The Grand Canyon is by far one of Americas greatest natural wonders. Many family vacations, road trips, and other adventures are centered around visiting it. We recently took a road trip to the Grand Canyon’s South Rim and had our minds completely blown! I wanted to share this road trip planner for visiting the Grand Canyon South Rim from the Flagstaff or Sedona Arizona area with you.
If you follow our route, you’ll have a solid day of fun, and see two other National Parks in the same day!
When planning a road trip to the Grand Canyon, you have a few different choices. You can see the South or North rim at the Grand Canyon National Park , or visit the West Rim via the Hualapia Nation and take a walk on the skywalk. If you’re in Arizona, the best choice is to visit the Grand Canyon South Rim from Flagstaff or Sedona. It will give you the largest visitors’ center and afford you the opportunity to travel across much of the canyon’s rim. When visiting the area, I suggest staying in the Flagstaff/Sedona area.
It’s central to quite a few attractions and is relatively affordable. Doing so allows you to take a circular route to the Grand Canyon, the town of Bedrock, Wupatki National Monument and Sunset Crater.
How to Plan your Road Trip to the Grand Canyon South Rim
From Sedona you’d want to head up Interstate 17 until you hit Flagstaff and then get off on HWY 180 North. If you’re staying in Flagstaff HWY 180 is one of the main routes that runs parallel to I-40. Once you’ve started north on 180 continue about 51 miles and you will hit the junction with HWY 64. There’s a town called Valle there, and it’s home to the first stop on our trip, Flintstones Bedrock City.
Continue on HWY 64/180 N another 27 miles or so and you will find yourself in the Grand Canyon National Park (more info below on the park etc). Once you’ve decided to keep moving, follow HWY 64 N. Look for signs that lead you to Desert View. This road will take you for another 26 miles along the southern edge of the Canyon.
There are a TON of pullouts and views here so plan on it taking a while. The last stop will be the desert view with the watchtower. Continue east and exit the National Park. You will see several signs for a town called Cameron to direct you, after 30 miles you’ll hit HWY 89 and go SOUTH (don’t go towards Cameron when you hit HWY 89 or you will go north) continue for 20 miles and you’ll see a turnoff on your left for Wupatki. It’s very small and there are not many signs for it before hand, so keep an eye out for it.
Once you make the left, you are on Loop Road. This road will take you through Wupatki and Sunset Crater. It’s a total of 35 miles and it will leave you on HWY 89. Go south from here and you will hit Flagstaff in 16.1 miles. For us the whole trip was about 7 hours start to finish. If you are traveling with kids etc, I would expect it to take a bit longer. Here’s a map of what the loop looks like.
A Photo Tour of our Grand Canyon Road Trip
Now that you know what route to take, here’s a photo tour of our trip. The trip on 180 North was rather pretty, as it takes you through Coconino National Forest. We never knew just how lush and green Arizona could be!
When we hit Valle, we HAD to stop at Bedrock City. It’s a fun little attraction and it was only $10 a person. We spent about an hour there touring the place. (see our full Review of Flintstones Bedrock City here)
After leaving Bedrock City we made our way to the Grand Canyon! The main entrance takes you to a large visitor’s center where you can get maps and information. There is an option to take a bus along the western rim of the canyon, that we chose not to do. It takes a couple of hours, and we were going to drive along the whole eastern road instead. If you walk right behind the visitors center you’ll see the first and one of the most stunning viewpoints.
We then took a lovely scenic drive along the rim, stopping frequently at the viewpoints and pull outs to be constantly amazed!
The last stop in the park was the watchtower. It was really cool to see, and you can great a great view of the canyon from the top! There is a small cafe here to stop and grab a bite to eat. I can’t tell you if the food is good, because we packed a lunch, but it sure smelled tasty!
After that we made our way east out of the park and towards HWY 89 S. Even though the Canyon officially ends there are some great views.
We then entered Wupatki National Monument, drove along the loop road, and took a look at the old ruins located there.
After Wupatki there was some lovely open road along the way to Sunset Crater.
Then we arrived at Sunset Crater and spent some time looking at the volcanic landscape.
After Sunset Crater it was sundown and time to head back to the hotel and get some rest. While this trip took us the whole day to complete it was absolutely well worth the time. Seeing the Grand Canyon was definitely the highlight of the day, but adding the rest in made it a great all-around adventure. Hopefully you can enjoy our route as well and leave your own stories in the comments.
