Arizona: Sedona's Red Rocks and the Grand Canyon

Phoenix to Sedona by Montezuma Castle

Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport north on Interstate 17 to Montezuma Castle, then Sedona

• Welcome dinner
• Nuit : Sedona
• Environ 2.5 h de route

Soir

After check-in we drive up to the Airport Mesa viewpoint to watch the sun go down over the red rocks of west Sedona, then walk to a welcome dinner with the group.

Compris

• Pick-up at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX)
• Montezuma Castle National Monument
• Sunset at the Airport Mesa viewpoint
• Welcome dinner in Sedona

Sedona's red rocks and Oak Creek

Sedona to Bell Rock and Courthouse Butte, the Chapel of the Holy Cross, then Red Rock Crossing on Oak Creek

• Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
• Nuit : Sedona
• Environ 1 h de route

Matin

Sedona's trails are busiest from mid-morning, so we start after an early breakfast at Bell Rock, the bell-shaped butte at the south end of town, while the light is low and the car park still has space. The easy group walks the Bell Rock Pathway, broad and nearly level, with Courthouse Butte beside it; the active group circles the whole Courthouse Butte loop. Your guide explains what you are looking at: layers of sandstone laid down as dunes, beaches and river mud, coloured red by iron oxide.

Après-midi

Then we visit the Chapel of the Holy Cross, built into the rock in 1956 with a view down the valley, and drive back into town for a sit-down lunch. The afternoon is free: rest, browse the galleries at Tlaquepaque, or book a 4x4 tour on the back roads.

Soir

In the early evening we drive to Crescent Moon Ranch at Red Rock Crossing, where Cathedral Rock rises above Oak Creek and its reflection lies in the water as the sun goes down. Dinner tonight is your choice.

Compris

• Guided walk at Bell Rock and Courthouse Butte
• Chapel of the Holy Cross
• Sit-down lunch in Sedona
• Sunset at Crescent Moon Ranch and Red Rock Crossing on Oak Creek

Activités en option

• A 4x4 tour on Sedona's back roads in the free afternoon, priced when you book

Jerome, Tuzigoot and a night under the stars

Sedona across the Verde Valley to Jerome and Tuzigoot National Monument, then back to Sedona

• Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
• Nuit : Sedona
• Environ 2 h de route

Matin

After breakfast we drive about 50 minutes west across the Verde Valley and up the switchbacks of Highway 89A to Jerome, a copper-mining town built on the side of Cleopatra Hill. When the mines closed in the early 1950s most people left; artists and shopkeepers later moved into the brick buildings that had not slid down the slope. We visit Jerome State Historic Park in the Douglas Mansion, built in 1916 for a mine owner, with its mining exhibits and a view across the valley to the red rocks, then walk the steep streets with your guide.

Après-midi

Lunch is sit-down in Jerome. On the way back we stop at Tuzigoot National Monument, a Sinagua pueblo on a ridge above the Verde River, where a short climb takes you to the top of the old rooms. We are back in Sedona by mid-afternoon, with time to rest.

Soir

After dark we drive out of town with a local astronomy guide and telescopes: Sedona is an International Dark Sky Community, and on a clear, moonless night the Milky Way stands out over the rocks.

Compris

• Jerome and Jerome State Historic Park in the Douglas Mansion
• Guided walk through Jerome
• Sit-down lunch in Jerome
• Tuzigoot National Monument
• Stargazing evening with a local astronomy guide and telescopes

Oak Creek Canyon and Flagstaff to the Grand Canyon

Sedona up Oak Creek Canyon to Flagstaff, then north to the Grand Canyon South Rim

• Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
• Nuit : Grand Canyon South Rim
• Environ 2.5 h de route

Après-midi

Lunch is sit-down in the old downtown by the railway and Route 66. After lunch it is about an hour and a half north-west past the San Francisco Peaks to the South Entrance of Grand Canyon National Park.

Soir

We check in for two nights, then ride the Hermit Road shuttle to Hopi Point for sunset (in winter we drive the road ourselves). Dinner tonight is your choice.

Compris

• Oak Creek Canyon on Highway 89A
• West Fork Trail walk from the Call of the Canyon
• Oak Creek Vista
• Sit-down lunch in Flagstaff
• Grand Canyon National Park entry
• Sunset at Hopi Point by the Hermit Road shuttle

A full day on the South Rim

Grand Canyon Village, the Bright Angel Trail and the Rim Trail, then Desert View Drive to the Watchtower

• Petit-déjeuner, repas du midi et repas du soir
• Nuit : Grand Canyon South Rim
• Environ 1.5 h de route

Matin

The canyon is quietest early, so anyone who wants a sunrise drives the few minutes to Mather Point with the guide before breakfast. Then the group splits. The active group goes below the rim on the Bright Angel Trail, which follows a natural break in the cliffs along the Bright Angel Fault, through two short rock tunnels to the 1.5-Mile Resthouse: about 4.8 km return with about 340 m to climb back up. Going down is the easy part, so we turn round early and take the climb slowly. The easy group walks the level Rim Trail past Kolb Studio, El Tovar and Hopi House to the Trail of Time, where each metre of path stands for a million years and rock samples are laid out by age.

Après-midi

We meet for a sit-down lunch in Grand Canyon Village, and the early afternoon is free. Later we drive east on Desert View Drive to Grandview Point, the Tusayan Ruin, an Ancestral Puebloan village about 800 years old, and Lipan Point, then watch the sun set from Desert View and its Watchtower.

Soir

A farewell dinner follows back in the village.

Compris

• Sunrise at Mather Point, for those who want it
• Guided walk on the Bright Angel Trail or the Rim Trail and Trail of Time
• Sit-down lunch in Grand Canyon Village
• Desert View Drive: Grandview Point, the Tusayan Ruin and Lipan Point
• Sunset at Desert View and the Watchtower
• Farewell dinner

Activités en option

• A helicopter or small-plane flight over the canyon from Tusayan in the free early afternoon, priced when you book

Back to Phoenix

Grand Canyon South Rim to Flagstaff, then Interstate 17 to Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport

• Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
• Environ 4 h de route

Matin

There is one more chance for sunrise on the rim before breakfast. We leave the park at about 9 am and drive south through the ponderosa pine forest to Flagstaff for a coffee stop, then down Interstate 17 off the Mogollon Rim and into the Verde Valley.

Après-midi

Lunch is sit-down near Camp Verde, roughly halfway, so no stretch of driving is longer than about an hour and a half. From there the road drops back into the Sonoran Desert, and the saguaros return near Black Canyon City. It is about 360 km and three and three-quarter hours of driving in all, within our four-hour cap. We reach Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX) at about 2:30 pm; book a flight leaving after about 5:30 pm. Your guide sees you to departures.

Soir

If you want to stay on, we can drop you in central Phoenix or Scottsdale instead and book an extra night for you.

Compris

• Sunrise on the rim, for those who want it
• Coffee stop in Flagstaff
• Sit-down lunch near Camp Verde
• Drop-off at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX)

Activités en option

• Extra nights in Phoenix or Scottsdale, booked on request