Skip to main content

GRAND CANYON AND NEW MEXICO - Road trip


A road trip headed out from Las Vegas to see the Grand Canyon. Continuing on to Monument Valley & Canyon de Chelly, then travelling into New Mexico and returning via Painted Desert/Petrified Forest.

Photo shows: GRAND CANYON - Condor flight over Yavapai Point

 HOW TO GET THERE

We flew into Las Vegas. You could start from somewhere else as the main part of the trip is a circle, so if you go into another airport as your starting point you can break into the circle anywhere. (e.g. headed from Phoenix or Santa Fe).

This is a 1900 mile round trip and we did it in a hired motor home, but you could plan out a similar route with a hire car and stay in motels\hotels. Allow another 200 miles or so for side trips.

 ROUTE



 LAS VEGAS

You’ll need to stay overnight before picking up your motorhome if you’re arriving from outside the USA. If you have sufficient time on the day you arrive you can get a quick taster of the Las Vegas nightlife. The last stop is also Las Vegas if you fancy a couple of extra nights stay in the City.

 GRAND CANYON

Allow 4.5 hours for the journey from Las Vegas, an enjoyable drive. It may take you longer outside the low season as there can be a queue at the National Park entrance.  The journey is better enjoyed if you take a more leisurely diversion after 1.5hrs onto the small dog leg off Interstate 40 at Kingman, and then ride down a short part of Route 66 before rejoining the Interstate road. There are some enjoyable tableaux on the local stores/fuel stations that evoke the heyday of the 'Mother Road'.
KINGMAN - Route 66 stores

The campsite near the Grand Canyon village fills up pretty quickly so you should book up well ahead, and also at the next stop in Monument Valley which has limited space. 

There is a free shuttle service to take you to viewpoints, drop you at the start or pick you up at the finish of the various easy walking rim trails. If you're able to stay a couple of nights at least you should be able to make good use of the facilities in the Village, walk the trails nearby and venture a bit further afield. If you can, get into one of the National Park Ranger talks - we had one given by a Navajo ranger that included great insights into the Canyon's native history, culture and customs. 

GRAND CANYON - Sunset colours

Watching the sunsets will show the canyon sides off in the most glorious combinations of colours and shadows. You may see some nesting condors gliding close to one of the trails, an unforgettable sight. Also deer come onto the campsite at the end of the day. You will want to take in the panorama over the Colorado river at the bottom of the Canyon, either on the way to your next overnight stop or as one of your short trips .


MONUMENT VALLEY
The road out of the Grand Canyon is a spectacular drive on AZ64, which is closed in the Winter season. This then joins US89 south of Cameron and then joins US160 for the run into Monument Valley. Leaving behind the canyon views you will get long distance panoramas as you crest the high ground. It is worthwhile taking time to stop just before you reach Kayenta where you can see the Ancient Pueblo dwellings - the Betatakin ruins of the Navajo National Monument - just a 10 minute detour to the overlook on AZ564. You'll see similar but not on the same scale at Canyon de Chelly, which is your next stop after Monument Valley.

KAYENTA - Betatakin pueblo ruins
At Monument Valley the Goulding's enterprise has the main requirements for your visit - campsite and other facilities. You've seen the valley in the movies and in photos but the iconic mesas and rock formations in the valley are spectacular to behold and won't disappoint. You will feel like you're on the set of one of those Wild West or road trip movies. You  have to pay the Navajo horse rider to pose for the photo shot (well worth a few bucks!)
MONUMENT VALLEY
The Navajo guided jeep tours will take you to all the main viewpoints for photos and short trails. You will also get to see inside a hogan (communal tent) with demonstrations of crafts. The scenery is the main show of course, and towards the end of the day you will enjoy the sunset picking out the landscape's colours.
MONUMENT VALLEY - Sunset colours from Goulding's Lodge 
The short trails from the guided tour will allow you to see the plant, wildlife, unique rock features and Navajo petroglyph pictures.

