Would like tips on a 10-12 day road trip through Arizona. Would like to go sometime Mar thru April.

The basic plan is to fly to Phoenix, rent a car and see as much of Arizona as possible. We did a similar trip years ago in Utah. Flew into Vegas and visited The Mighty Five in Utah then returned to Vegas and flew home.

Looking to see if anyone has done a similar trip. What to see. What to skip. When I get more ideas I will start some serious research on hotels, BnBs, and routes.

Wife and I are 67 and in good health. Easy to moderate hikes and we're good to go.

Damn, where to start? I don't know if that's enough time, it's a big state with some surprisingly varied terrain.

You could try this...

Tucson
Globe
Show Low/Pine Top
Snowflake then west through Payson to Camp Verde
North to Sedona/Flagstaff
Over west and down through Prescott back to PHX

Or, fly into Vegas and work your way down to PHX

It's no super convenient and some of the bigger destinations are obviously nicer but when I lived there I was shocked at how pretty parts of eastern AZ was. Going in March there may even be snow there.

I'm also 67 and have lived here about 2 years. I live in the east valley so I'll suggest things near me or that I've done or plan to. Superstition Mountains have great hikes of varying difficulty and great views. Tonto National Forest, go to the Salt River and see if you run into wild horses. Both of these are very near town. Up Bush Highway (SH 87) to Payson, Heber, Strawberry and the little towns at 5,000 feet plus. Farther NE Show Low is higher and as mentioned might have snow. The largest Pinderosa Pine forest in the world is ip on the Mogollon Rim in that area. Straight north from Phoenix to Prescott, Sedona, Oak Creek. The Snowbowl will be open at Flagstaff.

South to Mount Lemon just outside Tucson. I haven't explored southern Arizona but there are quite a few wineries down there and there is some elevation.

Have a great trip. This state is amazing.

How about this:

Day 1 - Fly into Tucson.
.
.
.
Day 10 - Drive back to Flagstaff and depart from there.



Edit - A little less detail, hope that helps.

That's a hell of itinerary

Pahdz said:

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That's a hell of itinerary

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Totally agree, and it may be a little amibitious, but it seems to fit the parameter's of the OP's interest. And it hits most of the things people think of when they think of Arizona, IMO.

Aggie87 said:

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Pahdz said:

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That's a hell of itinerary

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Totally agree, and it may be a little amibitious, but it seems to fit the parameter's of the OP's interest. And it hits most of the things people think of when they think of Arizona, IMO.

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Can you be a little more specific?

Highly recommend Pima Air and Space Museum in Tucson, along with the 390th Memorial Museum (B-17) which is onsite. We thought we'd be there an hour and wound up staying half a day, and could have stayed longer if we had planned for it.

https://pimaair.org/

We also enjoyed the Sabino Canyon bus tour, which was pretty cool. I'm not a big hiker so we just stayed on the tram up and down the canyon. But you can get off at any stop and hike on your own.

https://sabinocanyoncrawler.com/our-shuttles/

In Tucson, we stayed at the El Conquistador Resort, which is part of the Hilton chain. Beautiful place and not as expensive as some of the other resorts there.

https://www.hilton.com/en/hotels/tushthh-el-conquistador-tucson/

ETA ... Tucson has some good breweries. We enjoyed Borderlands and Barrio.

I'd probably try a loop including the following;


Sedona
North rim grand canyon
Flagstaff
Payson
Petrified Forest National Park
Saguaro National Park


If golf is your thing lots of options between Flagstaff, Tucson, and Scottsdale.

The area NE of Phoenix along the Mogollon Rim is less touristy than Sedona (go there anyway) and Grand Canyon but still worth a trip. Sedona to Oak Creek, Camp Verde, Strawberry and Pine is nice. The Strawberry Inn is a pretty cool place to stay.

It sounds like you want to focus on hikes and natural sights, which is in line with my interests.
It will be a ton of driving, but let me give this a shot:

Day 1
Fly to Tucson
Saguaro National Park West
Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum
Stay Tucson
(More time, add: Cactus Forest Drive & Saguaro National Park East, Catalina State Park, Mt Lemmons)

Day 2
Tonto National Monument
Tonto Natural Bridge State Park
Stay Sedona

Day 3 & 4
Sedona
Hiking some of these

• Bell Rock
• Cathedral Rock
• Hangover Trail
• Devils Bridge
• Wilson Mountain
• Broken Arrow Trail
• Slide Rock State Park
• The Cathedral

Stay Sedona

Day 5
Petrified Forest NP
Canyon de Chelly National Monument (Book Tours in advance)
Stay Gouldings (Monument Valley)

Day 6
Monument Valley Tribal Park Visitor Center
Monument Valley - Drive Loop
Hike Mexican Hat Rock
Gooseneck State Park ~30m
Moki Dugway
Muley Point
Stay Page

Day 7
Horseshoe Bend
Glen Canyon Dam Overlook
Beehive Trail
Glen Canyon Dam & Visitor Center
Upper Antelope Canyon Tour (BOOK IN ADVANCE!)
Cathedral Wash Trail
Stay Page


Day 8
Drive Desert View Drive from East
Grand Canyon Village (South Kaibab Trail & other sights)
Walnut Canyon National Monument
Stay Flagstaff or Sedona

Day 9
Pipeline Canyon Trail on Lake Pleasant
Piestewa Peak
Stay Phoenix

Day 10
Fly from PHX


If you've got more time, add:
Tombstone
Prescott & Watson Lake
Look into Rainbow Bridge National Monument

Just turned 68. Im watching this thread. I'm a Ranger fan and always wanted to go for a week or so to spring training along with other things in that part of the country. I've only been to the Grand Canyon once and that's been the extent of my visit to Arizona.

Since I live in AZ, I can probably give you some helpful advice. However, it would help to know if you want to see the sights in northern AZ such as the Big Ditch National Park -- oops -- I meant Grand Canyon National Park and the sights on the Navajo Reservation such as Monument Valley. If so, I would say keep to the northern half of the state. If not, then the Tucson/S.E. AZ area would be doable.

C

What area are you in? I live near Gateway Airport so I tend to go to Globe, Payson and the Rim.

jja79 said:

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What area are you in? I live near Gateway Airport so I tend to go to Globe, Payson and the Rim.

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We are in Santa Cruz county, between Tucson and Nogales.