lori.grow 
The 2020 school year was coming to an end, and just like the kids….the worn out high school teacher in me could NOT wait to get our summer adventures started. Therefore, a mere 5 hours after the last bell of the year rang – we started our first “Family National Park Vacation”. My intentions were to get SUNSHINE on our faces, see a new part of the United States, and hopefully give the girls the urge to fall in love the National Park System. Below I’ve highlighted our top 7 stops along our 5 night Easy Arizona Road Trip with Kids!
1. Arizona Grand Resort and Spa. Knowing the girls needed some warm sun on their faces, and I needed a cocktail in a lounge chair, we started our journey by parking ourselves poolside at the Arizona Grand Resort and Spa for two nights. We had stayed here once before during a Spring Training Trip and the girls fell in love with the lazy river, waterslide, and wave pool. Although, my somewhat short 7 year old didn’t make the cut for the waterslide, the girls loved skipping from hot tub to wave pool to lazy river on repeat for a day straight!
2. Pink Jeep Tours Sedona. After we got our rest, cocktails, and sunshine fix, we loaded up the minivan and headed north! The goal was to see some breathtaking scenery and really show the girls the beauty of Arizona. After reading every “Arizona with kids” and “Must dos in Sedona” travel blog – our first stop was non-negotiable. We cruised into the touristy, yet cute town of Sedona, and gravitated immediately to the PINK JEEP TOURS.
After weeks of indecisiveness prior to our arrival on which tour to choose, we finally settled on the “Broken Arrow Tour“. Factors that weighed into our decision were price, the need for bumps and adventure, and length. The tour was exactly what we wanted. The girls had permanent smiles the entire time. We can’t say enough about the driver/tour guide and staff in the office. There’s a reason why it’s on every “Must Do” list and they’ve got customer service down to a science!
3. Slide Rock State Park. After our tour we grabbed the mini van and headed to Slide Rock State Park. This natural waterslide was an outstanding way to spend a few hours. The river was exactly how I remembered it from my childhood vacation to the same spot, and it was unlike anything the girls had ever experienced!
Because we were there in March the per vehicle entry fee was $20 and the wait was only 10 minutes. We brought our lunch and money to stop at the ice cream stand on our walk back to the car. I would definitely suggest wearing some type of water shoe for this excursion. Our Chaco sandals worked great to help us with traction on mossy rocks and when entering and exiting the river. If you have elementary age kids or teens, this is an absolute MUST DO while in Sedona.
4. Little America Flagstaff. After an exciting day in Sedona, we continued our Arizona Road Trip and drove 23 miles north to Flagstaff, AZ. The following day would be dedicated to the Grand Canyon, and Little America was the perfect place to relax and recharge for that adventure. Although it was close to the highway, the spacious pine tree lined grounds made for a relaxing evening by the pool. With plenty of parking and multiple smaller buildings, we appreciated the resort type feel we got as we walked the grounds. All three of us were thrilled with the dinner options at the on-site restaurant and went to bed easily after our long day.
5. The Grand Canyon. From the Little America in Flagstaff, our drive to the Grand Canyon Village at the South Rim was a little less than 1.5 hours. From previous visits, I knew how breathtaking the Grand Canyon would be, but after looking around for 5 minutes, I anticipated my 8 and 10 year old would be ready to move on. I researched the “adventures” I could add on to our visit.
Because they were too small to hike the to bottom, and a helicopter ride was out of our price range, we instead choose to rent bikes at Bright Angel Bicycles. We opted for the self guided out and back route along the Yaki Point Trail that included lunch. My 10 year old and I rented our own bikes, and my 8 year old rode a smaller bike attached to mine. The 7 mile trek was smooth and absolutely perfect for the three of us. We stopped for lunch along the edge of the canyon before heading back to the visitor center. As predicted on the website, we saw multiple elk along the way munching on shrubs and not giving a care about the bikes buzzing by. Our reservation was seamless, but it seemed as those who choose to not plan ahead were waiting for quite awhile for bikes to be returned.
6. Grand Canyon RV Park. After a few more lookout stops in the Grand Canyon, we headed out of the park towards Williams, Arizona (think of the exact “Route 66 Town” from Disney’s Cars). I didn’t have much luck with finding a suitable hotel reservation booking at the last minute, so the girls I fulfilled our dream of renting an RV.
Although our RV never moved, we enjoyed the experience of “glamping”. We chose an Airbnb rental at the Grand Canyon RV Park. The fire pit, gas grill, picnic table, and incredible staff made for an enjoyable evening playing games together. We ended the night by cooking s’mores followed by a cozy evening watching movies inside the camper.
7. BEARIZONA. On our last day of our Arizona Road Trip we headed back towards Phoenix. To break up the drive we opted for a drive through adventure at Bearizona. The drive through zoo portion gave a us a chance to see some unique animals – including white bison! The walking zoo portion was small, but it was good place to get a treat and listen to a few “live animal talks” .
8. Our last stop for the day was a quick hike/walk at Hole in the Rock Trail. This was the perfect distance to stretch our legs after the drive and get us nice a ready for one last night by the pool. With it being 100 degrees at 7pm, the girls loved their night swim at the Legacy Golf Resort. A 6 am flight was not problem since the resort was less than 6 miles to the airport!
