We're planning to go next summer. What can you recommend, tourist-wise, lodging-wise, anything?

I swear one of you said you like planning other people's travels. Five people, two adults and three kids ages 9-15, next June. And....help?

Fly into phoenix, lots of people like to stay in Scottsdale
rent a car drive up I-17 north
stop in Black Canyon city for pie on the way up or the way back.
Drive up to Flagstaff
do a tour to go up the ski lift to the top of the San Francisco Mountains where you may see snow in June.
Drive to Williams and stay in a hotel
take the train to the grand canyon
stay for the day, walk around the rim trail
go down Bright Angel Trail far enough to not see the top and see out into the canyon.
There is only so much to do at the grand canyon unless you want to hike. but maybe that's cause I've seen it 8 dozen times?
Take the train back from the grand canyon to Williams and get stopped by train robbers on horseback. Kids love that part.
Drive back to flagstaff
drive on 89A thru the switchbacks to see Sedona and the red rocks
Stop in the Black Cow café for homemade ice cream
and say hi to the owner, Lane, who is my brother.
wander around the downtown area and shops.
watch out for very expensive "indian" art.
If you can't afford to stay in Sedona (it aint cheap)
take the loop back to I-17 and stop at Cliff Castle Casino for the night
or go thru Sedona on 89A to Cottonwood to stay at a cheaper hotel (all sorts of places) go to tuzigoot if you want and drive up to Jerome.
head back out to I-17 on 260 and
Go to Montezuma's castle
then also hit Montezuma's well.
Head back down I-17 to Phoenix.
Lots of variations along the way depending on how touristy you want to go.
some would go up thru Jerome to Prescott and hit the world's oldest rodeo but that's like the week before 4th of July.

That is super helpful!

Oh except we're driving not flying.

Do the mule tour!

The mule tour is a bit expensive for 5

You can stay at the canyon fairly cheaply if you don't stay at the lodge. They have rooms not too far from the rim, they are just a basic hotel room, 2 queen beds and a bathroom kind of thing. there wasn't tv or phone service or fridge last time we stayed there, but the kid loved being RIGHT there at the rim, and walking over and having breakfast right as the sun was coming up over the canyon or staying right til sunset.

If you do that, you park at the hotel room and take the shuttle bus around the canyon along the rim. There is an actual grocery store there, so you can grab some food for cheaper depending on how long you are staying. you could do an ice chest for sandwiches and cereal and then go out for dinner kind of thing.

are you driving from iowa? Have you checked out where to stop along the way?
are you heading down so you'll come in on I-40 or coming in from the north

Haven't planned the route yet, but I know my husband wants us to stop at Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve.

You can rent sandboards in Almosa, there is also a waterfall hike nearby on BLM land that was cool. We took 70 to old US 40 then dropped down to 50. Let me tell you that drop down was some of the most out there nothingness. https://goo.gl/maps/XV1hLQXq7652
No power poles.

If you continue west from Almosa you can see Durango, Mesa Verde, Monument Valley, Antelope Canyon, Horseshoe Bend, Vermillion Cliffs and hit the North Rim. We did not drive to the North Rim, so I have no Grand Canyon specific info give you. You should read The Emerald Mile, you will want to take a raft trip.

Wow, I wish I could pin this for when I'll need it in the future maybe

PunkAssPie I repped you so you can find it in your user cp. Now if you'd do the same for me.....

Be careful while driving around that you don't get stranded in a ghost town and locked in a jail by a crazy gold miner. I would hate for you to have to tie a bunch of belts together to try to fish the key off the hook to break out of the jail cell.

And another caution. Make sure your kids don't go chasing off into the Grand Canyon and get lost.

But it would be cool if you get to do a rain dance and get to become member of a native american tribe.

And here I thought the Ghost Town solution was to dig our way out using old clips of us shoveling and then sing "Last Train to Clarksville."

i think either option would work to get out if captured at a ghost town.

Let me know when you get closer what your route to the Grand Canyon and how many days you want to fill. We used to have relatives come into Phoenix every summer and we'd do the big tour of the Grand Canyon and surrounding area in a station wagon full of people. I grew up in cottonwood and most of my family still lives there.

I thought this was going to be about one of your vaginas. Phew!

"Bobby?"

"Cindy?"

Someone rep me too - I am planning a trip there with my mom, dd, cousin and aunt next spring. My mother has never been and she is almost 74 and mobility is getting to be an issue. Squig - you keep posting because I can follow mostly your route since I am just north of you

Done Squig

My parents live near Phoenix for half the year and we're driving there for Thanksgiving. We're not looking forward to the drive from TX to AZ and back at all.

Beans in the flashlight

I don't think there is anything good about a drive from Tx to AZ.
Seems every summer that we didn't have visiting people to drive on a grand tour of the grand canyon and northern az, my parents would decide to drive 5 kids in a station wage for a visit to family in NC or they would decide it was time to move back home to NC. One summer we moved to NC and then moved back again in the same summer cause they couldn't find a job & house they liked. TX to AZ is some of the most un-exciting driving of the trip. Til we'd hit the welcome to AZ sign and then it would at least feel better cause it would be closer to home.