A half day in Sedona’s red rocks, from a Route 66 motel in Kingman to the Chapel of the Holy Cross and Bell Rock

A half day in Sedona’s red rocks: part 1 of our winter Grand Circle road trip, December 17–18, 2021

From the Las Vegas airport through Kingman, Seligman and Oak Creek Canyon to Sedona and Flagstaff

Sedona was the stop we nearly cut. It stayed on the maybe list right up to the end of planning.

We landed in Las Vegas on a Friday night in December, slept a few hours at a Route 66 motel in Kingman that dates to the late 1930s, and the next morning drove down Oak Creek Canyon, where the first red cliffs started showing through the pines.

A half day in Sedona turned out to be enough for the Chapel of the Holy Cross, a long walk on the Bell Rock trail and the sunset from Airport Mesa. The red rocks alone made the hesitation look silly. If you’re driving to the Grand Canyon, give Sedona at least half a day.

This is the first in a series of posts covering our December 2021 winter Grand Circle road trip day by day and stop by stop. The full route and bookings are in our 10-day winter Grand Circle itinerary.

From the Las Vegas airport to our motel in Kingman is about 106 mi (170 km) on US-93, roughly 2 hours by car. The next morning we took I-40 east to Seligman (about 70 mi / 113 km) and on to Flagstaff (about 76 mi / 123 km), then dropped south on Highway 89A through Oak Creek Canyon into Sedona (about 29 mi / 47 km). In Sedona we drove between Uptown, West Sedona and the Village of Oak Creek to the south. That evening we climbed back up 89A to Flagstaff (about 32 mi / 51 km) and covered another 88 mi (141 km) to our Grand Canyon lodge. On the map, the solid line is the road we drove and the dotted line is the old Route 66 alignment we skipped. Distances and times come from a route planner, as of October 21, 2026.

From Las Vegas airport to Kingman

We landed in Las Vegas around 9:30 p.m. on a Friday, the night our kid’s winter break began. The whole city glittered below the plane window. I had driven into Las Vegas before but had never arrived by air. Even in the arrivals area, rows of slot machines blinked away, and our kid was mesmerized by the lights.

Three days before our trip, on December 14, 2021, the airport had changed its name from McCarran to Harry Reid International Airport. The “Welcome to Las Vegas” sign in arrivals still carried the old name.

Our bags came out without trouble, and the line for the shuttle to the rental car center was reasonable. We got to the center around 10:30 p.m. and picked up a Toyota RAV4 from Enterprise with about 26,000 to 27,000 miles on it. We walked around it photographing the scratches before driving off. By the time we pulled out, it was past 11.

Before leaving town we stopped at In-N-Out Burger, the chain you mostly find in a handful of Western and Southwestern states. I’d eaten there a few times with friends years ago; this was the first time with my family. Our kid, worn out, nodded off at the table for a few minutes.

From there we drove past Boulder City and Dolan Springs to Kingman, Arizona: about 106 mi (170 km) in 2 hours 5 minutes. We left at 11:30 p.m., so by Nevada time we should have arrived at 1:35 a.m. The clock in Kingman said 2:35. Nevada runs on Pacific Time and Arizona on Mountain Time, so crossing the state line moves the clock an hour ahead. Arizona doesn’t observe daylight saving time, which means the gap only exists in winter.

El Trovatore Motel, Kingman

We booked this one mostly as a place to sleep. The El Trovatore Motel sits on Andy Devine Avenue, the stretch of Route 66 that runs through Kingman, so it was right on our way, and we had no real complaints. It’s one of the old Route 66 motels: it opened as a gas station in 1937 and added rooms in 1939. We checked in before dawn and left a few hours later. Only in the morning light did we notice that the walls outside the rooms were painted with Route 66 town names like Seligman and Flagstaff, along with the road’s shield signs.

Route 66 was designated in 1926 and linked Chicago to Santa Monica across the country. It was dropped from the US highway system in 1985, and the surviving stretches of the old road are now signed as Historic Route 66 (Wikipedia).

We pulled out around 7:30 a.m., just as the sun was rising. Our kid stayed asleep in the back seat under a blanket.

Breakfast at the A&W in Seligman

From Kingman to Seligman we took Interstate 40. The old Route 66 swings north from Kingman through Peach Springs before dropping back down to Seligman, so it’s the longer way around. We stuck to I-40 and caught Route 66 only on the street in front of the motel and in Seligman itself. The sun was coming up, the sky over the low hills turned orange, and it was a beautiful stretch to drive.

In Seligman we stopped at the A&W. I’ve eaten at this chain in Malaysia and all around the US, and the burger at this one is still the best A&W I can remember. That may just be the mood of the morning. I also came away with a photo of the root beer.

When I-40 bypassed Seligman in 1978, the traffic and the customers dried up. The town barber, Angel Delgadillo, led the push to save Route 66, and in 1987 Arizona designated the stretch between Kingman and Seligman as Historic Route 66 (Visit Arizona). That’s why Seligman is known as the birthplace of Historic Route 66. There’s also a story that the town helped inspire Radiator Springs in Pixar’s Cars.

