I absolutely love traveling. After catching the travel bug while studying abroad in Europe, my world opened up, and now I feel like I can’t sit still! One of my latest trips was road-tripping to the Grand Canyon with my boyfriend, Kyle, and we made several stops and mini trips along the way.
Grand Canyon National Park is one of the top visited national parks in the United States. And with good reason! From its sweeping views and amazing hikes, it’s accessible to people of all ages and fitness levels, and is one of the 7 Natural Wonders of the World.
It was a 4-day long weekend trip, and a complete whirlwind. Four days is definitely not enough time to spend visiting this part of the country, but I get a thrill out of trying to fit in as much as I can into one trip because it makes me savor and appreciate the time I spend at each place.
If you’re planning an epic southwest adventure, or maybe trying to decide where to go next, here are all of our stops we made! There are so many more we could’ve made if we had more time, but we’ll be back soon.
day 1
LAS VEGAS
Los Angeles to Las Vegas is a casual 4 hour drive, and Vegas was really just a pit stop for us, but there are PLENTY of things to do in Vegas if you decide to stay a bit longer.
Try your luck at any of the casinos in town. Hike Red Rock Canyon National Park. Check out the water show at the Fountains of Bellagio, at the Bellagio Hotel (check out the schedule here). Take advantage of the plethora of entertainment options – whether it be Cirque du Soleil, Magic Mike, or a comedy show – it’s definitely worth it! Walk the strip. Or go shopping at Fremont Street.
We considered swinging by a casino or two, but since we didn’t really plan to spend any time here, we decided instead to take a quick picture at the Welcome to Las Vegas sign and be on our merry way.
ANTELOPE CANYON
From Las Vegas, Kyle and I drove to straight to Antelope Canyon, driving through St. George,Β UT and right past Zion National Park! Zion is high up on our list of places to visit, but for now we just waved to it from our car.
Antelope Canyon is a slot canyon located in Page, AZ, about 3 hours north of the Grand Canyon. It’s one of the most photographed places in the world, and sits on Navajo land. The most popular areas of Antelope to visit are the Lower Canyon and the Upper Canyon. The Lower Canyon is where we visited – it’s much more popular and where almost all tours take place. Upper Canyon used to be a photographer’s haven, with specialized tours where you could bring a tripod and camera gear with you, but it’s since been closed to the public.
Antelope is also ONLY accessible via guided tour. This is because the canyon is at a high-risk for flash floods, and in 1997, eleven tourists were killed in the Lower Canyon due to a flash flood.
The lighting in the Lower area is supposedly best early morning, but those tour times go quickly. Our tour was scheduled at 4:15pm though, since we were still driving from Las Vegas. We booked through Dixie’s Tour Company and I highly recommend them. Our guide, Kevin, was super knowledgeable and friendly, and even had awesome photo tricks to show us in the canyon.
*PSA*
Arizona does not observe Daylight Savings, so make sure you’re mindful about what timezone you’ll be in depending on the time of year you travel. Kyle and I went in late September, so Arizona was still observing Pacific Standard Time. But if that already sounds complicated, Navajo Reservations DO observe Daylight Savings. So let’s say you’re visiting in November, after most of the world “falls back.” Arizona will now be observing Mountain Time, BUT the reservations will still be observing Pacific Time.
Even though I did extensive research to confirm that we should still be in Pacific Time no matter what, we were essentially zigzagging in and out of Utah and Arizona, so our ETAs kept jumping forward and back an hour. We were so confused and even skipped lunch to figure this all out because we were either going to be late for our tour, or a full hour early (aka on time!). Luckily we indeed were still observing PST and ended up getting there a full hour early as originally planned. But we were so hungry and sleep deprived at this point, so we took a quick nap in the car while we waited for our tour time.
*TIPS*
Book your reservation in advance!! Reservations fill up very quickly and once they’re sold out, you’re out of luck.
And don’t forget to wear comfortable shoes. You don’t necessarily need to wear hiking boots because the walk through the canyon is mostly flat, but it is very sandy. You’ll also be climbing ladders along the way (don’t worry, nothing strenuous, but sometimes precarious), so don’t be that person wearing flip flops (you’d be surprised how many people we saw wearing them).
HORSESHOE BEND
Horseshoe Bend is a quick 10 or so minute drive from Antelope Canyon, and it’s totally free (aside from the parking lot right next to the trailhead, which costs $10). Horseshoe Bend is a point where the Colorado River does a complete 180Β° turn.
