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Seven Wonders Scenic ToursCustom "Taylored" Tours Throughout Northern Arizona and Southern Utah |
          
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The destinations appearing below are either in the City of Flagstaff or no farther than approximately 50 miles (80 km) from it. Since we customize our tours to your wishes, we will take you to locations other than (or in addition to) those that follow and in any combination. The following destinations appear on this page in alphabetical order: The Arboretum at Flagstaff, the Arizona Historical Society - Pioneer Museum, Jerome, Lowell Observatory, Meteor Crater, Montezuma Castle, the Museum of Northern Arizona, Oak Creek Canyon, Red Rock Park, Riordan Mansion, Sedona, Slide Rock Park, Sunset Crater Volcano, the Tuzigoot Ruins, Walnut Canyon, and the Wupatki Ruins. (Because we are currently upgrading the photographic content of our website, pictures of all of our destinations are not included below, but they will be in the future. Nonetheless, you will find many relevant photos in our links.)
“America’s Mountain Garden™”, The Arboretum is situated on 200 acres (2 ha) of land about 4 miles (6 km) southwest of Flagstaff on Woody Mountain Road. Open daily from April 1 through December 15, it familiarizes you with the plants and animals indigenous to the Flagstaff area, which is within the world’s largest ponderosa pine forest, via its gardens, greenhouses, trails, tours and demonstrations.
Arizona Historical Society – Pioneer Museum The Pioneer Museum – since 1985 a division of the Arizona Historical Society – is devoted to preserving and understanding the history of Flagstaff (where it is located) and northern Arizona by means of collecting and analyzing books and manuscripts, photographs, and methods and products of workmanship. Changing, periodic displays – the winter’s “Playthings of the Past” is a popular example – as well as summer events, such as the Flagstaff Wool Festival and the Independence Day Festival (on July 2 and 3), are both educational and entertaining for the public at large. The Pioneer Museum is closed on Sunday as well as on New Year’s Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Once an important mining center – primarily for copper – and the third largest city in Arizona, Jerome, suspended on a side of Cleopatra Hill, is now a haven for artists. You will obtain glimpses of the city’s past in the Douglas Mansion, which was constructed in 1916, and breathtaking views of the Verde Valley from almost anywhere in town. Jerome is located about 50 miles (80 km) southwest of Flagstaff, and the park is closed only on Christmas.
This astronomical observatory – perhaps best-known as the site from which the planet Pluto was discovered in 1930 – was established in Flagstaff in 1894 by Percival Lowell (1855-1916), a member of a prominent Boston family. Lowell moved here to set up the observatory because of the excellent celestial viewing conditions in this area. Public exhibits include the telescope and photographic plates used by Clyde Tombaugh (1906-97) in the discovery of Pluto. There are guided tours during the day and, at night, multi-media shows and, weather-permitting, telescope viewing using the 24-inch (61 cm) Alvan Clark refractor, acquired by Lowell in 1896 and used by him to examine Mars. The observatory is open throughout the year with the exception of New Year’s Eve, New Year’s Day, Easter, Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
Only 35 miles (56 km) east of Flagstaff, Meteor Crater is the best-preserved meteoritic impact site on earth, formed about 50,000 years ago by a meteor weighing hundreds of thousands of tons at the moment of impact with our planet’s surface. Today, the crater is almost 1 mile (1.6 km) in diameter and 550 feet (168 m) deep. The Learning Center features interactive displays and exhibits, a large-screen theater and a Project Apollo test spacecraft, commemorating the fact that the Apollo astronauts trained here. The Learning Center is open every day of the year except Christmas.
Montezuma Castle National Monument These dwellings, about 50 miles (80 km) south of Flagstaff, were built and occupied by Southern Sinagua farmers between approximately 1125 and the early 1400s A.D. There are actually two large structures at this site – one (very well preserved), consisting of five stories and 20 rooms, built into the side of a cliff about 100 feet (30 m) above the Verde Valley, and the other (badly damaged by fire in antiquity), comprising six stories and about 45 rooms, built against the base of the cliff. The name “Montezuma Castle” originated with early non-native settlers and visitors to the area who mistakenly believed that the dwellings had been constructed and inhabited by Aztecs. The visitor center will enlighten you with respect to the Sinagua’s lifestyle. This site is open throughout the year.
(National Park Service Photograph) (Please click on the image to enlarge it.)
