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Arizona

On the Road: Sedona's Red Rock Country and the Grand Canyon

Program No. 1088RJ

Set out on a larger-than-life learning adventure to experience Sedona’s red rocks and the Grand Canyon, joining experts for an insider’s view on these two monumental sites!

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7 days

6 nights

16 meals

6B 4L 6D

Check-in, Registration, Orientation, Welcome Dinner

Sedona, AZ

Geology, Sedona's Best Loved Sites

Sedona, AZ

Montezuma National Monument, Sedona 4x4 Adventure

Sedona, AZ

Oak Creek Canyon, Grand Canyon South Rim

Grand Canyon - South Rim

Grand Canyon’s South Rim, Route 66 Nostalgia

Peach Springs, AZ

Peach Springs, Grand Canyon, Colorado River

Peach Springs, AZ

Program Concludes with return to Sedona

Sedona, AZ

View Full Itinerary

At a Glance

The Colorado Plateau in Arizona claims two of North America’s most beautiful canyons. Explore the geology, ecology and human heritage of these spectacular canyon landscapes: Sedona’s Oak Creek Canyon and the incomparable Grand Canyon. In Sedona, enjoy a spectacular “Pink” Jeep trip into its stunning red-rock back country, exploring vistas seldom seen by visitors. Overnight in Grand Canyon National Park while soaking in the breathtaking panorama of this world heritage site. Travel an epic road to the bottom of the Grand Canyon, through its multiplicity of layered rock and time, with the reward of a picnic on the banks of the mighty Colorado River.

Activity Level

Keep the Pace

Walking up to one mile on varied terrain. Some time for personal hiking at Grand Canyon. Bumpy jeep and van rides on slick rock, dirt and gravel roads. Elevations up to 7,000 feet.

Small Group

Love to learn and explore in a small-group setting? These adventures offer small, personal experiences with groups of 13 to 24 participants.

Best of all, you’ll…

Visit Montezuma Castle National Monument, a five-story cliff dwelling of the prehistoric Sinagua people.
Go off the beaten path on the Hualapai Indian Reservation on old Route 66 and in Sedona on a Pink Jeep adventure.
Explore the Grand Canyon South Rim’s dramatic viewpoints and trails with regional experts.

Featured Expert

All trip experts

Margaret (Maggie) Mitchell

Maggie Mitchell has spent years leading educational excursions throughout the Sedona area. Her passion lies with the study of Arizona's wild creatures, and she loves sharing her love of reptiles and spiders with students of all ages.

Please note: This expert may not be available for every date of this program.

Margaret (Maggie) Mitchell View biography

Carrie Calisay Cannon View biography

Carrie Calisay Cannon is a member of the Kiowa tribe of Oklahoma and also is of Oglala Lakota descent. She has a B.S. in Wildlife Biology and an M.S. in Resource Management. She is currently employed as an Ethnobotanist for the Hualapai Department of Cultural Resources. She administers a number of department projects and programs which promote the intergenerational teaching of Hualapai ethnobotanical knowledge. She works towards ensuring tribal ethnobotanical knowledge persists as a living practice and tradition.

Slim Woodruff View biography

Marjorie “Slim” Woodruff is a graduate of Northern Arizona University. She has worked in outdoor recreation and education for most of her adult life. Slim is a board member and outings chair for the Grand Canyon Historical Society. She is a senior instructor with the Grand Canyon Conservancy Field Institute. Living on the South Rim, her usual hangouts are inside the canyon. Her writings can be found in High Country News Writers on the Range and The Outdoor Journal.

Sherri O'Neil View biography

Sherri O'Neil has been an outdoor educator since 1996, bringing nearly three decades of expertise in fostering meaningful connections with the natural world. She earned a bachelor’s degree in anthropology from Northern Arizona University and a master’s degree in outdoor education from Prescott College, where her studies focused on interpreting Indigenous cultures and promoting stewardship through education. A published author, Sherri has contributed multiple articles to Legacy, the magazine of the National Association for Interpretation.

Joel Kane View biography

Joel Kane grew up roaming Appalachian Pennsylvania but has called the Southwest home for many years. After serving in the U.S. Navy, he earned a bachelor's degree in geology from the University of California, Los Angeles. Joel began working as an interpretive park ranger for the National Park Service at several parks across the west; he also pursued graduate studies in geology at Northern Arizona University, where has been working full-time as a program coordinator and group leader for Road Scholar programs since 2022.

Kyle Storey View biography

Kyle Storey is an urban planner with a passion for creating sustainable and livable communities. He possesses a love for nature and agriculture and is committed to sustainable and environmentally friendly farming practices. Kyle works towards implementing cutting-edge technologies to reduce our carbon footprint and transition towards a more sustainable future. Kyle is also a seasoned outdoor group leader who is deeply in touch with the natural world. He has led numerous outdoor adventures, from hiking and camping trips to wildlife expeditions and nature exploration.

