Flagstaff to Page on US Route 89—black and white and red all over

Driving US Route 89 between Flagstaff and Page brings you into contact with three distinctively different landscapes: black volcanoes, multicolored desert hills and red cliffs.

At the southern end near Flagstaff is a volcanic area dominated by the San Francisco Peaks, the highest point in Arizona at over 12,000 feet. The peaks are surrounded by cinder cones and lava flows. The dominant color here is black—black lava and black cinders and the dark green of ponderosa pines. All that darkness is offset by red pine tree bark and patches of cinders in rusty red colors.

You can get close to one of the biggest of the volcanic formation by taking the loop road sixteen miles north of Flagstaff through Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument. Sunset Crater is the youngest volcano in the San Francisco Field erupting about 900 years ago. The road passes through the Bonita Lava Flow where magma oozed out at the base. The cone is 1,000 feet high and is crowned by red oxidized cinders that seem to glow at sunset and gave the peak its name.

 

Also on this loop road off US Route 89 is Wupatki National Monument where the ruins of prehistoric Indian dwellings are open to visitors. These ancient buildings were occupied for about 100 years shortly after the formation of Sunset Crater. The ash from the volcano made the land more fertile by absorbing moisture and preventing evaporation. By 1180 thousands of people were farming this region. Their multistory buildings are still standing today as a testament to their excellence as stone masons.

The middle part of US 89 between Page and Flagstaff passes through the Painted Desert on the Navajo Indian Reservation. Here you will marvel at the soft hills striped in white, red, brown and purple. It is hard to believe that this now dry land was once dominated by dinosaurs and giant trees as evidenced by logs of petrified wood. The highway reaches its low point at the Cameron Trading Post on the banks of the Little Colorado River.

Cameron was established in 1911 when the bridge across the Little Colorado was completed. Today it is a popular stop for travelers and includes a large gift shop, restaurant and lodge. Be sure to visit the gallery in a separate historic building where you will find examples of fine Indian arts and crafts, both historic and contemporary. Also, tucked away in the back of the gift shop are a couple of display cases of “pawn”. You will feel like you’ve found a hidden treasure when you spy a very nice piece of jewelry at a reasonable price.

Cameron is also the gateway town to the south rim of the Grand Canyon. Look for the intersection with Arizona Route 64 just south of town. It is a 30 minute drive to the east entrance of Grand Canyon National Park. Stop at one of the view points along the way to see the canyon of the Little Colorado River.

At the northern end, US 89 parallels the 800 foot high Echo Cliffs that gently guide you toward the Colorado River in Marble Canyon. Here the dominant colors are the red and white strata of petrified sand dunes.. At Bitter Springs, US 89 continues north and switchbacks up the cliff face to a broad, high desert plateau leading to Lake Powell, a blue expanse of water from the Colorado River backed up behind Glen Canyon Dam. Alternate US 89 turns west toward Marble Canyon and the Vermilion Cliffs. See the Guide to Driving US Route 89 and 89A for details of the two roads between Bitter Springs and Kanab, Utah.

At A Glance:
Distance: 135 miles

Driving Time: 2.5 hours

High Point: 7,300 feet at the entrance to Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument 16 miles north of Flagstaff

Low Point: 4,100 feet at the Little Colorado River at Cameron 52 miles north of Flagstaff/83 miles south of Page

Services:
Flagstaff: gas, food, lodging, camping
Cameron: gas, food, lodging
Cedar Ridge: gas, food
Page: gas, food, lodging, camping

Access To:
Kachina Peaks Wilderness
Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument
Wupatki National Monument
Strawberry Crater Wilderness
Grand Canyon National Park
Glen Canyon National Recreation Area

Five Outstanding Scenic Drives on US Route 89

National Geographic selected US Route 89 as the #1 Drivers’ Drive in the world in its recently published book, Drives of a Lifetime: 500 of the World’s Most Spectacular Trips. Having driven over 20,000 miles on Highway 89, I couldn’t agree more. I have my favorite sections that I look forward to on our road trips and here is my list of the top five. I selected these places not only because they are fun to drive but also because they are outstanding examples of the variety of landscapes along US 89.

1) Pinal Pioneer Parkway, Arizona

From Oracle Junction north of Tucson to Florence, this 42-mile section of historic US 89 (now AZ 79) is known as the Pinal Pioneer Parkway. Crossing the high Sonoran desert, the road is lined with ancient many-armed saguaro cactus and forests of chain fruit cholla. Black Mountain dominates the view to the east and in the distance are the the Tortilla Mountains. To the south, the peaks of the Santa Catalina Mountains rise to over 9000 feet. Spring and fall are the best times for this drive when wildflowers and cactuses are in bloom. At the mid-point of the drive is a memorial to the cowboy actor, Tom Mix, who died in a car crash nearby in 1940.

See the Nogales to Tucson Road Trip Guide for more points of interest on this section of US Route 89.

2) Oak Creek Canyon, Arizona

Oak Creek flows south from the edge of the Colorado Plateau through Sedona to the Verde River. The 16-mile stretch of historic US 89A (now AZ 89A) from Sedona to the Oak Creek Vista Overlook takes the traveler through a wonderland of creek-side cottonwood and sycamore trees. Oak Creek has cut down through ancient layers of sandstone and limestone forming red and white cliffs that tower above the road. There are a number of parking areas and campgrounds that give access to the creek for hiking and picnicing. The switchbacks at the head of Oak Creek Canyon mark the transition from the lowland desert and the central mountains of Arizona on to the Colorado Plateau.

See the 89A-Prescott to Flagstaff Road Trip Guide for more points of interest on this section of US Route 89.