It’s a very easy 5 minute walk from the parking lot to the cliff edge, but know that there are no bathrooms available. Sunrise is supposedly best to visit, but we went at sunset and it was breathtaking. We had planned to eat a small picnic here too (since we barely ate anything at this point), but it was extremely windy that evening, and all the dust and sand made it impossible to eat anything sand-free!
our home base
UNDER CANVAS
My rating: βββββ
I came across Under Canvas on Instagram and it immediately caught my eye. It’s glamping, or luxury camping, which has more amenities and services that are not typically associated with traditional camping. They are located in Valle, AZ, which is about a 40 minute drive from the entrance to the Grand Canyon, and they also have locations all across the U.S., with new planned locations coming soon.
Each tent at Under Canvas comes with a king bed β all bedding is included β as well as towels, shampoo, and body wash in all private and shared restrooms. There are no outlets in the tents, but they do provide battery powered fans and lanterns, and USB ports that can charge as least 2 cellphones. Remember, even though this is glamping, you’re still camping!
The campground itself has on-site dining (their breakfast is AMAZING), daily housekeeping, and complimentary nightly activities like campfires with s’mores and games. The grounds also have round the clock security. The tents themselves do not lock, but I never felt concerned about our belongings we kept inside the tent while we were away.
Photo Credit: Under Canvas
Photo Credit: Under Canvas
We stayed in their Stargazer Tent, which has a window right above the king bed so you can stargaze at night! This was a huge selling point for me and it was absolutely incredible and worth the splurge. Since the Grand Canyon is a Dark Skies Park, an area that has zero light pollution and is most ideal for stargazing, we were able to see the Milky Way Galaxy. This tent also has its own private en suite and a wood stove to keep the tent warm at night (and believe me, it gets cold!)
Under Canvas is on the higher end in terms of prices per night, but I think it’s worth every penny. The experience of sleeping under the stars is priceless, and the fact that you have running water just a few short steps from your bed as well is why I give them 5 stars. This review was not sponsored, I just genuinely loved staying here, and can’t wait to stay at their other locations. Check our their FAQ page for more information!
day 2
GRAND CANYON
View from Cedar Ridge
At last we made it to the Grand Canyon! You can visit the North Rim, open between May 15th to October 15th, or the South Rim, which is open all year round. The South Rim is the most popular side of the canyon to due its accessibility, and is where we visited. The fee to enter the park is $35 per vehicle for seven days, or you can purchase an America the Beautiful Annual Pass for $80, which covers entrance fees at national parks and wildlife refuges. So if you’re planning on visiting more than one national park in a full calendar year, you might want to consider this pass.
Parking can be pretty limited during the peak season, but the park provides numerous shuttle services, so if you have to park further away than you’d like, you can easily hop on a shuttle and get where you need to go without any extra walking.
Since Kyle and I visited the South Rim, I’ll speak to the hikes available on this side of the canyon. The three most popular trails are the Rim Trail, South Kaibab Trail, and the Bright Angel Trail.
β THE RIM TRAIL is great for all skill levels as it is relatively flat and is fully paved. It’s accessible to several lookouts to stop, relax, and take in the views.
β SOUTH KAIBAB TRAIL is considered a moderate-to-strenuous hike due to its steepness, lack of shade and bathrooms, and no water. But it also has the best panoramic views of the entire canyon. Day hikers should consider hiking to Ooh Ah Point (1.5 miles round trip), or Cedar Ridge (3 miles round trip), which is the hike we did.
β BRIGHT ANGEL TRAILΒ is similar to South Kaibab in difficulty level as it is also steep, but has some shade and drinking water along the trail. Day hikers can hike to the 1.5 Mile Resthouse, or the 3 Mile Resthouse.
View from the Rim Trail
We were torn between hiking Bright Angel and South Kaibab, but ultimately went with South Kaibab after speaking with the Adventures Concierge at Under Canvas. We parked in a parking lot right near the Visitor’s Center (honestly, we were so lucky to find this spot), and walked the Rim Trail to the South Kaibab Trailhead. After navigating a series of tight switchbacks, we took a break at Ooh Aah Point, a very accurate name if you ask me (and yes, we did ooh and aah).
South Kaibab Switchbacks
Ooh Aah Point
View from South Kaibab Switchbacks
From Ooh Ah Point, we continued to Cedar Ridge, which would make our hike round trip 3 miles from the top. We were very much inside the canyon at this point, and it was so cool to look up and see how far we had hiked in.
