Stay in Flagstaff to visit The Grand Canyon & Sedona
Listen , I know it is not common to choose to stay in Flagstaff for both Sedona and The Grand Canyon but we had one day to spend in each place so staying exactly one hour from both worked for us. When we arrived at Woody’s Campground in Flagstaff I was mesmerized by it. The campground had a cute cabin store up front, a carved bear totem pole, sites meandering through tall pines, and best of all when we showed up the campground was covered in over a foot of snow. It was camping in a winter wonderland. I checked the weather when we arrived and we were clear for the next couple of days. No snow was expected but as so often happens…the weather channel got it wrong that week.
Don had visited the Grand Canyon when he was a child, so while he was happy we were going the next day, I was the one jumping up and down about it. Only an hour drive from Woody’s Campground, we set off to see the canyon. Upon arriving there was only a line in front of us about ten cars long. Keeping in mind this was at the beginning of the pandemic we were surpised. In our travels we had not had to wait in any lines as people were choosing to just stay home. As we idled, waiting for our turn, it started to rain. Wait! That isn’t rain! That is sleet! It didn’t last long but we worried for a second…are we going to be caught in snow in The Grand Canyon?
As we got through the ticket booth we were immediately greeted on either side of the road with a herd of elk. They were beautiful to see and a great way to start our day. As we pulled into the first overlook I was blown away. It was so much bigger and well…Grander…than I could have imagined. After seeing canyons, and hoodoos, and mesa’s in Utah I was quick to realise that was just the appetizer to the main entree! And then that was it. That was the last overlook, the last grand display I would see of the canyon that day. The weather channel was way off on their calculations.
The first and last overlook I would get to see of The Grand Canyon before the blizzard set it.
As the snow started to fall I was in heaven. It was so beautiful and soft falling against the rocks and pines. Just the perfect winter wonderland kind of day. We got to the next overlook only to turn in and face the canyon to see…a wall of white! In a matter of minutes the entire canyon was taken over by this incoming storm and I realized we were about to be in white out conditions. I live with this philosophy that although something may scare me it scares me more not to experience something becausee of my fear, so we pushed on. As you can see in the photos below the snow went from flurries to huge snowflakes and before we knew it the forest floor was covered in a couple of inches of snow. While I missed the chance to see all the overlooks of the Grand Canyon what I did see was this national park being covered in white and it was so amazing. We drove slow and took our time. We got to see the train sitting still as it had just rolled in and I made a mental note to make sure I took the chance in the future to ride that train. As we headed back out to the entrance of the park we saw a vehicle that had slid of the road in the middle of the storm and Don was more than happy to jump out and help winch them out of their situation. We had not used the winch not even once so you can imagine his giddy excitement to jump in and save the day. About the same excitement that the couple in the vehicle expressed as they saw us rolling up towards them!
We will back to the Grand Canyon soon. There was so much I did not get to see. But that day is still one of my favorite days of our travels. I love the days that surprise me in the most beautiful, unexpected ways. On the way back to Flagstaff we, along with many otehr cars and semis, slid across the highway as we hit patches of black ice. But don’t worry, there were no accidents, only happy accidents on our Grand Canyon Day and little did we know more surprises were to come the next day when we visited Sedona.
After a good nights sleep and excited talks about our unexpected day we decided it was time to head to Sedona. They definitely did not have snow and there is a road connecting Flagstaff to Sedona that was supposed to be a beautiful drive. If you have not been down or up 89A I highly recommend it. That drive down to Sedona was breathtaking. Don has a dashcam video driving down this road. You can view it here. Now keep in mind dashcam footage doesn’t show you what we could see on every side of us but you can defiitely see the beauty of the place.
As you drive down 89A I recommend a stop at The Butterfly Garden Inn Market Cafe. We stopped in for drinks and snacks but it was all the decor and antiques that make you stay a bit longer. Truly a little gem along this road! As we continued on we passed by Slide Rock State Park and made a note to stop there on the way back if we had time. We had our hearts set on a hike in Sedona and nothing could slow us down from getting there. Until we got there. And we were stopped in bumper to bumper traffic. “This is Sedona?!?” I said incredulously to Don as we inched our way down the road past one gift shop after another and rows of pink Jeeps loaded with tourists headed out to see some red rocks. This is not what I had in mind. This looked like Gatlinburg in just a different state and different types of mountians. But we were here to see Sedona so we carried on finally making it to the trail we thought we would be hiking that day only to find out that the cars parked on the side of the road for the past half a mile were actually cars that had parked to take this same hike.
“I am out of here. I am hungry. Take me back to 89A.”
We remembered before reaching Sedona there was a cute cafe on the side of the road on 89A so we headed there, grabbed a bite to eat, a locally brewed beer, and made a bee line for Slide Rock State Park. We were determined to salvage the day. And I was pretty determined and set on never having to see Sedona again. I know that is an unpopular opinion. But if you have known me or followed me for any length of time you should know that big cities, traffic, and overly tourist areas just dont do it for me. That being said as I type this out we have discussed giving Sedona a second shot this year. I mean other people love it so maybe we just arrived at the wrong time?
Regardless, Slide Rock State Park saved the day! Once a 43 acre homestead with apple orchards and a farm this park is a time stamp in history with multiple buildings that have been lovingly cared for. It has only been a state park since 1985 and it is hard to imagine that someone owned this land and had full use of their own water park! This is a happening place during the summer where you can enjoy swimming and sliding in Oak creek but make sure you arrive early! The park has limited parking and it fills up fast. Due to us visiting in winter we didn’t take the plunge but enjoyed visiting the farm and the hikes around the property. It is a park I will always make time for when we are in the area. Would I stay again at Woody’s Campground to see the Grand Canyon and Slide Rock? Absolutely! The drives to each of these destinations were part of the beauty of the trip and I would have been sad to know we had stayed closer and missed everything we could see and visit along the way. And who knows…you may find me at Woody’s again in the near future as I try to capture the essence of Sedona I clearly missed out on!
