Arizona trip recommendations (first time visiting)

[CanadianMetal]

I will be visiting Arizona for my first time and staying in Sedona and Phoenix areas.

Have a Tesla rented for exploring the area during the 5 day trip .

Looking for recommendations on scenic drives , hikes , places to see , visit , restaurants, bars , Breweries, distilleries, experiences etc . In the area between let’s say greater Phoenix and Sedona (perhaps even Flagstaff )

Will be going to a concert on my last full day there , Accept & KK’s Priest , as that tour was not coming anywhere near me and thought it would be cool to see them in a state I have never visited and make it into a mini vacation without the kids . (Just did a one month trip with my twins for all of August)

Is the Meteor Crater (between Flagstaff & Winslow) worth going to ?

If so , any other real scenic drive to get back to Phoenix from there, or better to drive back through Sedona ?

[Hatchets Molly]

I've been only once, but I liked the Scottsdale area. Old Scottsdale has many quaint shops, bars, and restaurants. I don't know how crowded they are this time of year. We went in the summer (off-season bc it's so damn hot), and nothing was crowded.

[EzyRider]

my mother in law lives in Phoenix so I have made the drive from SoCal multiple times

skip the crater, it's a total non-event in the middle of nowhere.

I like Cottonwood, Prescott, Flagstaff and Jerome. Phoenix is HOT, I heard it hasn't been under 100F since May. Looks like it's still that way.

I say visit Sedona, but stay in Cottonwood Old Town unless you've already reserved, it's about 1/2 hour away. Way better food and drink options IMO.

Stay at https://thetavernhotel.com/ and walk across the street to Maynard's place for dinner, or visit his new place, it looks like it's open now? https://merkintrattoria.com/ It's in the same parking lot as this hotel, we watched it being built

There's a bunch of really killer places walking distance from here for eating/drinking. (Check out the Colt Grill and The Belfrey Brewery, both GOOD!!)

Flagstaff is good too.

For hiking around Phoenix I go to White Tank because it's close to my mother in laws place, but go EARLY (like start before sunrise and finish by 9am)

Higher up in Prescott or Sedona it will be cooler. (warning, don't go to Prescott Valley, it sucks)

Sedona is crazy cool for hiking, but crowded. Everything is like a fantasy postcard. I thought the town sucked though, overly touristy.

I'll be at KK's Priest 2 nights after you in Riverside, enjoy the show!!!

[Mojo]

skip the crater, it's a total non-event in the middle of nowhere.

I second this. Literally just a hole in the ground. Though it is incredible how it just barely missed the visitor's center.

[Nate S Axel]

Spend the entire time in Cave Creek... at The Hideaway... slamming shots from KaCee.
https://www.instagram.com/kaceelin

[LAglamrocker]

I went to Ultimate Warrior University growing up in Phoenix area. If it’s still open - you should go

[Mojo]

You're from Canada, so you're likely pretty used to forests and pines. You'll probably get more of that Arizona feel if you stay away from Flagstaff. Jerome is a ghost town around 40 minutes outside of Sedona. It's an Old West mining town with your typical winding streets, old westerny type buildings, etc.
Outside of Phoenix is the Superstition Mountains and you'll find some beautiful desert hiking, some more ghost town stuff related to the Lost Dutchman Mine, and some really cool lakes.
I looked up the date of the concert, and it's just next week, so it's going to still be hot as fuck. Sorry about that. If you're going to hike in Phoenix, please, please PLEASE do it in the early morning and bring more water than you think you need.

It's too bad Alice Cooper's restaurant downtown closed. That was awesome.

In the Phoenix area is also Tempe, which has a nice little downtown area and a reservoir that they've turned into a nice little walking area. It is the college area, so you'll have traffic.

[VinnieVincentsVag]

Come to Glendale and have a beer with me.
Highlight of the trip

[CanadianMetal]

Thanks guys ! Some cool suggestions so far , keep them coming as my trip starts this Sunday .

I looked into some of the suggestions and in Tempe , there looks to be the Lime scooter I could ride around and see that waterfront and surrounding area . (Save energy from walking in the heat) .

Any other areas worth exploring on the Lime scooter?

In Scottsdale there was a restaurant I wanted to check out anyways so can take a walk through the old part of town as well.

Some of the restaurants I wanted to look into were :

Rehab burger therapy -
Hot & Juicy Crawfish - loved them in Vegas and Cali
Fry Bread house - native
Little miss BBQ university -
Vero Chicago pizza -
Pizzeria Bianco-
The Chuckbox-

El Caprichoso Sonoran Hotdogs - perhaps on first night as I will be arriving late with most other places closed.


