Monument valley, Grand Canyon, Sedona recommendations

[Spr]

Hello,

We will be headed out from Chicago to the Phoenix area in a week and I was hoping to get some suggestions for drives, hikes, and anything in between including food and beer. We will be spending a night in Moab, stopping in Monument valley then heading to north rim of Grand Canyon and hoping to see Sedona on the way down to Phoenix. Once we hit monument valley we will have approx 5 days followed by 6-7 days next month when we return back to Chicago (end of November). Nothing too crazy from a drive standpoint. We will driving a 144 4 wheel drive sprinter camper but do have the ability to air down (and back up) if needed. As always we appreciate the suggestions

[B1200]

Just a thought but as you're already going to be in Utah you might want to detour a little and go to see the Bonneville Salt flats. Even if no one is attempting world record speed runs, and they might be, it is worth seeing. And your can grab a bunch of free salt while you're there.
And please don't just "hope" to see Sedona. It is beautiful and a must see, in my opinion, if you are in the area.
Have a fun and safe trip.

[Wowbagger]

Originally Posted by B1200

Just a thought but as you're already going to be in Utah you might want to detour a little and go to see the Bonneville Salt flats.

"Holy Ground...."

[sbgrimm]

Be aware there is a bridge out and Hwy 95 is closed from Blanding to Cedar Mesa, so the Moki Dugway and Muley Point is probably not a good option for you. Before you hit Monument Valley there is good boondocking nearby in Valley of the Gods and dry camping at Goosenecks State Park or Sand Island. We love Goosenecks, you can camp right on the edge of the 1000+ foot precipice. Also, you will pass through Blanding on the way south from Moab. Edge of the Cedars Museum there is amazing for Ancestral Puebloan artifacts.

[REF]

Yup, there’s also sand island and kachina petroglyph panels.
Gooseneck state park is tiny, but affords you an amazing view of the San Juan below with camping on the cliff, but they do charge you an entrance and a camping fee to park in a dirt lot next to you know who running the generator all night long.
As an alternative and an equally unique camping experience on a cliff side, head to Muley Point, open dispersed camping and it’s free! Super cool cliff side rock structures to hop around on. Head up 261 off of 163 from Mexican Hat from the south and hit the impressive dirt road switchbacks of Moki Dugway, Muley point road is just at the top, follow it in to the end.
Valley of the Gods road is amazing, try to make some time to do the loop, great camping spots along the loop as well.
On your way south on 163, towards monument valley, make sure to stop at Forest Gump Point to get the famous shot and take in the views

[JoeH]

Are you camping in Sedona? Any area outside the green boundary is open for dispersed camping: https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE...rdb5416228.jpg

Here's the insider low-down: https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer...C0.013937&z=16

[rltilley]

I love the Sedona area and it has some of the best mountain biking I’ve experienced. Schnebly Hill Road is a nice scenic drive that takes you from Sedona up to Flagstaff. Last time I drove it it was in much worse shape than I remember. I think the Jeep tour companies in town must have asked the powers that be to stop maintaining it to keep tourist traffic off of it. It was smooth at the top but pretty rocky closer to town. There is camping allowed on the upper portion of the road.

If In Flagstaff then breakfast at MartAnne’s is a must:

https://martannes.com/

I did a bike tour of the Rainbow Rim trail on the North rim of the Grand Canyon a couple of years ago. There are lots of forest roads to explore near there. Toroweap is close too but has 60 miles of dirt roads to drive..

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toroweap_Overlook

[JoeH]

I can confirm that Schnebly Hill Rd will remove the fillings in your teeth. It was a pretty epic summer monsoon thunderstorm season with cars floating down streets in Flagstaff.

Matannes is da bomb.

[Spr]

You guys are awesome!! We ended up breaking this trip into 2 parts with the second part starting shortly. We are flying out to AZ to get the van and head back to the Midwest over the course of 7-10 days (weather dependent). Our plans on this trip are to kick off the trip at MartAnnes (Thank You RLTILLEY) head to monument valley, hit the suggested trails above (Thanks you REF and SBGRIMM) followed by 4-6 days in the Moab area. I have identified about 300 miles of scenic dirt roads that we will be taking as we slowly work our way north to I70. If anyone has any suggestions on Sprinter friendly trails to hit while out that way we would love any suggestions you might have. Even though it’s December it appears to be dry and snow free still. I know this can change on a dime so none of these plans are set in stone but either way any trail suggestions are always welcome for the next time we are out that way.

I will roll in a brief trip report here from the first leg of the trip.


Trip 1: We hit the North Rim of the Grand canyon. We arrived late in the day followed by a 26 degree night which was luckily the last of the cold for the balance of the trip. We spent 3 days hiking the trails, exploring around, and enjoying the views. For accommodations we ended up getting a couple free walk up sites at the NP campground due to their computer system being down. Having free camping with clean bathrooms is pretty rare so we took full advantage. There are also loads of amazing dispersed sites (with views) off 611 and 22 just north of the park entrance.

On a whim we decided to go check out the South rim National Park. It wasn’t terribly out of the way so figured we might as well go while we were out that way. The drive was INCREDIBLE. It was also late in the day so we got some amazing colors. WOW, what a stark contrast from the north rim to the south rim. This was late Oct and the park was SLAMMED with people. We rolled in after dark, drove 45 min from the gate to the campground knowing the campground was sold out and to our amazement there was one available walkup site left which we were able to grab. I figured I would have to pull in a parking space by one of the 100 hotels and go stealth but we ended up with a great site. To those that have never been to the S rim do not underestimate the size of this park. Just crazy!! Anyway, we woke early to check out an amazing sunset at Hopi Point followed by our first shower in days, a couple small walks at the various look outs along the way out of the park and headed S to Sedona.

Sedona: JoeH- Thank You for that map. What a huge help. We hiked a bunch of Sedona trails, enjoyed the late Oct Sedona heat, and dispersed camped in a couple spots outside the green line that were amazing!!! It’s no wonder so many people love Sedona, it’s just gorgeous.

From there we headed out to visit some family where we spent time at the pool, slept in a real bed, and enjoyed too much to drink and daily showers.

All in we went from 26 degrees to 87 degrees all in the same trip. Pretty amazing

Ill report back on the 2nd leg when we are all done.

Oh, and B1200 and WOWBAGGER, Salt flats are definitely on the list!!! Just not now. Cant wait till we get out there.

[MarinBlaine]

Thank you for circling back with this great report!