An 8-day Northern Arizona road trip looping from Phoenix through Jerome, Sedona, Flagstaff, the Grand Canyon South Rim and Route 66 Williams. Full itinerary with drives, stops and the best time to go.
Northern Arizona packs more variety into a week of driving than almost anywhere in the United States. In a single loop from Phoenix you climb from saguaro desert to red rock canyons, mile-high pine forests and the rim of the Grand Canyon, with a copper-mining ghost town and a Route 66 railway stop thrown in. This Northern Arizona road trip itinerary covers it all in eight unhurried days, with no driving leg longer than about three hours.
The loop runs counter-clockwise from Phoenix Sky Harbor: up to Jerome and Sedona, over the Oak Creek Canyon byway to Flagstaff, north to the Grand Canyon South Rim, then back through Williams to Phoenix. You can run it in reverse just as easily.
Distances are short by Southwest standards, which leaves the bulk of each day for hiking, viewpoints and towns rather than the car. Spring and autumn are the sweet spots: the desert is bearable, the high country is mild, and the canyon rim is open and uncrowded.
Start in the Sonoran Desert. Collect the hire car at Sky Harbor and spend a first day adjusting to the dry heat among the giant saguaro at the Desert Botanical Garden, or on the trails of South Mountain Park and Camelback Mountain. Phoenix is the lowest and hottest point of the trip, so hike early and drink more water than you think you need.
Drive north on I-17, then climb into the Verde Valley to Jerome, a copper boom town stacked up the side of Cleopatra Hill. By the 1920s it was one of Arizona's largest cities; when the mines closed in the 1950s it nearly became a ghost town, until artists moved in and saved it. Today the old bordellos and saloons house galleries, tasting rooms and restaurants, and Jerome State Historic Park preserves the Douglas Mansion and the mining story below the town. The streets are steep, so park once and walk.
Sedona is the place to slow down for two nights. Its red sandstone buttes are the visual heart of the trip, best seen at sunrise and in the last hour of light. Hike to Cathedral Rock or across to Devil's Bridge, drive the Red Rock Scenic Byway (SR-179), or take a backcountry Jeep tour for the formations you cannot reach on foot. Back in town, the galleries and restaurants of Tlaquepaque and uptown Sedona are worth an evening.
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Trailhead car parks fill early, so start at first light or use the free Sedona shuttle to the busiest trails. Most trailheads need a Red Rock Pass, sold locally and at machines on site.
The drive from Sedona to Flagstaff on AZ-89A is one of the best short drives in the state. The road follows Oak Creek up a wooded gorge, then climbs a set of switchbacks out of the canyon onto the Colorado Plateau, gaining roughly 2,500 feet from red rock desert to ponderosa pine. Stop at Slide Rock State Park and the Oak Creek Vista overlook on the way up.
Flagstaff sits at about 7,000 feet and feels like a different state: cool air, pine forest and a lively Route 66 downtown. Tour Lowell Observatory, where Pluto was discovered in 1930, walk the historic centre, or detour to the cliff dwellings at Walnut Canyon. Nights are cold up here even in summer.
From Flagstaff it is about 90 minutes to the South Rim via US-180 and AZ-64. This is the headline, and two nights inside or just outside the park are worth it: you get a sunrise and a sunset over the canyon without rushing. Walk the paved Rim Trail between viewpoints, ride the free shuttle out along Hermit Road, or drop a short way below the rim on the Bright Angel Trail to feel the scale of the place. Around 90 percent of canyon visitors choose the South Rim, and its overlooks, lodges and trails are open all year.
Book lodging months in advance, carry water on any hike below the rim, and remember that the rim sits at over 7,000 feet, so afternoons can turn cold or stormy quickly.
Drop south from the canyon to Williams, a small Route 66 town that bills itself as the gateway to the Grand Canyon. Its neon-lit main street, diners and saloons make a relaxed last stop, and the Grand Canyon Railway runs 65 miles from here to the South Rim depot if you would rather let the train do the work. From Williams it is a straightforward run back to Phoenix on I-40 and I-17, roughly three hours, closing the loop.
Spring (April to May) and autumn (September to October) are the best windows. The desert around Phoenix and the Verde Valley is warm but not punishing, the high country around Flagstaff and the canyon rim is mild, and the summer crowds have eased.
Summer brings extreme heat to Phoenix (regularly over 40C) and the North American monsoon, which can deliver dramatic but disruptive afternoon storms on the plateau from July into September. Winter turns Flagstaff and the canyon rim snowy and cold; the South Rim stays open, but check road conditions and pack for freezing nights.
Altitude: You climb from about 1,100 feet in Phoenix to over 7,000 feet at Flagstaff and the canyon rim. Take the first day or two gently and stay hydrated.
Fuel: Top up in the larger towns. Fill the tank in Williams before the long I-17 run back to Phoenix.
Lodging: Sedona and the Grand Canyon South Rim book up far ahead, especially in spring and autumn. Reserve those two early and the rest is flexible.
Passes: A Red Rock Pass is needed for most Sedona trailheads, and the Grand Canyon charges a vehicle entrance fee (or use an America the Beautiful pass).
Driving: All legs are paved and easy, but Oak Creek Canyon's switchbacks and the open plateau highways reward an unhurried pace.
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The full route — stops, maps, and driving times — is on Routebook by Kington.
An 8-day loop from Phoenix through the best of Northern Arizona: the copper hill town of Jerome, the red rocks of Sedona, Oak Creek Canyon, high-country Flagstaff, the Grand Canyon South Rim and Route 66 Williams, before returning to Phoenix.
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