CANYON DE CHELLY

It's an hour and a half drive across to the Canyon de Chelly area. The Cottonwood Campground is close to the canyon, and only a 10 minute walk away from the Thunderbird Lodge where the Navajo-led tours of the canyon start. The canyon is exquisite to behold, enhanced by the understanding you will get from your guide of its special significance to the Navajo people.
CANYON DE CHELLY - Navajo Fortress Rock

You will doubtless be seduced by the beauty of the setting - the warmth of the colour of the rock and the delicate, lacy cottonwood trees. You will be shown pueblo ruins and petroglyphs and told some of the history of the area.

GRANTS

You're now headed towards the border of Arizona & New Mexico, travelling through a large tract of Navajo tribal lands and passing the capital of the Navajo Nation at Window Rock. For your next overnight stop there are campsites either on the old Route 66 at Gallup(after1.5 hours drive) or a little further on at Grants(1 hour more). If you really want or have to get your foot down you could drive all the way to Santa Fe( 5.5 hours from Canyon de Chelly).

SANTA FE

It's a 2 hour drive straight from Grants to Santa Fe, but hopefully you're not in too much of a rush to miss out on a visit to Albuquerque with its quaint adobe buildings, easy going hospitality, and the not to be missed sight of the muddy Rio Grande just outside its centre. A great place to mooch around for an hour or two and grab some lunch before heading on.

ALBUQUERQUE - Church St Cafe

Santa Fe has more and better examples of  adobe architecture than Albuquerque although it is much smaller. This is an artists' haven - a very laid back and sophisticated yet friendly place. Touring one of the museums we managed to unintentionally gatecrash a reception held for a local arts magazine, and the hosts welcomed us in and gave us food, drink and gifts! You can visit the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum & Art Gallery and the Railyard Arts District. Also worth popping into is the Loretto Chapel which has an unusual helix-shaped spiral staircase known as the "Miraculous Stairway".
SANTA FE - Adobe houses
On the way out from  Santa Fe it is well worth taking the time to visit the Sandia Peak Tramway, a cable car that will take you up from 6,500 feet to over 10,000 feet on the longest aerial tram in the Americas. Taking in the surrounding view you'll see the road you're heading down next - the old 'Turquoise Trail' into southern New Mexico.
SANDIA CREST - Aerial Tramway: 3500 feet ascent

CARRIZOZO

Your journey on from Santa Fe along NM14 - the quiet and tranquil 'Turquoise Trail' -  takes you through the quaint old mining towns of Cerillos, Madrid & Golden. The history of the area covers ancient pueblo turquoise extraction as well as more recent gold, then coal mining. Continuing after crossing the Interstate onto NM337 you're still on a very quiet road and come to the Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument which contains several sites of pre-historic Native American settlements. The one we visited at Quarai, very close to the road, was abandoned in the 1670s during the Spanish colonial period and then transformed into a mission church.
SALINAS PUEBLOS N.M. - Quarai Mission ruins
An overnight stop at Carrizozo will set you up for your onward journey into southern New Mexico. This is very much a crossroads town, with a bar and the railroad carrying enormously long freight trains being the main attractions. 

RUIDOSO

Headed on into cowboy country you just have to take the slight diversion to visit Lincoln where there are many buildings preserved from the late 1800s. You can visit the Courthouse where Billy the Kid was held, and see the adobe tower where settlers hid during Indian raids.

LINCOLN - Adobe Fort Tower
Ruidoso is a pretty little village set in the Sierra Blanca mountain range. This is a nice spot to relax before your onward journey.
RUIDOSO - Main Street

VALLEY OF FIRES

The next day's route takes you down from the Sierra Blanca area into the plains of the Tularosa Basin. You'll pass Alamogordo, where you can visit the Space Museum which includes the International Space Hall of Fame, and then go as far as the White Sands National Park. This area covers 275 square miles, containing huge dunes of gypsum sand, the world's largest such area. The sands are glistening and often dazzling in their brilliance, and are dotted with flowering plants and other vegetation.This was the location for the first nuclear test explosion prior to the end of the Second World War and the dropping of atomic bombs on Japan.
WHITE SANDS NATIONAL PARK

Turning round you're headed back through Alamagordo and then Carrizozo where you stopped on the way down. Not far outside Carrizozo you will come to the Valley of Fires for your overnight stop. This is a unique landscape of black volcanic rock, one of the youngest lava flows in the USA. The lava flow is around five miles wide, 160 feet thick and covers an area of 125 square miles. It is now the habitat for many shrubs and animals. The night sky is spectacular in this remote spot so enjoy the star-gazing.

