I traveled to Arizona in 2017 with four friends to road trip to Red Rock State Park, the Grand Canyon and Slide Rock State Park. Below is an in-depth breakdown of the adventure as well as some things I learned along the way.

Trip Details

Trip Dates: September 1-5, 2017

Main Places Visited:

• Red Rock State Park
• Sedona
• Flagstaff
• Grand Canyon
• Slide Rock State Park

Total Cost: approx. $750

Cost Breakdown:

• Flight: approx. $400 roundtrip to Phoenix.
• Airbnb in Phoenix: $35/person split between five people.
• Campsites in Sedona and Flagstaff: $25/person split between five people.
• Car rental: $45/person split between five people.
• Groceries: $50/person split between five people.
• Gas: $40/person split between five people.
• Miscellaneous (Grand Canyon entry, other food, Slide Rock State Park entry, etc.): $150

Itinerary

September 1

• Arrive in Phoenix midday.
  • Tip: Matt’s Big Breakfast is stellar. After that, we explore Scorpion Gulch to pass the time.
• Spend the night at a Phoenix Airbnb

September 2

• 8 a.m. depart and drive 2 hours to Red Rock State Park.
  • Tip: Go here! It has a lot of great views and hikes.
• Drive 1 hour to Flagstaff and camp.
  • Tip: We spent the night at the KOA there. Since Flagstaff is at a higher elevation it was plenty cool enough this time of year to sleep in tents.

September 3

• 10 a.m. depart and drive 1.5 hours to the Grand Canyon.
  • Tip: I would suggest actually departing at 8 a.m. or earlier. We ended up getting to the Grand Canyon around lunch time, meaning the group had to eat. We really didn’t start exploring until 1 p.m. and then were racing the sun toward the end to see all we could. Give yourself a full day!
  • Tip: Hike down into the canyon, even if only for a mile or so. We did the South Kaibab to Cedar Ridge (about 1.8 miles down) and it was stellar. Leave enough time to get back up to watch the sunset over the canyon.
• 7 p.m. depart and drive 1.5 hours back to Flagstaff KOA.
  • Tip: We packed our own lunch this day but got dinner on the way back. We actually only ate out once a day, having bought groceries for two meals a day.

September 4

• 10:30 a.m. depart and drive 30 minutes to Slide Rock State Park.
• 3 p.m. depart and drive 15 minutes to Sedona.
  • Tip: Explore this cute, artsy town. Also, get dinner here as it’s the best place to stop before heading back to Phoenix.
• 6 p.m. depart and drive 2 hours to Phoenix for red-eye flight home.

September 5

• Arrive back home early morning.