While Arizona is the Grand Canyon State (and that’s definitely included in the itinerary), there is so much more to this amazing state. This Arizona road trip will be filled with geological wonders, empty desert, red rocks, mountains and bustling cities.
Our Arizona Road Trip itinerary will take you into five states, four national parks, two national monuments, a national forest and along the famous Route 66. This nine day road trip is a great way to experience the state for any couple or teen-adult aged family. For us, this road trip was a great way to check two things off of our bucket list: be in four places at once and hike the Grand Canyon (to hike the full Grand Canyon, you’ll need to extend your trip).
When to visit?
We recommend visiting Arizona in early fall or late spring. During these times of year, you’ll get milder temperatures but you’ll still be quite comfortable participating in all the outdoor activities that Arizona has to offer. We visited Arizona in early September and had amazing weather. You can also visit in the summer but remember a majority of this road trip is in desert areas and the weather will be hot. Visiting in the winter will also get you a unique perspective on Arizona but remember that this Arizona road trip also takes you through areas of high elevation where you may encounter snow.
Where to Stay?
For us, this was a camping experience through and through. We had an entire campsite setup in the trunk of our rental car that we could set up and take down in under a half hour. For every dinner, we cooked over the fire in our pudgy pots or on sticks we whittled. We thought this was an amazing way to experience the natural beauty of Arizona and we highly recommend it. Campsites cost us on average $30 each night and did require advance booking, especially in the Grand Canyon. This meant we could do this trip on a budget.
For those of you who don’t want to sweat all day and then shower with wet wipes, we’d recommend a mix of AirBnBs and hotels. Some of the towns that we recommend staying in have some unique rental properties available to you. Other areas are more remote and you’ll have to depend on hotels. Whatever, you decide to book, we recommend booking in advance if you are visiting during peak travel times of early fall and late spring.
Sign up for an AirBnB account here and receive coupon for your first stay. We’ll also get a coupon for our next stay.
Day 1 – Phoenix
Flying into Phoenix is generally the cheapest airport destination in Arizona. So on this budget Arizona road trip, we decided to fly into Phoenix. Our one way flights into Phoenix were around $120 each (from Minneapolis). However, if you would like to fly into Tucson to eliminate some driving time, you can do that and then flip flop the Tucson and Phoenix days in your itinerary.
Try to snag an early morning flight so that you can spend your first day in Arizona exploring Phoenix. Choose a few things to do in the morning in Phoenix. We explored Papago Park and the Desert Botanical Gardens before the day got too hot.
In the afternoon, start the road tripping part of your Arizona road trip by making your way South on I-10 toward Tucson. Stay in Tucson for the night. We couch surfed in Tucson. However after exploring Saguaro National Park, we would recommend camping there for the evening. If you’re staying in a hotel, we’d recommend staying in a bustling downtown neighborhood so you are close to restaurants. If you’re staying in an AirBnB, there are some amazing rentals with great views of the dessert. Splurge for one of those!
If you’re trying to keep this trip on a tight budget like we did. Stop at a grocery store and stock up on a few days worth of food so that you can cook yourself dinners.
Day 2 – Tucson
For your first day in Tucson, explore the mighty Saguaro National Park. The Saguaro is an iconic sight in southern Arizona. Wake up early and explore one half of Saguaro National Park. The park is divided into east and west sections and they are located on two different sides of Tucson. Stop for lunch to get some amazing Mexican food. Remember it’s extra spicy this far south! After lunch explore the other half or Saguaro National park. If you have time in the evening explore the bustling nightlife of one of Tucson’s business districts.
Day 3 – Tucson
The next morning, continue exploring Tucson by visiting a museum or nature area. We can recommend the Titan missile museum, the Biosphere 2 and Mt. Lemon. Have lunch in Tucson before continuing your Arizona road trip by heading north on state highway 77 toward Globe (which is also an Arizona scenic roadway).
If you’ve arrived in time, check out the Besh Ba Gowah Archeological Park and Museum to see the ancient ruins.
