Overall Route Rating
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4.32 out of 5 Rider Rating 4.32
46 Reviews

Motorcycle Route Author

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By Guest (0 McR Points) on Jun 30, 2000

Rider Reviews

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Guest
January 19, 2010
What a road, what a ride. I actually started from…
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Guest
June 9, 2010
This is an absolutely BEAUTIFUL ride, and I would…
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Written Directions

Directions to this road are simple. Just take 89A south out of Flagstaff, AZ toward Sedona. Then enjoy the awesome ride!!!

Scenery

This certainly has to be considered one of the BEST routes in Arizona as well as the entire western half of the US!!! The scenery is unbelievable ... world class! You start out up in the lush rugged forests of Flagstaff and work your way down (in direction (south) and in altitude) to the canyon and rock formation surrounded town of Sedona, AZ. You will be driving through what is known as the Old Creek Canyon on road 89A (also known as "Oak Creek Canyon Drive"). The higher regions of the canyon display forests full of Aspens, Oaks and Maples. If you go in the October/November time frame, you might be lucky enough to see the Aspens and Oaks in their full fall glory. Not long after you leave Flagstaff and head south, you'll soon have chances to peer over a magnificent huge cliff overlook that will give you a great view of the stunningly beautiful canyon you are about to dive into. You then quickly descend down into the canyon and get an up close look at some postcard perfect rock formations and beautiful landscapes made up of various different color rock walls. The plant life changes now to pines, scrub oaks and different types of cactus as the climate in the bottom of the canyon dries and warms up. In the canyon you'll be able to see (and hike through) some amazing red rock canyons and rock formations. There are a lot of beautiful canyon runs in the US but this one stands out because of its diversity of landscape in just 30 short miles ... keep in mind, if you want to see more, you can just continue to head south down to Prescott, AZ.

Drive Enjoyment

This road can have some awesome switch backs and steep ascents/descents. I would consider it a perfect five star road quality, except for the fact that it can be crowded at certain times of the year and it requires motorcyclists to be extra careful considering that all the car drivers are dividing their attention between the road and the scenery. So I gave it four stars taking that into account.

Tourism Opportunities

I gave it five stars here because you've got both the nature stuff to do and the city attractions. There is a lot of stuff to do along this short 30 mile route if you like hiking, swimming, camping, fishing or just picnicking. When you start out in Flagstaff, AZ, the town has plenty of places to eat, sleep and gas-up. Along the way, there are plenty of trail heads that will take you deeper into the canyon .. bring your hiking boots. One thing you need to check out if your up for some real fun is the "Slide Rock State Park." This is God's version of a waterslide. People can slide down this rock bottom creek in jeans (or shorts if you are daring) and end up dropping off in to a natural pool. And you can get some swimming in at the "Grasshopper Swim Area" ... its a bunch of little creek pools where people can swim or just wade in. Also the road ends in Sedona, AZ, which is an outstanding art town. You can walk around passing through all the art, craft and gift shops. And there is no shortage of restaurants or hotels. Also, if you head south of town, you can check out the "Chapel of the Holy Cross" ... a church that includes a 90 foot cross that seems to shoot right out of the red rocks.

Motorcycle Road Additional info

- View the weather forecast for this area from Yahoo weather . - Arizona Travel
 

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Guest
June 28, 2009
0 McR Points
Motorcycle Type : Cruiser
Hey. I'm Mark and I've lived in Phoenix for the last 30 years. Moved here from MN right after graduating from high school. I'd driven down 89A from Flag about that many years ago and decided on my day off this last Friday to take a spin north. My wife wasn't going to be home until after 6pm and I had all day to get there. I headed up I-17 north out of Phoenix around 10am and the temp was already up to 98 degrees. With a forecast high of 106 later that afternoon, I knew the temps up towards Flagstaff were 20-25 degrees cooler than the valley (not bad for a 2 hour drive, eh?). About 80 or 90 miles out, take 179 north through beautiful (and RED) Sedona, up into the mountains past Oak Creek, and into the heavy ponderosa pine forests of Flagstaff, AZ. I stayed on 89A north and turned onto 487 which heads south out of Flagstaff past Lower and Upper Lake Mary (don't ask me why they named the upper part of the lake "Lower" and the lower part of the lake "Upper"--OK I know why but you know what I mean). After dropping below Lake Mary, Mormon Lake (or at least the 'ghost' of Mormon Lake) appears up ahead of you through the occasional breaks in the tree-lined highway. I'd camped up here but never been up this way on my ride. Traveling further south I drove through Happy Jack (a ranger station--population: 2) and south to Clints Well and the 87 junction. From there I headed south on 87 thru some of the most stunning forest riding there is. Further south I ran into highway 260 and headed west to Camp Verde and onto I-17 where I finished the ride back in north Phoenix. A must if you live in AZ and own a bike. Cheers.
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txtraveler
October 29, 2020
126 McR Points
Motorcycle Type : Touring
great road
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Rick M
June 10, 2015
0 McR Points
Motorcycle Type : Cruiser
Excellent ride yesterday. For this ride we left Surprise north on sr303 to i17 into Sedona. From there we took 89 and 89a acrosz through Jerome, Prescott, Yarnell, Skull Valley, Wickenburg and back into Surprise. Approximatelh 294 miles door to door for me.

Had breakfast at mile high cafe in Jerome. EXCELLENT biscuits and gravy. Got some good pictures and a little wet at some points.

Had several deer try to ride with me between Jerome and Yarnell lol, the watch for animals signs mean it. :-)

This is by far the best route I have planned yet.

Rick
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