Where to Stay in Flagstaff to Visit the Grand Canyon
Luxury
Little Hotel America
2515 East Butler Avenue
Flagstaff, AZ 86004
- Tucked away in a 500 Acre Ponderosa Pine Forest, Free Wi-Fi, Restaurant/Bar on-site
Mid Range
DoubleTree by Hilton
1175 West Route 66
Flagstaff, AZ 86001
- Outdoor Pool and Hot Tub, Fitness Center, Sauna,
Budget
La Quinta Inn & Suites
2015 South Beulah Boulevard
Flagstaff, AZ 86001
- Pet-Friendly, Free Wi-Fi, Free Breakfast
Where to Stay in Sedona to Visit the Grand Canyon
Luxury
Hotel El Portal
95 Portal Lane
Sedona, Arizona 86336
- Rated the top Pet Friendly Hotel in America
Mid Range
Poco Diablo Resort
1752 Highway 179
Sedona, Arizona 86336
- Free Wi-Fi, Select Comfort Beds, Resort Atmosphere
Budget
Holiday Inn Express
6176 Highway 179
Sedona, AZ
- Free Wi-Fi, Free Breakfast
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Great guide and pictures!
Great tips for a Grand Canyon road trip! We did a Grand Canyon road trip two years ago with our boys, though from a different start and end point. Loved it! We spent a night at the rim so we could catch both a sunset and sunrise over the canyon – beautiful!
We could have easily spent a whole day at just the Canyon. This route can easily be broken into two days if you spend the night there camping. We always try to take a different route back from the route we tak into somewhere to make the drive more fun.
Great minds think alike! lol – One day I want to go back to that area, just to see the sites south of The Grand Canyon, like the Wupatki Ruins and of course, Bedrock! BTW – love your photos!
That area has so much to offer! We need to go back as well and see everything in the Sedona area as well.
I haven’t been to the Grand Canyon since I was little and apparently nearly fell off. I will have to keep this guide in mind for when I return.
Thanks Suzy!
The pictures are fantastic! Glad I stumbled across this post!
Great article, Kenin; it definitely looks like you guys had a blast on your road trip. I love the pictures! My husband and I are trying to plan a trip to the Grand Canyon for this summer. We’ve been thinking about doing a few hikes, take a mule ride, and maybe even go rafting. We’ll have to use your travel tips when we’re planning out our route. Thanks for the help!
Grand canyon is an amazing place! It stays in my “to-do in life” list! Definitely a special place! Having a road trip there should’ve been great! Thank you for sharing! The photos are stunning! :)
Planning a trip to GC in late Sept/Oct. Last there about 10 yrs. ago and took the AAA train tour. Thanks for the some ideas on what else to see since we are going by car this time. Just “discovered” your site so plan on exploring it. Hope you have something on Santa Fe!
Hey Cheryl,
Let us know if yo have any other questions about our trip. We don’t have anything on Santa Fe, as we haven’t visited yet :-(
HI
We are visiting CA in July 2015 and planning 3 nights 2 days in GC, Some say it is far too many nights to spend in Grand Canyon. i know it will be hot but can someone advised if there is a lot to do. We are visiting from UK and have been to canyon 17 years ago, which was in Feb.
Thank you
Hey Preksha,
You mentioned that you’re spending 3 nights in the GC area, are you going to be in Flagstaff or further North? The reason I ask is that you can easily spend a whole day in the Grand Canyon National Park area hiking and exploring and then easily spend time visiting some of the other spots mentioned in this post, or heading South to Sedona for the day and checking out the attractions there.
I was there last week and it was breathtaking!!!!!!! Everyone should go see the Grand Canyon at least once in their lives. We plan to go again nest year. It is totally worth it. Thanks for sharing your story :)
It really is incredible to see in person! The funny thing is you’ll see it over and over again and always see something new.
Thinking of making the road trip. Great pictures. Are there any costs to this (food and gas of course) such as entrance fees to the park area where you went or the tower?
Thanks,
Terry
Hey Terry,
There are costs associated with visiting the GCNP and they vary depending on how you enter the park. You can see the full fee structure here: https://www.nps.gov/grca/planyourvisit/fees.htm