Tuck in for the night and rest. Unfortunately, we don’t have any recommendations for staying in Globe as an unfortunate incident involving a tow tuck, a mountain and a 2 AM arrival made our choices for hotels slim. However we got a good rest at that low budget Motel6 and we’re ready to start fresh the next morning. If you’re camping, our original plan was to stop at Theordore Roosevelt Lake to camp and you could always head there. We checked out the campground as we drove past and it was lovely.
Day 4 – Tonto National Forest, Winslow and Petrified Forest National Park
Tonto National Forest
Explore Tonto National Forest in the morning. Head north out of Globe on state highway 188. Stop along the way at Theodor Roosevelt Lake and take in the sights. Keep your eyes sharp as we spotted a road runner along this lake. Before leaving Globe restock groceries if you are planning cooking yourself dinners for the next several days.
Continue heading north and state highway 188 will merge with 87. Here you’ll notice it getting cooler as you enter higher elevation. Stop at all the fun overlooks for the scenic vistas as well as the state forest camping and hiking areas if you’re looking for a place to stretch your legs. We found this to be a very interesting part of our Arizona road trip as we didn’t expect this to get so cool and forested.
Winslow
Your next stop will be Meteor Crater just a short trek from Winslow. Meteor Crater is a giant hole in the ground created from a meteor strike. It is very large and impressive. Take I-40 back into Winslow.
By lunch time, you should reach Winslows and the iconic dining experience here is a diner as you’re now on Route 66. Enjoy some greasy diner food in downtown Winslow. Don’t forget to stand on the corner in Winslow Arizona. We’ll let you decide what is on your mind. While this is a very touristy thing to do, it is a picture every true Arizona road trip must have.
Next, you’ll take the iconic Route 66 (now called i-40) from Winslow to Holbrook. Keep your eye peeled for all of the interesting side of the road attractions Route 66 offers. Head south from Holbrook on 180 until you reach the South entrance to Petrified Forest National Park.
Petrified Forest National Park
Spend the rest of your afternoon exploring Petrified ForestNational Park. This amazing park is so underrated. It was our favorite National Park in Arizona (yes, it beat the Grand Canyon). The park is in the middle of the Painted Desert and is filled with petrified wood from times long past. We stopped at the visitor’s center asked for some top sights and then made our way through the park. Enjoy some hikes and trails here in this otherworldly park before heading out of the north gate. When you exit the park you’ll find your self back on I-40 heading east.
Next, follow 191 north and look for a place to stay between Petrified Forest National Park and Canyon de Chelly National Monument. We stayed in the Cottonwood campground, right at the entrance to Canyon de Chelly.
Day 5 – Canyon de Chelly and Mesa Verde
Canyon de Chelly
On the fifth day of your Arizona road trip, explore the Canyon de Chelly National Monument in the morning. It you’re fit, hike down to the White House Ruins in the early morning before the heat gets too bad. Remember, you’ll have to hike back up. At the bottom of the canyon you can see the ruins of the ancient Puebloan building in the canyon walls. Remember that Navajo people live in this canyon and you may run into them going about their day. Explore the North and South canyon rim drives by stopping at all the scenic view points. Grab lunch on your way out of the canyon as restaurants in this area were scarce.
Mesa Verde National Park
After lunch, head North to Mesa Verde National Park in Colorado. By the time you reach Mesa Verde, the heat of the day and the main crowds will have dissipated. The first thing you should do when entering the park is to stop at the Visitor and Research Center. The first thing you should do once entering the park is get tickets for a tour of one of the amazing cliff dwellings in the park. Tickets cost $7 and can be purchased for guided tours of Cliff Palace, Balcony House and Long House. We recommend choosing one or more of these tours on your visit to Mesa Verde and booking them upon arrival.
Mesa Verde is broken into two different roads that do not connect. In the afternoon explore the western road and sightsee the ancient dwellings, fire damage and canyon views. Make sure to stop at all the scenic overlooks in the evening as we were able to catch several overlooks during sunset which was amazing.