Down Oak Creek Canyon into Sedona

From Seligman we got back on I-40 to Flagstaff, then turned south on Highway 89A. Even in the middle of winter the pine forest was thick, and snow still lay along the roadside. Blue sky, green conifers and white snow made a striking combination.

Once we entered Oak Creek Canyon, red cliffs began to appear between the trees, one after another. I had expected to wait until Monument Valley to see red rock carved by erosion into towers like these, and here they already were. Driving the Grand Circle counterclockwise, this was our first taste of the classic Western landscape, and that road was one of the most vivid sights of the day.

The landscape kept shifting, from snow and pines under blue sky to red rock mountains, and when we rolled into the town of Sedona it had an atmosphere all its own.

Sedona’s rocks are red because the iron coating the sandstone grains has oxidized, much like rust. The name dates to 1902, when settler Schnebly applied for a post office. His first suggestions were rejected as too long, so at his brother’s suggestion he submitted his wife’s name, Sedona. Her mother, the story goes, had chosen it simply because it sounded pretty.

Sedona Visitor Center

We pulled into the Sedona Visitor Center in Uptown at about 10:25 a.m. Nearly everything planted around the building was cactus. Our kid stood and stared at them for a while. With red rock mountains behind the cactus, it already felt like a trip to the American West. Inside, we looked over the maps and information and decided where to go.

To park at designated national forest lots around Sedona, you need a Red Rock Pass. We paid $5 for a day pass before heading to Bell Rock. There’s more on the pass under “Know before you go” below.

The McDonald’s with turquoise arches

Lunch was a quick drive-thru run at McDonald’s. In Sedona, the arches aren’t yellow but turquoise. According to Arizona Highways, the color was worked out with the city when the restaurant opened in 1993, to match the signs in the neighboring shopping center. Turquoise also happens to be Arizona’s official state gemstone, though that isn’t known to be why McDonald’s chose it. A fast meal and more time out looking around is how we tend to travel.

Chapel of the Holy Cross

After lunch, on the way to the chapel, red rock ridges kept rising beyond the road.

The Chapel of the Holy Cross sits wedged into the red rock. Its entire front wall is a cross, about 89 ft (27 m) tall. The Catholic chapel, completed in 1956, was conceived by sculptor Marguerite Brunswig Staude. The story goes that the Empire State Building gave her the idea. You’ll also hear that Frank Lloyd Wright designed it, but the actual architects were the firm Anshen & Allen (Wikipedia).

Inside, the cross-shaped window frames red rock and blue sky. We also browsed the small gift shop.

From the overlook in front of the chapel, you can see bell-shaped Bell Rock in the distance, with Courthouse Butte beside it. Cactus and yucca grow between the rocks.

Sedona is also known for its vortexes, spots said to concentrate energy. The idea seems to have spread from names that psychic Page Bryant gave to several places around Sedona around 1980. Bell Rock and Airport Mesa are among the best-known vortexes, though none of it has been scientifically proven. We’d also heard that politicians come here often, and in fact the Sedona Forum, held here every year, draws US senators and cabinet members as speakers.

We rode a golf cart up to the chapel and back. Church volunteers shuttle visitors free of charge up the steep ramp between the lower parking lot and the chapel, and tips are accepted. We spent about an hour and a half at the chapel.

Bell Rock

Bell Rock stands on the Village of Oak Creek side of Sedona, and it’s named for its shape. It’s a butte, what’s left after horizontal rock layers eroded away around it, and its top reaches about 4,900 ft (1,500 m) above sea level. We parked at the trailhead lot at about 1:35 p.m.

A sign at the trailhead said “Don’t bust the crust.” The living soil crust that covers the desert ground can be crushed by a single footprint and takes decades to centuries to grow back, which is why visitors are asked to stay on the trail.

Farther along, another sign introduced the Munds Mountain Wilderness under the heading “Wilderness is a Special Place.”

Following the trail, we walked up onto the smooth red slickrock. Our kid said climbing up the rock was the fun part. Green trees and cactus, red-brown dirt, blue sky all at once: this was the West we’d come for, and those colors have stayed with me. Here and there a pale ivory layer ran between the red-brown bands. The higher we went, the wider the view opened up.

We stayed at Bell Rock for about 2 hours 20 minutes, longer than anywhere else that day.

Sunset at Airport Mesa

For sunset, we went looking on the Sedona map for a spot where the whole area spreads out below you. That’s Airport Mesa, the hill above West Sedona. We got there at about 4:25 p.m., and people were already gathering to watch. The sun set around 5:20 p.m. that day, and as it dropped, the rock mountains across the valley turned redder and redder. If you want one wide view of Sedona at sunset, this is the place.

