Road Trip to AZ - Need Advise (1 Viewer)

[SIZZLE]

Hi AZ!

My 8 yo daughter and me are planning a road trip to central AZ in the first week of May. We’ve never been to AZ, so I figured this group would be a good place to get some advice.

We are thinking of visiting Tonto and Coconino NFs. Maybe going through Phoenix and working our way North. We’d like to see the Saguaro cacti, but otherwise just camp, hike, and explore some of your beautiful country. Maybe check out Sedona.

Naturally, we want to do some off-roading, but we will be by ourselves so nothing intense. We’ll be in my second gen Tacoma with 33s and a rear locker.

Any advice is welcome. Thanks in advance for any help!

Seth and Mary

 

[knewstance]

Rather than heading north on i-17 on the way to Sedona, this would be a good alternate route. There would be lots of turn offs that you could take to see various sights along the way.

 

[TheGrrrrr]

Rather than heading north on i-17 on the way to Sedona, this would be a good alternate route. There would be lots of turn offs that you could take to see various sights along the way.

View attachment 2220714

You could then drive up to Crown King and take Senator Highway (a pretty tame but off-road forest road) up to Prescott through the Bradshaws then to Sedona via Jerome. There is some good camping around Crown King and on Senator Highway in the Bradshaws. Crown King is also a neat little place on its own.

 

[SIZZLE]

Thank you for the quick responses! We’d like to travel on as much dirt as possible. Any must see places or things to do?

 

[-Spike-]

Any must see places or things to do?

Must get fudge at the Crown King general store. Must plan for some sightseeing time in Jerome, and really at Crown King and Prescott as well.

 

[Azca]

If you go to Sedona, AND YOU MUST GO TO SEDONA!, take Broken Arrow. Short trip but, wow. You will never forget it. Then for the trip up to Flagstaff, take Shnebly hill road. Great views. The two lane blacktop up through Oak Creek Canyon from Sedona is also no slouch. Either way you can't go wrong. In fact, take one up and one back.

 

[zona]

one of the more Arizona iconic drives you're going to want to do with incredible views and camping anywhere with lakes to boot is going to be Rim Road (300). I basically picked up where @TheGrrrrr left off.

Note: Camp Verde to Rim Road is paved, Rim Road is all dirt.

Mogollon Rim Road Scenic Drive

Mogollon Rim Road Scenic Drive is a 43.1 mile moderately trafficked point-to-point trail located near Pine, Arizona that offers scenic views and is good for all skill levels. The trail is primarily used for nature trips and scenic driving and is best used from May until October. Dogs are also...

www.alltrails.com

Zona

Camp Verde to Woods Canyon Lake

www.google.com

 

[Arizona Bill]

All great options, none very technical, and you can’t go wrong with any of the ideas above. Quite a bit of washboard on road to Crown King and Schnebly Hill Road. If you can air down / air up, your life will be better. Also, it will likely get cool at night in the Bradshaws and up towards Flag - even in early May. There already are, or likely will be fire restrictions in the Forests. Just know you’ll need a camp stove and another way to keep warm.

 

[Azca]

All great options, none very technical, and you can’t go wrong with any of the ideas above. Quite a bit of washboard on road to Crown King and Schnebly Hill Road. If you can air down / air up, your life will be better. Also, it will likely get cool at night in the Bradshaws and up towards Flag - even in early May. There already are, or likely will be fire restrictions in the Forests. Just know you’ll need a camp stove and another way to keep warm.

I agree with AZ Bill. May, in the mountains, is a roll of the dice. Could be quite nice with temps in the 70s during the day and above freezing at night or, you could get dumped on with snow. I have seen it snow in Flagstaff several times now on Memorial day. Be prepared. If snow hangs around in the mountains for any length of time, it could be quite muddy in areas as well. Right now I would not bet on it but, things can change rapidly...

If they do, and you just want to stick to the pavement, the trip out of Phoenix to Wickenburg, up the back way to Prescott through Yarnell and Peeples Valley, then on to Jerome and Cottonwood, up through Sedona and Oak Creek Canyon and ending up in Flagstaff, will give you a great cross section of what AZ has to offer. The best part of this trip, all paved, is it is lightly traveled. Especially during the week, that is until you hit Sedona. This is a full day drive due to places you will want to stop and look. It can easily turn into a multiday drive if you would like.

 

[bwesty]

All of the above ideas are great places to explore with plenty of dispersed public land camping available throughout on the many side roads you will find. May is a great time for exploring the higher elevations here. With the light snowpack in most of the higher elevations it will be an early summer to come so May will likely be hot in the desert regions.

 

[brices123]

Keep in mind, some of the places you end up might require a Tonto Pass and/or an Arizona State Land Trust pass. If you have an America the Beautiful (national Park pass) you will not need a Tonto Pass.
When you figure out your route, you can check back with CSC and we can chime in what passes you might need.

State Land Trust Permits, now online

just updated my permit and wanted to let folks know they can now get them online. www.azland.gov/rp

forum.ih8mud.com

Best of luck to you and safe travels.

 

[Somebodyelse5]

Keep in mind, some of the places you end up might require a Tonto Pass and/or an Arizona State Land Trust pass. If you have an America the Beautiful (national Park pass) you will not need a Tonto Pass.
When you figure out your route, you can check back with CSC and we can chime in what passes you might need.