On this Colorado leg of the Arizona road trip, stay the evening in Mesa Verde National Park. The park takes quite some time to drive in and out of so staying in the park will save you driving time. The park contains a large and well kept campground that we stayed in and enjoyed. The sites were well isolated from others and the facilities were nice. For those wishing to stay indoors, the park also has Far View Lodge. The Lodge is quite a bit more expensive than the campground. Whatever option you choose, make sure to make your reservation ahead of time as both accommodations tend to fill up.
Day 6 – Mesa Verde National Park
After sleeping well in Mesa Verde, enjoy exploring the east road in the park. This section of the park has a majority of the stops and attractions in the park. Enjoy your day seeing all of the ancient dwellings and hopefully touring one or more of them.
Food in the park is available but does not include many options. For all of our meals, we ate camp food that we had brought in. Stay one more night in your same Mesa Verde accommodations.
Day 7 – Four Corners Monument, Navajo National Monument and Grand Canyon National Park
Four Corners Monument
On your way out of Colorado and head to the Four Corners Monument in Monument Valley. It will cost $10 for entrance into the park, which is not covered by the National Parks Pass. This bucket list worthy stop is incredibly touristy and only is worth a few minutes of your time but we enjoyed taking pictures on the intersection of four states. Because how many times in your life can you be in four places at once? So snap your picture here and continue heading towards the Navajo National Monument on 160.
Navajo National Monument
At the Navajo National Monument, take the short trails from the visitors center to the Betatakin and Aspen Forest Overlooks and enjoy sights of ancient cliff dwellings. Stop at the Tsegi Point overlook on your way out of the park and continue heading west. This National Monument is free!
Grab lunch as you continue your journey along US-160. We ate in Tuba City which is the largest city on this leg of the journey. We also stopped to restock our grocery supplies for the final days of our journey here as well.
Grand Canyon National Park
Next, head to the Grand Canyon National Park on Arizona State highway 64. This will be your seventh and final national park/forest/monument of your Arizona road trip. You should arrive here in time to catch a famous Grand Canyon sunset. Enter the park via the East Entrance. You’ll be arriving in the afternoon so wait times to get it shouldn’t take to long but be prepared to wait. Continue along the south rim stopping at all the scenic view points as you head towards the visitors center, hopefully catching a sunset at one. Once you make it to the Visitor Center, find your evening accommodations.
The Grand Canyon has several overnight options including campgrounds and lodges. We stayed in Mather Campground. Mather Campground did have pay-to-use showers which we didn’t know ahead of time and struggled to find quarters under the car seats. There are several Lodges available that all cost quite a bit more than the campgrounds but are also nice. We do recommend staying in the park as it will decrease drive time into and out of the park where you can encounter long waits at the entrance gates. If you stay in the Grand Canyon park, make sure to book your accommodations ahead of time, especially if traveling at peak season.
Day 8 – Grand Canyon National Park
Enjoy a full day at the Grand Canyon’s south rim as part of your ultimate Arizona road trip. You won’t have to do any driving on this day as the Grand Canyon has free buses that transport tourists within the park. Use this bus to do plenty of hiking and take in all the scenic vistas. Take several quiet hikes along the rim and find completely deserted viewpoints.
Make sure to take a short hike down into the actual canyon but remember not to go too far down as you’ll have to climb back up. We highly recommend hiking into the canyon as you truly get a sense of how big the canyon is from within. For many the Grand Canyon will be the bucket list item on their Arizona road trip and for others it will be a giant hole in the ground. But after spending a day exploring we hope you’ll appreciate the wonder and silence of the park as much as we did.
There are plenty of places to grab food within the park but we enjoyed packing a picnic and eating along the canyon edge. To keep ourselves on budget we also cooked over the fire at our campground for dinners.
