Flagstaff to the Grand Canyon via volcanoes and Desert View

Route description

Start with Walnut Canyon, 16 km east of Flagstaff via I-40 exit 204. The Island Trail descends by stairs to Sinagua cliff rooms under limestone ledges, a good hour’s walk at 2,000 m. Then take US-89 north from Flagstaff and turn onto the loop road through Sunset Crater Volcano and Wupatki National Monuments. One fee covers both, and the loop is paved and fine for RVs.

At Sunset Crater, walk the Lava Flow Trail at the foot of the cone; climbing the crater itself is not allowed. The loop then descends 30 km through cinder fields to Wupatki, where red pueblos stand on sandstone outcrops, including Wupatki Pueblo behind the visitor center. The road rejoins US-89 about 45 km north of Flagstaff. Bonito Campground, opposite the Sunset Crater visitor center, is open in summer.

Continue north on US-89 through the Navajo Nation to Cameron, an old trading post settlement on the Little Colorado River with fuel and food. Turn west on AZ-64, which climbs past roadside overlooks of the Little Colorado gorge, run by the Navajo Nation. After 50 km you reach the Desert View entrance of Grand Canyon National Park, where you pay the park fee.

Desert View Watchtower is the first stop, then Desert View Drive runs 40 km west along the South Rim, past Grandview Point and Moran Point, to Grand Canyon Village. Desert View Campground is open in the warmer months, and Mather Campground takes reservations. When you leave, drive south on AZ-64 for 95 km to Williams, a Route 66 town where the Grand Canyon Railway starts, and I-40 back to Flagstaff.