It’s been several weeks since we got back from our spring break vacation in Northern Arizona, but that trip was so epic that I thought I’d share it on the blog anyway. There is so much beauty in that area, lots of attractions to discover and stunning nature to appreciate! Hopefully this post will inspire someone to go and explore that part of the State, too.

When we travel and have enough time we love taking scenic byways instead of freeways. Route 66 was an easy choice for us.  We didn’t know what to expect on the way and the first amazing nostalgic stop on the road was Hackberry General Store . The store itself looks like a building held up by faith and rusty nails but it it’s actually one of the highway’s most famous roadside gems.

A little further down the road was Seligman, AR. The entire town is dedicated to a bygone era and is full of retro shops, diners, and motels.

Oatman, AZ was another totally unexpected surprise that we stumbled upon driving on Route 66. It’s an authentic western Ghost Town that refuses to die and another one of most timeless and iconic stops. This charming little town is famous not only because it’s on Main Street USA Historic Route 66 but also because it’s overrun by wild burros. They’re descendants of the burros that worked in nearby mines but now are considered free residents of Oatman.

How cute are these burros shopping for t-shirts? 🙂

Flagstaff, AZ was our base camp for a few days and we did day trips to explore the area. Walnut Canyon National Monument has interesting geological formation and is famous for ancient cliff dwellings. Can you see tiny “windows” in the middle of the cliff?

Wupatki National Monument is an ancient pueblo. I was surprised how huge and well preserved the ruins are. They reminded me of a medieval castle from Europe.

A narrow and winding loop road connects Wupatki with Sunset Crater Volcano. It was a beautiful drive and I’m sure there are great hiking opportunities around the crater but we we got there quite late and didn’t have enough daylight to start exploring on foot.

Grand Canyon was another National Park on our agenda. Spring break season is one of the busiest times there and we were not prepared for the hoards of tourists we encountered. It took us an hour and a half to drive the last mile to the park entrance and then about another hour to find a parking place. The lines to the shuttles were almost as long as a line to the entrance so as a result we didn’t have as much time to explore as we planned for. Fortunately we were able to find some solitude a little further from Grand Canyon Village to admire the majestic views in peace and and do some hiking along the rim trail. The scenery was of course breathtaking…

And even though we were stuck in park traffic (without any views) and missed the best golden hour light  – I’m happy I got a chance to take this one (and only!) photo just before the sunset.

Sedona, AZ was our next destination on the trip. I’ve heard so much about this town and was really looking forward to explore it. We started with a jeep tour to orient ourselves better in the area. Our guide shared a lot of insider hiking tips with us which helped us avoid the biggest tourist crowds that flood the town in spring. There is definitely some special energy around Sedona and I loved absorbing it in several energy vortex locations that we visited.

“Spaceship” clouds over Sedona’s red rocks…

From Sedona we drove to Death Valley National Park. This is the largest, hottest, lowest and driest park in US and we able to experience all these adjectives in one day! We only explored the east part of the park, but it gave us a good idea of its magnificence.

We were surprised to find out that there are slot canyons in Death Valley and decided to brave the scorching heat to see them. They were interesting but nothing like the amazing slot canyons we’ve seen in Grand Staircase Escalante so after seeing one we were ready to go back to the car to cool down.

We were flying out from Las Vegas and “the best hike ever” (according to my daughter, but I’m ready to agree on that) happened on the very last day of our trip. I read about Goldstrike Hot Springs trail online and the reviews were so inspiring that we decided to check it out for ourselves. The trail head is near Hoover Dam on the other side of the freeway. The hike starts easy but then gets quite strenuous as you have to climb over huge boulders in a canyon and even use ropes several times to maneuver down large rocks. But the effort is totally worth it because at the end there are several beautiful hot pools and small waterfalls feeding into the cool Colorado River. The hike back was a little more challenging as we were wet, tired and hungry but at the same time super happy after our adventure!

Thanks for getting this far! I hope you enjoyed the photos from our (mostly 🙂 Northern Arizona trip. Feel free to ask if you have any questions about locations we visited, I’m happy to share more.

come visit my website

click here for more travel photos

say hello on Facebook

follow me on Instagram

contact me

call me: 608-643-2642