Day Trips from Flagstaff with Kids

After two long winters of our discontent, German weather, and lockdown, we traveled to sunny Arizona. We stayed with friends near Tucson for the first week, then we drove up north to explore the area. Among all the cities in northern Arizona, the hotel prices in Flagstaff were the most reasonable. It seemed an easy option to discover the region from there and organize day trips from Flagstaff.

Route 66

Our motel was on the legendary Route 66.
Pro: You’re on Route 66, Baby! Rock on!
Con: You’re right next to Route 66. The building echoes every time a truck passes by. And by the way, the railway is parallel to Route 66 in Flagstaff, and every time a train goes by, the whole building shakes. However, it’s true for every motel right next to Route 66.

All in all, I would recommend staying next to Route 66. It is once in a lifetime experience, especially for a non-American.

For me, the European, the most significant culture shock in the USA is that everything is bigger there. The size of vehicles is particularly alien to me. The use of four-wheel-drive trucks with elevated chassis as personal vehicles seems unnecessary and polluting. For my two young sons, however, the big trucks were the highlight of our trip. Either way, route 66 is THE PLACE to encounter this culturally shocking experience.

Explore Northern Arizona from Flagstaff

Flagstaff is located in the center of Northern Arizona at the juncture of Interstate 17 and Interstate 40, about 150 miles north of Phoenix and 80 miles south of the Grand Canyon.

Its central location makes it the optimal jumping-off place for exploring the region.

Flagstaff

However, Flagstaff in itself is well worth a visit. There are many things to do in the downtown of Flagstaff.

After a long day of driving from Tucson, we planned a lazy day here.

If you travel with young kids, one program a day is enough anyway. It was a lesson learned the hard way for us not to pack too many events into our trips because it ruins the whole experience. So this itinerary is not intended to be comprehensive. It is our travel journal.

Downtown

Flagstaff has a charming downtown. We were affected by jetlag, so we arrived here way too early. However, simply walking around the city center among the closed stores was an activity our kids truly enjoyed. We started our exploration at the train station. If your kids are train fans, this is the place to be. There is a Visitor Center within the railway station, where you can get a free map of downtown.

The city was so calm during these early hours that we spotted a hummingbird suckling nectar from a flower in the middle of an intersection.

Later the city awakened, the stores opened, and we found some gems.

Chrystal Magic

When I said we found some gems, I meant it literally. Arizona surprisingly abounds in jewelry stores, and Flagstaff has a certain new-age-y vibe, but the store Chrystal Magic stands out. It is an elegant store with a plethora of crystals and stones. It has everything you will ever need for meditation, tarot, massage, yoga, zodiac signs and chakras. I am a down-to-earth person, but I could have spent all the money in the world here.

Black Hound Gallery

My other weaknesses besides jewelry are graphic tees. This store has a massive collection of funny T-shirts. Besides that, they have a lot of cool stuff- anything from surreal art to travel aesthetics. Black Hound Gallery has a chaotic modern rock spirit. The staff was friendly.

Places to eat and drink in downtown Flagstaff

El Tapatio Mexican Restaurant

You know the feeling when you prepare your camera to capture your meal for social media, but the food is so good that you forget about it altogether?
It happened to me in this family-friendly restaurant. The place was almost full when we got there, but the service was quick. They provided kid menus with coloring pages and a tasty cabbage dip immediately after we sat down. I had the Veggie Super Burrito, and wow…the Super refers to both the taste and the size. It was the moment when I utterly and irrevocably fell in love with Mexican food.

Drinking Horn Meadery

This one is the odd-one-out. It’s not excessively kid-friendly to take a two- and a five-year-old kid to a drinking hall. But we are raising them without any help from our families, so it happens that they come with us to bars and other adult places. 

Our server was not very thrilled that we came with our boys, but the place was otherwise empty. 

We were curious what mead tastes like, so we wanted to try it. 

Mead is an alcoholic beverage made from fermented honey and fruits. You can order a sampler tray and savor this ancient drink in several different tastes. 

My husband and agreed that it is not our thing, and we prefer beer or wine. However, it was a unique experience.

Sweet Shoppe Candy Store

From caramel apples to nostalgia candies and Italian gelato, this store has everything that can make your kids happy.