Suggested Reading List (10 books)

Visit the Road Scholar Bookshop

You can find many of the books we recommend at the Road Scholar store on bookshop.org, a website that supports local bookstores.

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On the Road: Sedona's Red Rock Country and the Grand Canyon

Program Number: 1088

Living at the Edge: Explorers, Exploiters, and Settlers of the Grand Canyon Region

by Anderson, Michael F

A comprehensive look at the pioneer history of the Grand Canyon Region, from its earliest residents to the creation of the national park at the end of the pioneer era (circa 1920). Included are close to two hundred historic photographs, many never published before, and 12 custom maps of the region. 184pp

The Archaeology of Ancient Arizona

by Jefferson Reid and Stephanie Whittlesey

General overview of the archaeology of Arizona written by archaeologists with combined experience of over half a century of a combination of laboratory and fieldwork.

Ancient Peoples of the American Southwest

by Steve Plog

The American Southwest is home to some of the most remarkable monuments of America's prehistoric past, such as Chaco Canyon and Mesa Verde. Stephen Plog, who has spent decades working in the region, provides the most readable and up-to-date account of the predecessors of the modern Hopi and Pueblo Indian cultures in this well-received account. Chaco Canyon became the center of a thriving Anasazi cultural tradition. It was the hub of a trading network extending over hundreds of miles, whose arteries were a series of extraordinary roads that are still being discovered and mapped. Interweaving the latest archaeological evidence with early first-person accounts, Professor Plog explains the rise and mysterious fall of Southwestern cultures. 224pp.

We are an Indian Nation: A History of the Hualapai People (First Peoples: New Directions in Indigenous Studies)

by Shepherd, Jeffrey P.

This book focuses on the historical construction of the Hualapai Nation in the face of modern American colonialism. Shepherd shows that Hualapai nation-building was a complex process shaped by band identities, competing visions of the past, creative reactions to modernity, and resistance to state power. He analyzes how the Hualapais transformed an externally imposed tribal identity through nationalist discourses of protecting aboriginal territory; and he examines how that discourse strengthened the Hualapais’ claim to land and water while simultaneously reifying a politicized version of their own history. Drawing on recent work in American Indian history and Native American studies, Shepherd shows how the Hualapai have strived to reclaim a distinct identity and culture in the face of ongoing colonialism.

Sedona through time: Geology of the Red Rocks

by Ranney, Wayne

Visitors to the towering red rock cliffs near Sedona seldom realize that the area was once a broad river floodplain that lay beyond the Ancestral Rocky Mountains. Or that this same place was later buried in a vast, Sahara-like desert, still later to lie beneath the waters of a warm tropical sea filled with ancient life forms. Sedona Through Time is an eminently readable story of the evolution of this fantastic landscape through the eons of geologic time.

Carving Grand Canyon: Evidence, Theories, and Mystery

by Ranney, Wayne

Ranney explains how rivers in general can physically carve canyons, looks chronologically at the numerous theories that have been presented by successive generations of geologists regarding the Grand Canyon's formation, and describes a plausible sequence of geologic events that could create such a landscape. Numerous color photographs, detailed illustrations, and maps are provided. Annotation ©2005 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR 160pp; 2nd edition 2012.

Field Guide to the Grand Canyon

by Whitney, Stephen R

This book describes and illustrates the area's plants and animals, and offers fascinating in-depth information on the natural history and geology of this dramatic region. 272pp

Secret Sedona: Sacred Moments in the Landscape

by Larry Lindahl

This book provides an overview of the terrain, ancestral Indian ruins and petroglyphs found in Sedona's wilderness areas. Extraordinary photography from one of the nations most photogenic areas. 80 pages.

An Introduction to Grand Canyon Prehistory

by Coder, Christopher M.

People have inhabited Grand Canyon for the past twelve thousand years. Evidence of their lives exists throughout the canyon; but it is up to their ancestors and archaeologists to interpret those remains for us. This book provides a popular look at the architecture, art, and tools of prehistoric Puebloan peoples, as well as information about modern-day Native American tribes. With illustrations and color photographs.

Grand Canyon Geology

by Beus, Stanley

This second edition of the leading book on Grand Canyon geology contains the most recent discoveries and interpretations of the origin and history of the canyon. It includes two entirely new chapters: one on debris flow in the Canyon and one on the impact of water flow releases from the Glen Canyon Dam. All chapters have been updated where necessary and all photographs have been replaced or re-screened for better resolution. Written by acknowledged experts in stratigraphy, paleontology, structural geology, geomorphology, volcanism and seismology, this book offers a wealth of information for geologists and general readers interested in acquiring an understanding of the geological history of this great natural wonder. 423pp

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On the Road: Sedona's Red Rock Country and the Grand Canyon

Enroll with Confidence

Protecting the Environment

At a Glance

Best of all, you’ll…

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