Sedona and Monument Valley

[klpca]

We are heading to Sedona Springs this winter. We already have already made a reservation at the View Hotel in Monument Valley. I'm just trying to wrap my head around the drive between the two locations, and if there are any sights between Sedona and Monument Valley that would be good places to stop along the way. I've done some searches on Tripadvisor but I am admittedly a bit overwhelmed. Some of the posters suggest a long list of side trips. I am not sure how to cull these down. Any first hand advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[sue1947]

Navajo National Monument might work. It's about 10 miles off the main road and the turnoff is about 30 miles before you get to Kayenta. This is a lesser known part of the park system. There's a visitor center and some short trails to overlooks. The main ruins can only be visited via a ranger led walk and it looks like they have shut those down for the winter season. We were there in mid-late-April and drove through a snowstorm to get to Kayenta and then hoped the warmer temps the next day would help, but they cancelled the walks due to ice. So that's one I have to go back for.
Other than that, it is a long and very lonely road. Make sure to check the weather and road conditions before going. The weather can be drastically different from Flagstaff north; I've been in sunshine in Sedona while there was a blizzard going on in Flagstaff. If you slid off the road on ice out somewhere between Tuba City and Kayenta, it would be a long time for help to come along and I suspect cell service is limited.

I would bet that some of the recommendations included Antelope Canyon out of Page. It's too far out of your way; probably an hour and a half each way.

Other recommendations might be for the National Monuments around Flagstaff: Walnut Canyon (east of Flagstaff so more out of the way) or Wupatki or Sunset. Save those for a separate day trip from Sedona. They are close enough to be a nice option. However, again, check the weather. They close the trails down into Walnut Canyon if its icy. Of the three, if you were to combine them with the drive to Monument Valley, I'd chose Wupatki. It's the most interesting. There is a loop road that takes off from Highway 89, hits Sunset first and then on to Wupatki and then back over to 89. It probably adds an extra 10-15 miles. Sunset is essentially just a cinder cone and lava flow so if you've seen that elsewhere, I'd skip it. Wupatki has the ancient ruins that are more unusual plus nice scenery over towards the mountains.

Sue

 

[bbodb1]

After visiting Arizona for the first time last year, Sue's point about isolation really hits home. I've never been in any state where it seemed so long (and so far) between towns - especially on the drive from Gallup, NM to St. George, UT. As an aside, it was all I could do to leave Jacob's Lake - that really looked like heaven on earth!

We visited Sedona later on this same trip but it was mid July - not the time for that. But we do want to go back during a more temperate time of the year. I'm also thinking we would stay in Flagstaff instead of Sedona to be closer to more things of interest.

 

[clifffaith]

Being from Los Angeles, we don't go anywhere we might encounter snow. On of my vendors tended to have a big trade show in Denver in March. We never even considered going. Then one year they moved it to May and I'll be darned if we didn't get snowed on late one afternoon! When my in-laws were alive we often went to Wichita Falls, TX for Thanksgiving. They didn't tell us they'd had snow because they knew we (meaning me, Cliff lived in Boston for a few years) wouldn't come. We got there on a sunny Tuesday and were surprised to see a bit of snow piled on the side of the road.

You'll love The View and the guided tour of Monument Valley. Spectacular scenery!

 

[DaveNV]

Katherine, a couple of years ago we did the reverse route of yours - from Monument Valley to Sedona. We were in the middle of a meandering road trip from Colorado through Utah, and down as far as Tucson, Arizona, ending back up in Phoenix. When we left Monument Valley we had no plans except to enjoy the drive to Sedona.

We ended up entering Grand Canyon at the East Entrance from Cameron, Arizona, and enjoying the drive to Grand Canyon Village at the South Rim. We were able to snag a room at El Tovar, so we enjoyed the sunset, a nice dinner, sunrise, and a great breakfast before making our way along 89A through Oak Creek Canyon into Sedona. It was an easy, scenic drive. You could easily do the reverse. Have fun!

Dave

 

[mjm1]

We drove from Sedona to Monument Valley last November. The weather was fine, but a bit cool. We did the tour in the valley, which was in an open air truck. We enjoyed the experience.

We made it a long day trip, so I don’t have any suggestions for a side trip. However, if you hit Kayenta around a meal time, the restaurant right on the corner was very good. The waitress asked if I wanted to try Navajo Fry Bread, which I had never heard of. I loved it and had it again with the stew at the lodge at Monument Valley. I would definitely recommend trying it.

Have a great trip.

Best regards.

Mike