A Day Trip from Flagstaff to the Grand Canyon

No trip to Arizona is complete without visiting the Grand Canyon. It is probably among the top 10 tourist destinations in the world.
It lives up to its fame: the sheer size, the grandeur, the magnificence is hard to put into words.
Many travel writers and bloggers before me have probably said everything about the Grand Canyon. Everything is true that they write about its natural beauty.
I was also amused as I watched people arriving at the rim of the Canyon and having a glimpse of it for the first time. Every single person gasped and just stood there spellbound and awestruck.

My children, however, weren’t very impressed. As everyone was looking at this colorful wonder of nature, they were kneeling in the dirt, their back to the Canyon, and looking for “dinosaur bones.” The highlight of their trip to the Grand Canyon was a squirrel.

Day Trip from Flagstaff: Sedona

Sedona is a spectacular desert town and one of the best day trips from Flagstaff. Known for its towering red rock formations, as well as spiritual healing, Sedona is one of the most stunning places in the USA.
In my opinion, one day is not enough to explore Sedona. Actually, it is impossible to get even the highlights in one day if you travel with toddlers. We wanted to squeeze in Bell Rock, Cathedral Rock, the Chapel of the Holy Cross, but you have to be realistic. The kids would just get tired and they would whine.
Here’s what we could do and enjoy.

The drive from Flagstaff to Sedona: Highway 89A that runs between Uptown Sedona and Flagstaff is a breath-taking scenic drive. There are several vista points on the way to overlook the Oak Creek Canyon.

Walking around Uptown Sedona. It is packed with galleries, gift shops and restaurants. Roaming around here is easy even with kids. It is a unique experience because it offers stunning vistas of the surrounding red rocks.

We bought way too much authentic native American jewelry in the numerous gift stores.

We wanted to try some authentic local dishes, but the choices were overwhelming. So we opted for Korean (because when in doubt or lost, have some Korean) and had the best bibimbap in my life at Momo’s kitchen.

Meteor Crater & Barringer Space Museum

60,000 years ago, a meteorite, approximately 50 meters wide and weighing several hundred thousand tons, impacted an area outside of Flagstaff. The result of this impact was the creation of the giant bowl-shaped cavity we call Meteor Crater. It measures 150 meter deep and more than a kilometer wide.

Meteor Crater Visitor Center is one of the most unique day trips from Flagstaff. Visitors can choose to view the Crater in an indoor area, outside on the observation decks, or on a guided tour along the rim.

For our kids, the highlight of the Meteor Crater was the Collision 4D theater. During a 10-minute 4D show, the kids join a “space flight” to intersect an asteroid that is on a collision course with earth. The HD movie with cool special effects and full motion seats was a one-of-a-kind experience.

The visit to the Meteor Crater is entire with a discovery center and a gift shop.
The admission is a bit pricey, but we used the military discount.

Painted Desert

It was my idea to follow a different route back to Flagstaff. On the way there, it was a relatively easy drive on Interstate 40 towards the east. On the way back, I wanted to make a detour to visit the Painted Desert, to have a perfect, round day trip from Flagstaff. According to the map, it was approximately a 100-km detour. The map was in one of the flyers at the hotel reception.

After leaving the Meteor Crater Visitor Center, we started to drive forwards to the east. And we were driving… and driving…and driving.
I inspected the map again. The small print said: “Map is not to scale.”

Why would anyone make a tourist map that is not to scale?
Also, it was in miles, not in kilometers. Being a European, I am genetically unable to comprehend miles.

(Dear USA, have you considered changing to the metric system?)

All in all, the 100 km detour became 160 miles and 3 hours.
In the end, I took some pictures of the desert from the car because my children were becoming increasingly whiny.

Things I learned during our day trips from Flagstaff

Here I am sharing some useful tips I learned the hard way, so you don’t have to. 

• For a road trip like that, you need a car. There are no public transport options for these day trips from Flagstaff.
• For the love of god, plan your trip with the help of Google Maps. The flyers at hotel receptions are for commercial purposes only.
• Bring water and snacks. Arizona is hot (and an arid zone), and during the long hours of driving, sometimes the only meal options are snacks at gas stations. We know that they are not the healthiest. 
• Have a plan B in case your children are tired.
• Maintain social distancing
• Be culturally aware. If you visit a tribal park, make sure to follow that tribe’s rules.