View from Cedar Ridge
View of the South Kaibab Trail from Cedar Ridge
*IMPORTANT*
Make sure you bring plenty of water! Seriously. We had about 2 gallons per person on us and it still didn’t feel like enough. We also ran into a Park Ranger on our way down into the canyon, and she said she had just encountered two people who had nothing with them but two cans of Coca-Cola and some cigarettes. WHAT?!? We also learned a valuable lesson from her too. We had casually mentioned we had enough water to share with anyone who might really need it, and she was quick to tell us to not share our water because we have to look out for ourselves first and foremost. So again, bring plenty of water with you. Think of it this way, if you don’t and you get severely dehydrated, it’s likely that no one is going to share any of their water with you.
Under Canvas Community Fire Pit
After a long day of hiking, we spent the rest of our evening at Under Canvas’s complimentary campfire, roasting marshmallows and eating s’mores. It’s no secret how much I L O V E campfires and s’mores, so this was an absolute perfect end to the day.
day 3
METEOR CRATER
After eating breakfast at Under Canvas, we drove to Meteor Crater, which is 37 miles east of Flagstaff, and is the site of a meteorite impact site that struck Earth 50,000 years ago. The crater is about .75 miles wide and 560 ft deep. There’s a museum and guided tours are available for the price of admission, and I’m linking their pricing information here. They also have an actual Apollo test capsule on site.
Kyle really loves space and anything science related, so this was a super fun stop for us to make. It was a bit out of the way for us though, considering we were heading to Sedona right after this, but it was well worth the side trip.
Apollo Test Capsule
SEDONA
Sedona is on my top 10 favorite places in the world for many reasons, and you should definitely consider making a trip here some day. Firstly, it’s incredibly beautiful. Pictures truly do not do this place justice. Its red rocks, blue skies, and plant life make this place a little heaven on earth.
Secondly, there’s so much to do here! There’s plenty of shopping, hiking, dining; take a Jeep tour around the town with Pink Adventure Tours; it’s even home to the only McDonalds in the entire world that does not have its iconic golden arches β its arches here are actually turquoise as to compliment the aesthetic of the red rocks.
And thirdly, Sedona is best known to be the sight of numerous vortexes, which are swirling centers of energy and are said to assist and promote healing, reflection, and enlightenment. I didn’t “feel” anything while we were here, but I find that being in nature is quite euphoric on its own. All of Sedona is considered a vortex, but there are four major vortex sites where the energy is said to be the strongest: Cathedral Rock, Airport Mesa, Bell Rock, and Boynton Canyon.
CATHEDRAL ROCK
Kyle and I hiked Cathedral Rock per a recommendation from a friend. This hike is rated as moderate-to-strenuous, as there are portions of the hike where you have to scale rocks to reach the top, so please use caution if you decide to do this hike. I would consider myself a decent hiker, but by no means an expert, and nor am I afraid of heights, but there were points along the way where I started to feel a bit uncomfortable. I was very grateful to be hiking with Kyle.
But once you get to the top, the views are worth every drop of sweat and nervous stress. It felt like a little haven up here, and I really didn’t want to leave. And as I mentioned earlier, it’s a vortex site!
AIRPORT MESA LOOP
The next hike we did was the Airport Mesa Loop. This is a 3 mile easy-to-moderate hike with very little elevation gain. Not only is this a vortex site, this hike offers some of the best views of almost every major red-rock landmark in Sedona. Kyle and I accidentally ended up veering off the trail by accident, but were luckily close enough to the fencing of the airport to easily find our way back to the main lookout. At the top of the mesa is the Airport Mesa Lookout, which is a popular spot to watch the sunrise and sunset. There’s a parking lot available, but it costs $3 and it fills up very quickly. So make sure you plan ahead.
View from Airport Mesa Lookout
View from Airport Mesa Vortex
Spending only one day in here is not nearly enough time to fully experience all that Sedona has to offer, and I’m already dreaming about coming back as soon as possible.
day 4
HOOVER DAM
As we headed back to Los Angeles, our final stop was the Hoover Dam. It borders Nevada and Arizona in the Black Canyon of the Colorado River. Construction began during the Great Depression, starting in 1931 and was completed in 1936. It’s also one of America’s Seven Modern Civil Engineering Wonders! This is another one of those places where the photos do not do it justice. It’s incredible to see the dam in person, and really is a true marvel.
Kyle is also an engineer by career, so it felt fitting to visit the Hoover Dam with him, not to mention that it was conveniently on our way back to Los Angeles. Its museum is super informative and worth buying a ticketΒ if you have time to go inside.
And that was our trip! We ended up driving a total of 1,700 miles, and there is still so much we could’ve seen if we had more time. It’s crazy to me that we were able to fit so much in with so little time, but this is one of the best trips I’ve ever made.
Which of these locations are at the top of your list? Have you been to any of these places before? Would love to hear about any of your favorite road trips or vacations, and if you have any questions, free to comment below and I’ll be happy to do my best to respond to them!
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