Canyon de Chelly and Toroweep Overlook Trip... May 28th - June 1st
Beth’s cousin from England is making a trip to Arizona. We’ve put together a tour for him going to some of our favorite places we’ve seen while out exploring back country trails in Arizona and Southern Utah.
Our tour is a trip to Canyon de Chelly and the Toroweep Overlook of the Grand Canyon. We'll be leaving Phoenix May 28th and returning June 1st. We’re also going to visit Monument Valley, Valley of the God’s and a few other interesting stops along the way.
We’d like to invite anyone who would like to make all or part of the trip to join us.
Here is the itinerary we‘ve put together:
May 28th
- leave Phoenix NLT 0600
- stop for breakfast at the Rock Springs Café in Black Canyon City
- arrive in Kayenta by early afternoon, check in at the Hampton Inn
- drive the loop trail through Monument Valley
- time permitting, do the Valley of the God’s loop which is a few miles across the boarder in Utah
- dinner at Goulding’s Trading Post which is near Monument Valley
- return to the hotel
May 29th
- breakfast at the hotel
- leave NLT 0700 for Canyon de Chelly
- arrive at Visitor’s Center about 0800 and hire the guide
- spend about 8-10 hours touring the two canyons
- return to the hotel and have dinner at their dinning room
May 30th
- breakfast at the hotel
- leave NLT 0800
- stop and play on some OHV hills above Lake Powell
- continue on to Kanab, UT via Hwy 89, in southern Utah, doing a loop trail (Massey and Wilson SW 15 & SW 16) that skirts the Escalante National Monument with a short side trip to Grosvenor's Arch and stop for a short hike through Willis Creek Slot Canyon
- arrive in Kayenta, check in at the motel and then have dinner
May 31st
- breakfast and leave NLT 0900 for the Toroweep Overlook of the Grand Canyon (Wells #1) which is a 120 mile round trip on a graded dirt road
- time permitting, take a quick ride through the Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park on the way back to the motel
- return to the motel and have dinner
June 1st
- leave the motel NLT 0600 for the trip back to Phoenix
- take a short detour east to Tuba City and do a trail that runs above Coal Mine Canyon, a beautiful, but rarely visited scenic canyon
- arrive back in Phoenix, stopping for dinner if anyone is interest
Note: We are required to have a Navajo guide to take us into Canyon de Chelly. The cost is $15.00 an hour for one vehicle or $20.00 and hour for up to five vehicles (we can split the cost).
Pets: No pets are allowed in Canyon de Chelly.
Hotels: We'll be staying at the following hotels:
Hampton Inn - Kayenta, AZ on May 28th and 29th
Victorian Inn B&B - Kanab, UT on May 30th and 31st
Don't let the "B&B" in the Victorian Inn scare you off. It is very nice BUT it is no more expensive than the motels in town. They have only 20 rooms and just a few are left if you are interested. Rather than booking on-line, call them direct at (435) 644-8660 and you'll get a slightly better rate.
The little motel I was planning on staying at in Fredonia has been sold and is not taking reservations at this time.
A suggestion... if you're even thinking about doing this trip, reserve your rooms now. They fill up fast at that time of year. You can always cancel a few days ahead if you can't make it.
The manifest:
AZKJ - w/co-pilot and one passenger from England flying econo class
rkeegstra - w/co-pilot
Here are a few pictures from our trip up there last year:
Playing on the hills above Lake Powell….
The entrance to Willis Creek Slot Canyon….
Willis Creek Slot Canyon….
The far end of Willis Creek Slot Canyon….
The trail through the Escalante National Monument….
Grosvenor's Arch….
Coal Mine Canyon….
Toroweep Overlook of the Grand Canyon (less than 5,000 people a year make it to this remote part of the canyon)….
Also posted onJeep KJ Country
great way to see some of the best stuff Arizona and its vecitiny has.