Sedona area hiking and sight -

Bell rock

Devils bridge scenic hike

Slide Rock state park

Montezuma castle

Sedona Stargazing

Chapel of Holy cross

Cathedral rock

Any thoughts on the above, and if all are worth doing ?
Any better alternatives ?


Will be arriving at 11pm Sunday and after picking up the rental and eating will be after midnight.

Have hotels booked for all nights other than the first as was unsure and going to play that one by ear.

One option that seems cool as I will have a vehicle with full glass roof and back seats fold down to make a big bed area , is to find a cool scenic spot in the Sedona dessert and sleep there looking at the landscape & stars. Wake up at or before sunrise and start the day with a great hike first thing in the morning .

That way I don’t sleep in and waste the best time to see the sunrise colours and cool morning temperature. And then have all day to do as much as possible before checking into Sedona area hotel Monday evening . (Hotel is near Bell Rock )

Any thoughts?

[LAglamrocker]

Wear Ultimate Warrior shirt while eating and walking(slight run if you can handle that)

[CanadianMetal]

Come to Glendale and have a beer with me.
Highlight of the trip

Ha , sent you a message, perhaps we can make it happen \m/

[LAglamrocker]

You should wear Razor Ramon shirt to Winger/Nelson show Sunday in Arizona. After eating well and nice hike

#afterthehike

[Deege]

The Grand Canyon south rim is like an hour north of Flagstaff and is absolutely worth seeing if you haven't before.

[Mister Freeze]

I like Cottonwood, Prescott, Flagstaff and Jerome. Phoenix is HOT, I heard it hasn't been under 100F since May. Looks like it's still that way.

I say visit Sedona, but stay in Cottonwood Old Town unless you've already reserved, it's about 1/2 hour away. Way better food and drink options IMO.

I totally second Cottonwood and Jerome. Both towns have great local wine tasting rooms.

I'd check out Williams too. Quirky old Route 66 town. And if you haven't been to the Grand Canyon, drive 40 minutes north of there and spend a couple hours visiting Grand Canyon Village and the trails around it. There's a supercharger just outside the main national park gates in Tusayan.

[Stinky McFister]

Definitely hit Sedona and go to the upscale Mexican restaurant Elote. The most amazing margarita I've ever had. Food was exceptional as well

[Grendel]

What do you guys know about Superstion mountains? Seems cool. Sedona - Worth visiting?

[Mojo]

What do you guys know about Superstion mountains?

The Superstitions are really pretty. Great fall and winter hiking, and really great views from the top.

Sedona is beautiful, but at the same time, is kind of like every other Arizona tourist town in that it's full of pretty much nothing but old lady stores selling the same antiques and turquoise as everywhere else in the Southwest. If you take one of the Jeep tours, there's some really badass scenery out there, though.

[Grendel]

What do you guys know about Superstion mountains?

The Superstitions are really pretty. Great fall and winter hiking, and really great views from the top.

Sedona is beautiful, but at the same time, is kind of like every other Arizona tourist town in that it's full of pretty much nothing but old lady stores selling the same antiques and turquoise as everywhere else in the Southwest. If you take one of the Jeep tours, there's some really badass scenery out there, though.

Is the area around there fairly free from light pollution?

[Mojo]

What do you guys know about Superstion mountains?

The Superstitions are really pretty. Great fall and winter hiking, and really great views from the top.

Sedona is beautiful, but at the same time, is kind of like every other Arizona tourist town in that it's full of pretty much nothing but old lady stores selling the same antiques and turquoise as everywhere else in the Southwest. If you take one of the Jeep tours, there's some really badass scenery out there, though.

Is the area around there fairly free from light pollution?

Superstitions? Absolutely not. Sedona? A lot less so, especially out in the camping areas.

[Grendel]

The Superstitions are really pretty. Great fall and winter hiking, and really great views from the top.

Sedona is beautiful, but at the same time, is kind of like every other Arizona tourist town in that it's full of pretty much nothing but old lady stores selling the same antiques and turquoise as everywhere else in the Southwest. If you take one of the Jeep tours, there's some really badass scenery out there, though.

Is the area around there fairly free from light pollution?

Superstitions? Absolutely not. Sedona? A lot less so, especially out in the camping areas.

Oh. If you haven't done so, try to travel to a dark skies area of the country. It's surreal. A lot of the Big bend area in Texas is like that.

[Sleek]

Imma playing at the state fairgrounds this weekend. They are predicting 109 degrees.

FML.

[Not Jack Bulter]

Some of the restaurants I wanted to look into were :

Rehab burger therapy
The Chuckbox-

These two are a fucking MUST for burgers. I'm partial to The Chuckbox, but I spent a lot of time in Tempe back in the day.