Arizona
Hiking through Sedona, Grand Canyon, and Page
The longest trip of our jam-packed 2023 gave us a tour of many different flavors of the Southwest. We flew in and out of Phoenix and drove north, spending time in Sedona, Flagstaff, the Grand Canyon, and Page.
Dates: Saturday, April 8th → Saturday, April 15th
Highs
👍 We could have spent a full week in Sedona! There were SO many great hikes, plentiful and unique shopping, and solid eats.
👍 The Grand Canyon lives up to the hype. It’s the most visited national park in the West for good reason and we loved it. Whether you walk along the rim or hike into the canyon, there isn’t a wrong way to soak in the views.
👍 Exploring our first slot canyons was unforgettable. We think it’s a must to experience the colors and textures of Antelope Canyon!
👍 Every road trip needs a soundtrack. This collection of 1960’s psychedelia, 1970's singer-songwriter, and jam bands was perfect for the Arizona backdrop.
Lows
👎 This might be more of a low that turned into a high? The Cathedral Rock Trail was tough. It might only be around half a mile up, but it’s a 750ft elevation gain — so it’s scramble city. Erik’s fragile masculinity might leave him without a healthy fear of crawling up rocks, but Emily struggled on some of the steep parts. Maybe it was Sedona’s vortexes radiating good spiritual vibes from Earth’s core, maybe it was peer pressure by some hiker pals that we made, but Emily ended up scaling Cathedral Rock like a champ.
👎 We get it, no one comes to the Grand Canyon for stellar food and lodging. But Tusayan, the only town outside of GCNP, is a crappy tourist trap. Prices are high and quality is low, featuring eateries with reviews like “A Dark Chamber of Horrors…Words cannot describe the unbridled terror that this restaurant represents” (via Yelp). The Wendy’s in Tusayan was our go-to for a quick and cheap breakfast. We will definitely look into staying in a lodge within the park on our next visit.
Our big kayak adventure into Antelope Canyon was cancelled due to high winds on Lake Powell. We’d still love to do this some day, here’s the rental site and a guide on it.
Buffalos
🦬 We loved perusing the wealth of odd, mystical, and spiritual brochures in our hotel lobbies — especially in Sedona. Looking to heal a broken heart? See a UFO? Lift a curse? Arizona has you covered!
CHOOSE YOUR FIGHTER 🦬 We picked up a National Park Passport book and began a mission to fill it with a stamp from every national park, monument, and other random landmark that the government has deemed worthy of having an ink pad + stamp in their visitor center.
🦬 At Horseshoe Bend, Erik (local sunset-chasing boy) spent over an hour posted up at the incredibly windy edge of a 1,000-ft cliff to get shots of the vista. Pepper needs new shorts!
Itinerary
Here’s what we did each day, and some notes on how it all went.
Day 1 - Sedona
Landed in PHX
Had lunch at Fame in Phoenix (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)
Made a quick stop at Montezuma’s Castle
Hiked the Cathedral Rock Trail as soon as we made it to Sedona
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️, hard difficulty
Dinner at Pisa Lisa (⭐️⭐️⭐️ 1/2)
Stayed at Sedona’s Green Tree Inn (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 1/2)
This was a great, affordable stay!
Views from the end of the Cathedral Rock Trail
Day 2 - Sedona
Hiked the Soldier Pass Trail
We loved how many cool spots you could check out on this trail: Devil’s Kitchen, Sacred Pools, and Soldier’s Arch. The arch was definitely worth hiking up to, while the trail’s end at the intersection at the Brin’s Mesa trail was a little anticlimactic.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 1/2, 5.38 miles, moderate difficulty
Dinner at Javelina Cantina (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)
Our best dinner in Sedona, the margarita flight hit the spot!