State Land Trust Permits, now online

just updated my permit and wanted to let folks know they can now get them online. www.azland.gov/rp

forum.ih8mud.com

Best of luck to you and safe travels.

I don’t think any of the areas posted above require any pass or permits (yay AZ!).


+1 for Broken Arrow in Sedona. great trail. Be sure to air down. Lot’s of fun and pretty short.

Highly recomend you head up Oak Creek Canyon from Sedona to Flagstaff (it’s a paved road, but it’s super pretty, and there is a natural spring you can fill up all your jugs on the side of the road).

 

[knewstance]

Highly recomend you head up Oak Creek Canyon from Sedona to Flagstaff (it’s a paved road, but it’s super pretty, and there is a natural spring you can fill up all your jugs on the side of the road).

This is probably one of my favorite drives. I love exploring around rivers and creeks ect. Anyways - a few pics from my trip through there a few weeks ago.

Peep the LC in the background lol

 

[SIZZLE]

Wow, you guys are so great! Thanks for all the tips. I’ll check back in with our plan of attack and be sure to post some pics and updates along the way.

What maps do you like best? I’ve had good luck with the US Forest Service maps for national forests. Is there anything better out there?

 

[Living in the Past]

I don’t think any of the areas posted above require any pass or permits (yay AZ!).

Does any of stretch from Cave Creek cross State Trust Land? I know coming in of Table Mesa road crosses state trust land. Hate to have a visitor to our state end up with a couple felony trespass tickets because they didn't purchase a state trust land permit. While just a gravel washboard road where Bloody Basin hit I-17 straight across is the easy way up to Crown King. Two miles up and two miles back down I-17 can get to Cordes junction for food and gas.

You would be hard pressed to find it but is a small stretch on a forest service roads that crosses State Trust Land in Coconino National Forest. Found it southwest of Flagstaff last year. This was at least marked which not sure all roads crossing it are.

 

[Azca]

Wow, you guys are so great! Thanks for all the tips. I’ll check back in with our plan of attack and be sure to post some pics and updates along the way.

What maps do you like best? I’ve had good luck with the US Forest Service maps for national forests. Is there anything better out there?

For paper they are ok. I have downloaded Back Country Navigator for my phone. Awesome, and very inexpensive, app. Topo and satellite maps are free to download. You can also import maps from Google Earth. Great way to sit in front of the computer and then download to the phone or tablet for the trip. For the money, you can't go wrong.

 

[SIZZLE]

I'm thinking about just linking all of your suggestions together. Cave Creek to Bloody Basin Road, then to Crown King, Prescott, Jerome and Sedona. Do Broken Arrow while in Sedona, then Camp Verde to Rim Road. Then out through Flagstaff and across Hwy 40 back to CA. What do you think? Is that too much to pack in over 6 days? Looks like there's plenty of opportunities to bail or cut things out to speed up. Will we get a chance to see some Saguaros on this route? Superstition Mountain looks awesome, but a bit out of the way.

Thanks again, you've all been so helpful! Me and my little girl are getting super excited!

Seth

 

[TheGrrrrr]

You can easily do that in 6 days. There will be saguaros at the lower elevations. To be honest, you can probably fit more in. Just depends on how much time you spend in camp and on foot. If you haven't been to the Grand Canyon, I would say take a day at the end to swing up there. Its about 3 hours drive from the camp spot I sent you on the rim or about 1 hour 20 minutes from Flagstaff.

 

[Somebodyelse5]

I'm thinking about just linking all of your suggestions together. Cave Creek to Bloody Basin Road, then to Crown King, Prescott, Jerome and Sedona. Do Broken Arrow while in Sedona, then Camp Verde to Rim Road. Then out through Flagstaff and across Hwy 40 back to CA. What do you think? Is that too much to pack in over 6 days? Looks like there's plenty of opportunities to bail or cut things out to speed up. Will we get a chance to see some Saguaros on this route? Superstition Mountain looks awesome, but a bit out of the way.

Thanks again, you've all been so helpful! Me and my little girl are getting super excited!

Seth

Definitely reasonable! Give me a shout if you need any help on your way through Phx (I am right off i10). Lot's of helpful CSC folks all over AZ. If you need any camping guidance for sedona, shoot me a message. I have a few spots, backup spots, and a super epic spot if you are willing to make a bit of a trek.

Anyone have any beta on Jerome? I left sort of disappointed, must not have seen the good stuff. (If you are a Tool fan, the lead singer has a wine bar in Jerome, that's all I've got).

My favorite fact for out of towners.... Arizona is the only state that has Saguaro Cactus

 

[Arizona Bill]

The paper maps are good and I think you should always have them in the truck anyway. @Arizona Jeff and I have both successfully used the Forest Maps app in and around Four Peaks, Tonto, etc. Different subscription levels and the free one is pretty good. Jerome was a good pit stop running the Wickenburg / Yarnell Hill / Prescott / Jerome / Cottonwood / Sedona road bike trips. You can see all you need to see in a couple hours. Caduceus is the Tool wine. The profits from copper mine in Jerome exceeded the profits from all of the gold extracted during the California Gold Rush. Just so you know.