Day 9 – Route 66, Hoover Dam and returning home
Route 66
Leave the Grand Canyon after taking in a morning sunset by heading south along state highway 64. In Williams you’ll be able to pick up Route 66. Take this iconic road West towards Las Vegas as part of your amazing Arizona road trip. Stop at all the fun towns along the way and explore the road that the highways left behind. Snap pictures at all the roadside attractions and enjoy the old signs along the road.
Hoover Dam
In Kingman, head north on 93 until you reach the Hoover Dam. If you have time, stop and take the dam tour, visit the dam gift shop and get a dam souvenir. And then make that same dam joke for the next several years. The Dam tour does cost $30 and parking is an additional fee. You can book your tour ahead of time or attempt to snag an open spot when you arrive. Generally, tours are booked by the afternoon so we would recommend booking ahead of time if you want to take the tour.
Head on to Las Vegas and fly out of this airport. This airport generally has very cheap flights. Our return flight to Minneapolis was around $80/person.
Want to adjust the itinerary?
If you have less time, you could eliminate Day 5 and Day 6 of the itinerary and head straight from petrified forest to the Grand Canyon. You could also fly directly into Tucson and eliminate day one of the itinerary in Phoenix. If you weren’t interested in Route 66 you could also eliminate the final day and fly out of Phoenix instead of Las Vegas. We would avoid trying to fit more things into each day and shortening the trip that way as the trip was very fast paced as is. However, you could only spend a partial day at Mesa Verde and the Grand Canyon but we wouldn’t recommend it.
If you have more time we would recommend extending some of the time spent at different stops. We would have like more time at Petrified Forest and Mesa Verde. You also could take an extra day to detour to Page Arizona and visit Antelope Canyon, Horseshoe Bend and Monument Valley. If you would like to add some extra time to see more city attractions, spending more time in Phoenix and Las Vegas would also be good ideas.
What to pack?
We love National Parks and the most economic way to see this many is to buy the America the Beautiful Annual Parks Pass. This pass costs $80 and will admit you to the Grand Canyon National Park, Petrified Forest National Park, Saguaro National Park, Mesa Verde National Park and Tonto National Forest. It will definitely save your money on this trip alone and is good for a full year to use at other National Parks that you may decide to visit.
Paper maps are a must on your Arizona road trip. This trip will take you through desolate stretches of dessert that don’t always have great cell service.
Don’t forget to pack a camera to capture all of your epic photographs. You’ll be visiting some of the best National Parks in the United States so make sure to capture these National Parks for you memories, your wall and your ‘gram.
For your Arizona road trip, pack comfortable and breathable clothing. Most of this trip is spent in solitude and nature so no need to pack fancy clothes. Well most of your time will be spent in the desert heat, you’ll also want to pack layers for cool weather as well. You’ll spend time at high altitudes where it is much colder. Also, mornings and evenings in the desert can be cool as well. So make sure you pack plenty of clothes to keep warm in and then peel after as it heats up. Additionally, pack comfortable hiking shoes as there are several miles of trails that you can hike each day.
For eating on the road, we love to pack a collapsible cooler. Look for a cooler that can easily roll up and fit in your suitcase.
We consider hydration backpacks an essential for any trip that involves hiking. Plenty of water is a must-have for your Arizona road trip and we think a hydration backpack is the best way to carry it with you.
How much to budget?
For two people, this trip cost us just shy of $2000 (if we exclude paying the tow truck – see Tucson itinerary for suggestions on how to avoid getting towed off a mountain on a holiday). So this trip can easily be done for less than $1000/person. The rental car was by far the most expensive part of the budget and we had to pay additional fees to pickup and drop off at different airports. However, this additional fee was worth it to us because of the different in price in plane tickets at Phoenix and Las Vegas airports. Overall this was a very inexpensive trip for us. You could further cut back on cost by bringing your own car if you’re within driving distance and making your own lunches as well.
- Airfare: $200/person
- Rental car: $750
- Lunches at restaurants: $15/person/meal
- National Parks Pass: $80
- Camp sites: $30/night
- Gas: $250
- Groceries for breakfasts and dinners: $100
