weekender.
Weekend trips from Northern Arizona
Hidden spots near Flagstaff, day trips and weekend road trips from Northern Arizona in November, scored 1–10 on price, timing and what's happening, with gas, park fees, a campsite or room and food included.
Plan your own trip from Northern Arizona →Local finds near campus
Sedona
Red rock buttes, slot-canyon swimming holes and a dark-sky town (Red Rock Pass $5 a car).
Day trips
Meteor Crater
A mile-wide, 50,000-year-old impact crater where Apollo astronauts trained.
Jerome
A former 'wickedest town in the West' clinging to a mountainside, now galleries and a ghost-town museum.
Prescott & the Granite Dells
Lumpy granite boulders around a blue lake, and Whiskey Row's old saloons.
Tonto Natural Bridge
Probably the largest natural travertine bridge in the world, with a waterfall through it.
Grand Canyon South Rim
The Rim Trail at sunset and a few switchbacks into the canyon (going down is optional, up is not).
Petrified Forest
Rainbow logs of stone and the Painted Desert's badlands along old Route 66.
Weekend trips
Grand Canyon South Rim
The Rim Trail at sunset and a few switchbacks into the canyon (going down is optional, up is not).
Phoenix
Roosevelt Row's murals, Sonoran hot dogs and a sunrise hike up Camelback.
Petrified Forest
Rainbow logs of stone and the Painted Desert's badlands along old Route 66.
Lake Havasu
The original London Bridge, rebuilt in the desert, and warm-water coves for boats and paddleboards.
Valley of Fire
Swirling red and pink sandstone, petroglyphs and the Fire Wave, an hour past Las Vegas.
Zion
Wade up the Narrows slot canyon and hike Angels Landing (permit lottery).
Long weekends
Phoenix
Roosevelt Row's murals, Sonoran hot dogs and a sunrise hike up Camelback.
Valley of Fire
Swirling red and pink sandstone, petroglyphs and the Fire Wave, an hour past Las Vegas.
Salvation Mountain & Salton Sea
A hand-painted hill, Slab City's off-grid art town and the eerie shores of the Salton Sea.
Joshua Tree
Twisted trees, boulder scrambles and some of the darkest skies near LA.
Lake Havasu
The original London Bridge, rebuilt in the desert, and warm-water coves for boats and paddleboards.
Anza-Borrego & Borrego Springs
Giant metal dinosaur sculptures in the desert, wildflowers in spring and a dark-sky town.
Personalize it
Set your budget, how many friends are coming, your car (or no car: train and bus), and what you're into (hiking, beaches, camping, stargazing, food and more), and Weekender re-ranks every trip for you, with a day-by-day plan, directions and campsites.
Find my trips from Northern Arizona →