VALLEY OF FIRES- Yucca plant in volcanic rock landscape

 HOLBROOK

This is a flat out journey of around 5 hours, but you'll need to take things a little slower and take some stops along the way to appreciate the trip. You're headed out on AZ380, down into the valley of the Rio Grande at San Antonio, and then you're up into the Rocky Mountains on US Highway 60. Fabulous scenery, and when you get to the top you reach the cutely named Pie Town where you can stop for a coffee and of course some pie(many varieties) after which the town is named. The strap line of Pie Town is "its all downhill from here", and that's certainly true as it sits at the apex of the Continental Divide. The driving is relaxing and rewarding with great views all the way into Holbrook. Holbrook itself is an interesting town, named after the rail engineer who established the Atlantic & Pacific railroad, and with some interesting Cowboys & Indians history. These days it is more  geared towards tourism as a base for visiting the Painted Desert/Petrified Forest National Park.

PAINTED DESERT 
You could zip through the Painted Desert in under an hour but you’d miss out on a lot of the vistas of the multicoloured rocks that can be seen from a number of viewpoints and short trails off the 28 mile park road. The Petrified Forest is connected to the Painted Desert but covering a vast area in its own right. 
PETRIFIED FOREST NATIONAL PARK
The Petrified Forest is known for its fossils, especially fallen trees that are now solid rock from about 225 million years ago. The park road heads out from the National Park HQ from which there are a variety of short trails amongst the fossils where you will also likely to see a variety of plant and wildlife.

 FLAGSTAFF

Leaving Holbrook, it’ll take 1.5 hours to drive to Flagstaff, which is a major visitor centre for Arizona’s outdoor attractions. Anything you've left behind, broken or worn out on your travels can most likely be found in the stores here. Well endowed with bars, restaurants and cafes - you're well catered for. 
 FLAGSTAFF - Night scene

 LAKE MEAD

It's a 4 hour direct drive back to Las Vegas from Flagstaff, but depending on your arrangements to return your hire vehicle you may need an overnight stop on the way back, and Lake Mead is close in but a very pleasant venue. There is camping down near the Lake and easy walking nearby. You may also want to take in a close look at the Hoover Dam if you didn't do so on the way out. There is also some basic RV camping available in the car parking area of the Circus Circus Hotel & Casino if you prefer to head straight back into Las Vegas for an overnight stop.
LAKE MEAD

 LAS VEGAS

It'll take about three quarters of an hour to get from Lake Mead back to Las Vegas. Depending on whether you have to make your way home shortly, hopefully you have the time take a few extra days to sample some of the delights of the desert City. 

You'll be spoilt for choice on most things - casinos, shows, lavish buffet offerings.

Have a Safe journey home!




Popular posts from this blog

UZBEKISTAN - Central Asia’s Silk Road

Travelling along the Central Asian section of the ancient trading routes between China and Europe. Visiting the cities of Tashkent, Samarkand, Bukhara and Khiva. There are a large number of UNESCO World  Heritage Sites on this trip, covering religious buildings, fortifications, bazaars and the scientific and cultural aspects of the country. (Picture shows Bibi Khanym Mosque, Samarkand ) HOW TO GET THERE We travelled as a couple with a personalised itinerary provided by the tour company Avantour ( based in Tashkent), who booked our hotels, rail tickets, guides and drivers for our journey. We flew from Manchester (U.K.) with a connecting flight from Istanbul to Tashkent.    ROUTE Headed out from Tashkent we went to Samarkand, Bukhara and Khiva then flew out from Urgench to Istanbul and then back to Manchester. TASHKENT Tashkent is the capital of Uzbekistan and the biggest city in Central Asia. Most of the old buildings in the city were destroyed by the earthquake of 1966, a...
Read more

