My best friend and I spent five days traveling in Sedona this summer for a girls’ trip. When I found out we would be so close to the Grand Canyon, I knew it was the perfect opportunity to visit our first major national park in the U.S., so I went ahead and added it to our itinerary.
If you’re already visiting Sedona and thinking about taking a Sedona to Grand Canyon day trip, it is more than possible.
In this blog post, I’ll share my trip from Sedona to the Grand Canyon and what you need to know about the journey.
How far is the Grand Canyon from Sedona?
The Grand Canyon is about a 2-hour and 15-minute drive from Sedona. It may take a few more or fewer minutes depending on where exactly you’re driving from in Sedona, but Sedona is fairly small, so this is the timeframe you should expect.
Where We Stayed in Sedona
We stayed at the Hilton Vacation Club Sedona Summit in Sedona, which is where we departed from to the Grand Canyon.
I breakdown more about my stay at this property in my Sedona itinerary, but if you’re looking for an affordable option while in the city, I highly recommend it.
Driving Route from Sedona to Grand Canyon
The drive to the Grand Canyon from this property was 2 hours and 15 minutes, and I believe we took Route US-180W.
We left for the Grand Canyon around 5 am and arrived at about 7 am, which is an hour before the Visitor Center opened at 8 am.
I was the driver for this day trip, and like many of the places we drove to in Sedona, it was a very smooth drive with barely any other cars on the road.
Arriving at the Grand Canyon
Upon arrival at the Grand Canyon, you will come across a “fee station,” which is essentially a ticketing machine where you can roll your window down to pay the fee to enter the park.
Fees for entry into the Grand Canyon depend on different factors like whether or not you’re a U.S. resident, age, etc., and can be found here.
As U.S. residents, we only paid $35 for our vehicle, got a small receipt, and found a parking spot at the Visitor Center parking lot. We were one of maybe two other cars there at the time, so there was plenty of parking, and we got a great spot right near the entrance.
Navigating the Grand Canyon
As a first-time national park visitor, I found the logistics of visiting the Grand Canyon to be overwhelming because there’s really no set “way” to explore the park, and I quickly realized that it’s all part of the experience.
There are a few different ways to access the park. The South Rim and North Rim are the most common entry points. We chose the South Rim because it’s the most popular and offers many of the park’s most iconic viewpoints, based on what I read online.
Once you have parked, you are really going to depend on the free shuttle buses that will take you around the park along different routes to access various viewpoints and stops.
At the stops, you will get to see the canyon from different points, use the restroom if there’s one available, make a purchase at a store, get some food, etc.
Our Grand Canyon Route
I’ll be honest and say that we pretty much winged our time at the Grand Canyon for the most part. I researched a few things ahead of time, but once we got inside and saw how many viewpoints there were to see and how spread out they were, we decided to just see what we could along the routes that were the closest or had shuttles available, and this is what we ended up with:
Start at Mather Point – 10 minute walk from the Visitor Center
We started at Mather Point, which is a quick 7-10 minute walk from the Visitor Center and is a popular viewpoint.
Starting here was a great decision as it was easy to get to and the views were stunning.
Get on the Orange Shuttle to Yaki Point
From the Visitor Center, we got on the Orange Shuttle (the shuttles start running around 8am, but some start a bit earlier), and got off at Yaki Point. This was another great stop and we spent a lot of time here as I found it relaxing to just sit and admire the canyon.
It’s the only scenic viewpoint on Desert View Drive and is known for being a bit quieter than some of the other stops.
Blue Shuttle to Grand Canyon Village then Transfer to Hopi Point
From Yaki Point, we took the Orange Shuttle back to the Visitor Center and switched to the Blue Shuttle and rode to the Grand Canyon Village for the Red Shuttle transfer to Hopi Point.
Hopi Point has panoramic views of the canyon along Hermit Road. The shuttle driver mentioned this and it’s why we stopped.
Continue on Red Shuttle for Hermits Rest
We made a stop at Hermits Rest because we thought we’d be able to grab lunch, but it turned out to be more of a quick stop for cold drinks, ice cream, and light snacks. It’s mainly a gift shop with a small selection of grab-and-go food options.
If you’re looking for a memorable souvenir from your trip to the Grand Canyon, I definitely recommend stopping here. The gift shop has a great selection of items.
Transfer to the Blue Shuttle to go to Maswik Lodge for Food
To get back to Maswik Lodge from Hermits Rest, we got on the Red Route shuttle and rode it back toward the Village Route Transfer. From there, we transferred to the Blue Route (Village Route) shuttle, which took us to the Maswik Lodge stop where we had lunch.
There is a pizzeria and a food court style layout here so I ordered a flatbread from one of the American counters.
Return Back to the Visitor Center
Since the Visitor Center wasn’t open when we first arrived, I stopped by just to see what it was like and it’s basically an overview of the Park with displays, information boards, etc.
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We did all of this in half a day, as we wanted to make the drive back to Sedona fairly early to account for how tired we would be from all of the walking and the heat.
Spending only half a day at the Grand Canyon was perfect for our trip and what we wanted, but there is so much to cover, see, and do if you want to spend the full day. Activities like bike riding are also available.
Final Thoughts on My Sedona to Grand Canyon Trip
The Grand Canyon is absolutely beautiful to see in person, and I understand why people take dedicated trips to the area just for the national park itself.
Taking the trip from Sedona made for a great day trip and is something I highly recommend if you are pressed for time or just need another activity to fill your itinerary.
Happy to answer any questions you may have in the comment section below, and happy traveling!