The purpose of this museum, situated within the City of Flagstaff and begun in 1928, is to appreciate and understand the Colorado Plateau, including the human inhabitants and other life forms native to the area. Here you will find exhibits, interactive displays, classes, lectures, participatory programs, demonstrations, collections and printed information relating to the region’s fossils (including dinosaurs), volcanoes, Native American arts and crafts (including music), and plant and animal life. The Museum of Northern Arizona is closed only on New Year’s Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Oak Creek Canyon, which extends north of Sedona (which is mentioned subsequently), is hypnotic in beauty with its ample vegetation and steep, shapely walls. Route 89A, which traverses it, is considered one of the most scenic roads in America. Oak Creek Canyon’s Slide Rock State Park, 18 miles (29 km) south of Flagstaff, is primarily known for the great fun to be had descending its natural water slide. However, in addition, tours are given on Saturday of the Pendley Homestead, which is located here and is of historic interest. The park is closed on only one occasion each year – Christmas.
Please see Sedona, which is mentioned below.
Riordan Mansion State Historic Park Comprised of 40 rooms with more than 13,000 square feet (1,208 m2) of living space, which includes the servants’ quarters as well, Riordan Mansion was constructed in 1904 in Flagstaff for two brothers, Michael (1865-1930) and Timothy Riordan (1858-1946) – very successful loggers – and their families. The mansion, designed by Charles F. Whittlesey (1867-1941), the architect of the Grand Canyon’s famed El Tovar Hotel, consists of two individual homes connected by a common area and is an excellent example, with its abundance of original items, of elegant living in an early 20th-century frontier logging town. Except for Christmas, Riordan Mansion is open year-round.
(Photograph Copyright Arizona State Parks) (Please click on the image to enlarge it.)
Sedona, 28 miles (45 km) south of Flagstaff, is visually enthralling with its omnipresent red sandstone, sculpted into buttes and other fascinating formations. Attractive hiking and biking opportunities abound. A magnet for artists and tourists, Sedona is visited by over 4 million people annually and offers a wealth of galleries, restaurants, shops and lodging, in addition to musical productions ranging from jazz to classical featuring, in many instances, musicians of national – and even international – fame. Numerous golf courses are located here, and all are open to the public. Red Rock State Park, a haven for the plants and animals native to this area, is located 5 miles (8 km) west of Sedona and is well worth a visit for the insights it will give you into the region’s natural environment and the opportunities it will provide you for hiking and picnicking. The visitor center, open year-round with the exception of Christmas, contains exhibits and a theater, gives guided tours and, on the first Sunday of each month, presents programs about Arizona.
Please refer to Oak Creek Canyon, which is talked about above.
Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument Located 15 miles (24 km) north of Flagstaff, Sunset Crater Volcano, a cinder cone 1 thousand feet (305 m) high, appeared only about 900 years ago and is the youngest and best-preserved volcano on the Colorado Plateau. (Its name, inspired by the red rim, was bestowed by John Wesley Powell (1834-1902), the renowned scientist and explorer of the American Southwest.) The entire site, encompassing 3,040 acres (30 ha), also contains Native American ruins and other artifacts. Two trails – Lava Flow and Lenox Crater – enable you to explore the volcano and its surroundings, although the crater itself is off-limits to tourists; the visitor center also merits your looking into. This site is closed on Christmas.
(National Park Service Photographs) (Please click on each image to enlarge it.)
Located approximately 50 miles (80 km) southwest of Flagstaff, Tuzigoot (an Apache word meaning “crooked water”) is what remains today of a village built and inhabited by Southern Sinagua farmers between about 1125 and 1400 A.D. The pueblo, atop a hill overlooking the Verde Valley, ultimately comprised 110 rooms and was, in places, 2 and 3 stories high; with few exterior doors, the rooms were entered and exited by ladders extending through holes in the roofs. The visitor center at this location exhibits artifacts and interprets Sinagua culture. But for Christmas Tuzigoot is open daily.
(National Park Service Photograph) (Please click on the image to enlarge it.)
Walnut Canyon National Monument Situated about 7 miles (11 km) east of Flagstaff, Walnut Canyon was home between approximately 1100 and 1250 A.D. to the Northern Sinagua, who evacuated the area because of volcanic eruptions. The Island Trail, the primary one of the two which are self-guided, enables you to descend into the canyon and observe a selection of the site’s cliff dwellings. The Rim Trail exposes you to the natural beauty of the canyon – and additional ruins. The visitor center helps you to understand how the Sinagua lived, and both trails are marked with signs having informative, topical information. Only on Christmas is the park closed.
The Wupatki Pueblo, occupied for approximately 100 years and abandoned about 1250 A.D., was, in its time and area, the largest and highest structure of its kind, accommodating 85-100 individuals. In addition to Wupatki, there are four other pueblos at this location – Citadel, Lomaki, Nalakihu and Wukoki – all of which merit examining, as do the remains of an amphitheater and a ball court, the “blowhole” (an amazing natural phenomenon) and the informative visitor center. This site is 39 miles (63 km) north of Flagstaff and is open throughout the year with the exception of Christmas.
(National Park Service Photographs) (Please click on each image to enlarge it.) |
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