NORWAY - Fjords & Northern Lights

  Travelling on the Coastal Ferry - headed all the way up through the Norwegian Fjords, crossing the Arctic Circle to the far North Eastern corner of Norway, close to the border with Russia. This is a 12 day round trip, catching sight of the Northern Lights(Aurora Borealis). Route of Havila Cruise with stops from/to Bergen  How to get there There are plenty of options to get to the starting point at Bergen. However there is only really one way of seeing the fjords, which is by boat. Various cruise companies operate part of the main routes but only 2 run the route of the old ‘mailboat’ connecting the cities,towns and villages along the coast. Before 2021 only Hurtigruten ran this service, but there is now a major rival - the Havila Krysruten line. Havila built a brand new fleet of 4 ferry/small cruise ships which are excellently equipped to high hotel standards. These ships are powered by low emission engines. These are very quiet with no smelly fumes. The engine includes a...
Read more

JAPAN - Central Cities train trip

Japan is a wonderful blend of the ancient and ultra-modern.  There are a large number of UNESCO World Heritage Sites on this trip - fabulous gardens, temples and cultural highlights linked by super smooth fast bullet trains.  Visiting the major cities of Central Japan - Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, Hiroshima, Okayama and Kanazawa - together with trips out to the Nikko National Park and Naoshima Island. (Picture shows Garden at Nishio Yatsuhashi-no-Sato restaurant , Kyoto) HOW TO GET THERE We arrived at Tokyo's Haneda International Airport. For this trip we used the services of a travel company - for a number of reasons. As you may know from other posts we have usually made all our own travel arrangements because we enjoy tailoring trips to our own tastes. The Japan trip took us outside our usual comfort zone because we have no language skills at all in Japanese. We also wanted to make the most of our time on the trip rather than having to navigate all the connections and bookings befo...
Read more

GUATEMALA - Mayan and Spanish Colonial heritage.

  HOW TO GET THERE We flew into Guatemala City, and then made the journey to and from Flores by plane. All other journeys were by minibus or taxi, apart from boating on Lake Atitlan. As an alternative arrival you could take a Pullman Coach Bus to Antigua out of Copan Ruinas in Honduras that takes about 7 hours if you want to make this part of a longer Central American trip. (See the separate post on Nicaragua and Copan Ruinas.) You will need to check for the current health restrictions that may be in place for your arrival in Guatemala. ROUTE WHERE TO GO SAFELY Guatemala does not have a clear rating for safety/security, so you will need to check  your own Government's travel advisory page for the latest updates.   Most criminal activity is not aimed at tourists but attacks have happened.  Although this should not put you off, you need to be aware and take precautions.  There are issues about where and when you shouldn't go to particular places, but you will...
Read more

SINGAPORE & BORNEO short break/stopover

SINGAPORE - MacRitchie Reservoir Park     WHERE TO? HOW LONG? You may be on your way somewhere else, or need to make the most of your precious time with a short break. Many travellers spend  just one night in Singapore, but if you plan to stay a little longer you will have  a great opportunity to savour what this part of the world has to offer. That’s why the suggestion here is for a lengthier stay, including a short break on the nearby larger island of Borneo. SINGAPORE Singapore is built on trade and is now the 2nd busiest port in the world. Singapore is where many of the  world’s civilisations meet up in a jungle setting. SINGAPORE DOWNTOWN The Downtown area is concentrated around the mouth of the Singapore River. Few cities offer as many cultural influences in such a tight space - Little India, Chinatown, the Arab Quarter and the British Colonial District. All of these areas are easily accessible on foot.   Not to be missed: The Arab Quarter’s fine clot...
Read more

ANCIENT THAILAND - A slow rail trip

THAILAND - A slow rail trip through Ancient Cities.  Rail travel - what’s not to like? Take it nice and slow with overnight stops and linger in some fantastic ancient cities on the journey from Chiang Mai to Bangkok.  Pictured SUKHOTHAI - Historical Park HOW TO GET THERE Coming from outside Thailand you'll need to fly into Bangkok unless you're coming overland from elsewhere in Asia, in which case you could start in Chiang Mai and just do the rail trip. There is also an overnight sleeper train that does the journey between Bangkok and Chiang Mai in 15 hours if you prefer to do that rather than the domestic flight. ROUTE This is mainly a rail trip, with a flight from Bangkok to Chiang Mai at the beginning. Both of these cities feature heavily in the itinerary for the trip and are properly destinations in their own right.  The additional main features of the trip are on the rail journey between the two  major cities, visiting  the towns of Phitsanulok and Lop Buri...
Read more

