm from Nebraska and am amazed at how cold it can get in Flagstaff.

Chad