Dinner in Flagstaff

From Sedona we drove back up through Oak Creek Canyon to Flagstaff and reached downtown around 6:35 p.m. Every street had its Christmas lights on, a reminder of how close the holiday was. We ate at Nadli Korean Cuisine: jjamppong, a spicy Korean-Chinese seafood noodle soup, and dolsot bibimbap, rice and vegetables in a sizzling stone bowl. Then we took a short walk around downtown.

After dinner we picked up bread and coffee for dessert at Late for the Train. Flagstaff is named for a flagpole. The most common story is that on July 4, 1876, the nation’s centennial, a scouting party stripped a pine tree and flew an American flag from it; other versions credit a railroad survey party in 1855 or a road-building crew in 1859.

The shops downtown sold souvenirs like that postcard of the old train station.

We left for the Grand Canyon around 8 p.m. It was full dark, and through the windshield there was nothing but the stretch of road in our headlights.

About 88 miles (141 km) later, around 9:50 p.m., we pulled up at Bright Angel Lodge inside the national park. That night and the next day are in the next post.

Know before you go

Red Rock Pass

• Where you need itDesignated national forest parking areas around Sedona, such as Bell Rock, Courthouse Butte and Cathedral RockNot needed for a quick scenic stop of under 15 minutes
• CostDay pass $5Weekly pass $15Annual pass $20
• Also acceptedAmerica the Beautiful pass (the annual national parks pass)
• Where to buyKiosks at the trailhead parking lotsSedona Visitor Centerrecreation.gov (enter your license plate)

Prices and sales points from Visit Sedona and the US Forest Service, as of October 14, 2026. They can change.

Chapel of the Holy Cross

• AdmissionFree
• Hours9 a.m.–5 p.m.Last entry 4:45 p.m.
• Gift shop9:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m.

From the chapel’s official site, as of October 14, 2026

Terms

• Route 66The old US highway between Chicago and Santa Monica, designated in 1926
• ButteA steep, isolated rock hill left standing after the land around it eroded away, with a flat or pointed top
• SlickrockBroad, smooth stretches of bare sandstone
• VortexA spot in Sedona said to concentrate energy. There is no scientific evidence for it.

What we paid

• Red Rock PassDay pass, $5
• Parking in FlagstaffDowntown parking, $2

Seeing Sedona on a tour

We had a rental car, but you can see Sedona without one. Jeep tours leave from town and head out into the red rocks, and there are day trips that pick up at hotels in Phoenix. If you’d rather add the Grand Canyon and Monument Valley, some multi-day tours from Las Vegas include Sedona too.

If you’d rather drive yourself and linger where you like, as we did, start by picking up a car at the Las Vegas airport.

FAQ

Is half a day enough for Sedona?

From about 10:30 a.m. until sunset we saw three places: the chapel, Bell Rock and Airport Mesa. If Sedona is a stop on the way to the Grand Canyon, set aside at least half a day.

Does the Chapel of the Holy Cross charge admission?

No. It’s open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., with last entry at 4:45 p.m.

Where do I buy a Red Rock Pass?

At the kiosks in the trailhead parking lots or at the Sedona Visitor Center. If you have an America the Beautiful pass, you don’t need one.

Is there a time change between Las Vegas and Arizona?

In winter, Arizona is one hour ahead. Arizona doesn’t observe daylight saving time, so in summer the clocks match.

Is a half day in Sedona worth it?

Yes. It was our first time in Sedona, and the mood of that day, the clear winter weather and the color of the rocks have stayed with me.

Where everything is

• El Trovatore Motel1440 E Andy Devine Ave, Kingman, AZView on Expedia in US dollars or Canadian dollarsOpen in Google Maps
• A&W, Seligman527 W Route 66, Seligman, AZOpen in Google Maps
• Sedona Visitor Center331 Forest Rd, Sedona, AZSee the Sedona pink jeep tourOpen in Google Maps
• Chapel of the Holy Cross780 Chapel Rd, Sedona, AZOpen in Google Maps
• Bell Rock trailhead parkingMiddle trailhead of the Bell Rock Pathway, off SR 179 just north of Bell Rock (Forest Service page)Open in Google Maps
• Airport MesaAirport Mesa Viewpoint, Sedona, AZOpen in Google Maps
• Bright Angel Lodge9 Village Loop Dr, Grand Canyon Village, AZView on Expedia in US dollars or Canadian dollarsOpen in Google Maps
• Nadli Korean Cuisine7 N San Francisco St, Flagstaff, AZOpen in Google Maps

What we booked and brought

Bookings

• Rental carPicked up at the airport rental car center close to 11 p.m. It was our car for the next nine days. Jump to the rental car card
• Grand Canyon lodgingWe booked inside the park so we could arrive at night and be at the rim for sunrise the next morning. Jump to the lodging card
• First nightWe landed late and only needed a bed, so we stayed in Kingman, about two hours from the airport. Jump to the motel card

What to bring

• America the Beautiful passWe bought a separate Red Rock Pass to park at Bell Rock, but the annual national parks pass covers it.