CHILE- Central Cities and Lake District tour

VALPARAISO HOW TO GET THERE We flew into Santiago via Miami on an overnight flight. We managed to get a good deal on our flights with Latam , the Chilean carrier, for all the domestic stops and the international journey by  selecting the multi-city option when booking on their internet site. Much of  this trip is by plane, with bus/taxi transfers on the short journey legs. You'll need about 3 weeks to do this trip at the leisurely pace we chose, although you could do it in 2 weeks if you cut down the number of nights in some of the locations. ROUTE: SANTIAGO We opted to stay in the Providencia area, with metro links into the centre, good accommodation and dining facilities nearby. This is a short walk from the  Sculpture Park which is set on the banks of the Mapocho river. On the way back you’ll pass by or pop in to the  Costanera Center - the largest shopping mall in South America with large food halls. SANTIAGO - Providencia Sculpture Park Early on in our stay we t...
Read more

PORTUGAL (North) - Historic towns ,cities and the green (verde) region

  Take the trip heading out of Northern Spain to the remote mountainous Verde (Green) region of Portugal, and travel back via the historic towns and cities of Braganza, Guimares, Braga, Santiago de Compostela and Gijon. Photo shows Braganza - the Citadel HOW TO GET THERE We completed this trip with a car and towed caravan*.  The main loop of the trip inside Spain and then into Portugal could just as easily start anywhere within it, and you could do it in a car staying in hotels or other accommodation. Headed to Portugal from the UK or Northern Europe you have plenty of options on land routes and stops on the way across France. Alternatively there are ferries into Santander and Bilbao from the UK. We took three weeks to complete the main trip loop, and a further week in total on the outward and return journeys across France taking the ferry from Newhaven(UK) to Dieppe(F). * please see notes on travelling with a caravan or motorhome underneath the header 'Caravanning' next ...
Read more

MEXICO - Spanish colonial heritage

GUANAJUATO - night view   HOW TO GET THERE We flew into Mexico City. We travelled around on buses or took local taxis/other transport options. The inter-city buses are the Pullman/Executivo type with massive legroom and reclining seats. As we had pre-booked all our accommodation and knew our departure dates we bought our onward coach tickets at each  arrival point after leaving Mexico City. ROUTE This is a tour focused on the Spanish colonial cities to the north and west of the capital. WHERE TO GO SAFELY We were fortunate to have a contact in Mexico who offered to have a look at our itinerary before we finalised our plans and booked accommodation. We were advised not to go to destinations in our original plan that were further north and on the west coast as they were not deemed to be so safe. All the places on our route were safe, and the people were very friendly and helpful. Parts of Mexico do  not have a clear rating for safety/security, so you will need to check...
Read more

CROATIA/SLOVENIA - city, countryside and coast tour

A road trip starting out from the Northern coast of Europe and travelling down through Holland. Germany and Austria into Slovenia and then Croatia. Including visits to Lake Bled, the Istria peninsula, Split, Zagreb, Ljubljana and the Plitvice Lakes. Photo shows: ROVINJ, CROATIA HOW TO GET THERE We started on our journey to Slovenia/Croatia from the ferry terminal at the Hook of Holland, because we were travelling with our caravan*  (towed) from the UK. The main loop of the trip inside Slovenia/Croatia could just as easily start anywhere within it, and you could do it in a car staying in hotels or other accommodation. If you're not intending to travel across Holland, Germany & Austria please see the Route 2. map below and then jump forward in the itinerary to the section on the Slovenia/Croatia loop starting at Lake Bled. If you do the whole trip this will take you about 6 weeks, with 3 weeks just for the loop inside Slovenia/Croatia which is 960 miles plus mileage for side trip...
Read more