3) Logan Canyon National Scenic Byway, Utah

Logan Canyon is 40-mile stretch of US Route 89 between Logan in the Cache Valley and Garden City on the shore of Bear Lake. From the Wasatch-Cache National Forest boundary east of Logan, the road climbs steadily alongside the Logan River until it reaches the summit at the Bear Lake overlook. The forest-lined drive offers many places to stop for a picnic or to camp for an extended stay. The canyon is also renowned for its display of brightly colored fall foliage. From the summit, US 89 drops quickly to the shore of Bear Lake.

See the Brigham City to Montpelier Road Trip Guide for more points of interest on this section of US Route 89.

4) Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming

For 45 miles US Route 89 lies inside Grand Teton National Park. Ten overlooks and picnic areas line the highway, providing spectacular views of the jagged eastern face of the Teton Range. Each is a photographer’s delight, with the Snake River in the foreground in the southern stretch, and Jackson Lake reflecting the mountains in the north. Although the road is open year-round, the most colorful time to drive it is in the fall when the leaves are turning and the air is crisp and clear.

See the Jackson to Gardiner Road Trip Guide for more points of interest on this section of US Route 89.

5) Kings Hill Scenic Byway, Montana

Passing through the Lewis and Clark National Forest, this 71-mile long section of US 89 winds its way along mountain streams through the Little Belt Mountains. Along the road are many outdoor recreation opportunities from fly fishing in the summer to snowmobiling in the winter. One of the highlights is a short hike to Memorial Falls located about a mile and a half south of the town of Neihart. Sluice Boxes State Park is near the northern end of the scenic byway. This primitive state park contains the remains of mines, a railroad and historic cabins lining Belt Creek through a beautiful canyon carved in limestone. A seven-mile long trail winds through the park giving access to its rich history and spectacular geologic features.

See the White Sulphur Springs to Great Falls Road Trip Guide for more points of interest on this section of US Route 89.

Do you have a favorite scenic drive on US Route 89? Tell your fellow travelers about in the comments section below.

How to Find Up-To-The-Minute Driving Conditions on US 89

I have received several phone calls and emails in the last couple of weeks asking me about driving conditions on US Route 89. These inquiries have come from as close as Prescott, Arizona, and as far away as Brisbane, Australia. I am pretty knowledgeable about the various sections of 89, but I found myself struggling to provide information about whether a specific section was likely to be snow covered or clear.

That got me to thinking. What else is a blog for but to answer such questions and be a timely resource of travelers. So I started searching the internet for the best and most authoritative websites. Here is what I found:

All five of the states through which Highway 89 passes—Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, Utah and Arizona—are part of the 511 telephone travel information system. The system is simple to use. When you are in a state, dial 5-1-1 from any phone. You will be connected to recorded information on current road conditions including construction delays and weather related problems in that state. You can navigate these systems using voice commands or the dial pad. The recordings are updated frequently so you will get the most current information. For more about the 511 system, go to the Federal Highway Administration website.

As part of the 511 Traveler Information system, each state maintains a website and a telephone number for calls from outside of the state.

An example of a Montana road condition map from January 20, 2011

Montana Department of Transportation Traffic Info: http://www.mdt.mt.gov/travinfo/
Toll Free Nationwide:
1-800-226-7623
TTY: 1-800-335-7592
Highway Patrol
: 1-800-525-5555
This website has all the information a traveler could need to plan for driving conditions. There is a very cool interactive map that allows you to specify your travel route between cities which then indicates the road and weather conditions.

Wyoming Travel Information Service: http://www.wyoroad.info/index.html
Toll Free Nationwide:
1-888-WYO-ROAD
(1-888-996-7623)
The Wyoming website provides information by city or by route. It is not as detailed as some other sites, but it gets the job done.

Idaho Transportation Department: http://511.idaho.gov/
Toll Free Nationwide:
1-888-432-7623
While only 40 miles of US 89 cuts across the southeastern corner of Idaho, this website provides current information two ways: Streamlined for slow internet connections and older browsers and Full Featured for fast broadband connections and current browsers.

An example of a Utah road condition map with web cam from January 20, 2011

Utah Commuter Link: http://www.utahcommuterlink.com/
Toll Free Nationwide:
1-866-511-UTAH (8824)
The Utah Commuter Link website has an interactive map on the home page that gets you quickly to the information you need. You can added various symbols to the map such as weather and incidents. The map also shows all of the road cameras. Quick on a camera and the view appears in a window on the page so you get an instant view of actual road conditions.

Arizona Department of Transportation: http://www.az511.com/
Toll Free Nationwide:
1-888-411-ROAD (7623)
Arizona’s website is well organized and easy to navigate. There is a scrolling box on the home page with High Impact Traffic Alerts. Click to expand the listing for details, then click Go To Map to see the location.

For detailed weather information, I prefer Weather Underground. Search for a city by name or zip code for a five day forecast. One cool feature, is the new road trip planner. You can input up to four cities with the dates and times of your trip. Hit the Get Directions and Weather button and your trip is mapped out complete with weather and temperatures along the route. When you click on a weather symbol, a box pops with details such as chance of precipitation and significant weather. Weather Alerts are also highlighted in red in the driving directions. You can’t get more customized than that. Of course, you’ll get the best forecast from this planner the closer you are to the start of your trip.

If your trip includes visiting one or more of the National Parks and Monuments along US 89, you’ll find weather and road condition information on each of the parks websites. These sites will give you specific road closures and restrictions within the park. Also check the Plan Your Visit section for year round information. You will find links to the parks and monuments websites on the 89 Road Trip Links page.

I hope this makes your road trip planning easier and that you have a safe and enjoyable journey on US Route 89.