Sunset at Airport Mesa, great views but far too crowded
Soldier Pass trailhead
Day 3 - Sedona
Hiked Devil’s Bridge
We took the shuttle to Dry Creek Vista, the closest stop to the trailhead. The first bit of the trail is an easy walk along a dirt road where you’ll see the occasional Jeep, and the last stretch up to Devil’s Bridge is steep with some scrambling.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️, 4.2 miles, moderate difficulty
Shopped at Tlaquepaque, a unique arts and shopping village in the heart of Sedona with live music, architecture, and more
Dinner at the nearby Hideaway House (⭐️⭐️⭐️)
Took a short hike at the Crescent Moon picnic site to get sunset views of Cathedral Rock
Day 4 - Grand Canyon
Headed north from Sedona, made a pitstop at the Oak Creek Vista overlook
Grabbed lunch in Flagstaff at Proper, a terrific local butcher shop (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)
Made it to the Grand Canyon and hiked along part of the Rim Trail as an intro
Caught sunset at Hopi Point via shuttle out on the Hermit’s Rest route
Stayed at the Squire’s Inn, an absolute tourist trap but pretty nice (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)
Day 5 - Grand Canyon
Hiked the South Kaibab Trail to the Cedar Ridge waypoint
This trail descended nearly 1,200 feet into the canyon, and we think it’s an amazing way to experience this wonder of the world if you’re up for the elevation change
Be prepared: even in April, the initial descent was a slippery mix of ice and mud. Hiking poles are very useful here. It was also pretty windy at points, which swirled sand towards your face and made it hard to see — bring a hat and sunglasses!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️, 3.1 miles, hard difficulty
View of O’Neil Butte, a bit over a mile into hiking the South Kaibab Trail
Day 6 - Page
Drove the Desert View Parkway on the way out of the Grand Canyon
Stopped at Navajo Bridge and saw condors
Hopped on over to Lee’s Ferry, a hidden gem
Paria Beach and its river confluence are a must-see
Horseshoe Bend Trail for sunset
Iconic spot, but you do have to get really close to the edge of a 1,000-ft cliff to get the view
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️, 1.5 miles, easy difficulty
Dinner at Bird House (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 1/2)
Stayed at the Rodeway Inn (⭐️⭐️⭐️) No issues, but nothing special.
Day 7 - Page & Flagstaff
11:45AM tour of Lower Antelope Canyon with Dixie’s
Incredibly colorful and photogenic with great lighting
2:30PM tour of Upper Antelope Canyon with Antelope Slot Canyon
Darker canyon, but maybe more interesting rock features
The off-road-ready tour busses that took us out into the desert were cool
Headed back towards Flagstaff to stay the night, returned to Proper for lunch, explored some shopping, and ate dinner at Pato Thai (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 1/2)
Flew home the next morning
Lower Antelope Canyon
Our Tips & Musings ™️
☀️ If you’re planning to do Antelope Canyon tours, book far ahead, and book as close to noon as you can. This is the most popular time, because it allows the most sunlight to enter the canyon, bringing out more colors and better camera exposures.
💡 Use the free shuttle system(s)! We used it in Sedona to get to trailheads and in GCNP to hop between overlooks. Parking and road conditions can be iffy, and this worked well for us.
🔎 We’re forever nominating the Grand Canyon for “Best Binocular Destination”, and highly recommend getting a pair for any “Out West” trip. We picked these Nocs up in Sedona and love ‘em!
🚗 You don’t need a Jeep to enjoy Sedona. Our rental sedan handled the roads well, just don’t try to brave dirt roads clearly marked for AWD/4WD.
🕑 Keep any eye on the clock when driving between the Grand Canyon and Page. Part of the route passes through Navajo land, which unlike the rest of Arizona, observes Daylight Savings Time. This means that your phone’s clock may auto-update and be an hour ahead between March and November when DST is in effect.
🍳 This trip was busy and demanding! Loading up on hotel continental breakfasts and packing healthy, filling stuff for lunch hikes was a necessity!
🧊 We bought a styrofoam cooler at the start of the trip, and it was a great way to keep groceries cold between hotels.