FLAGSTAFF, SEDONA AND OAK CREEK CANYON, ARIZONA
Best Time to Visit Arizona
Flagstaff is a popular and very pleasant city in central Arizona. Surrounding high and lush mountains (Coconino National Forest, San Francisco Peaks…) give Flagstaff a much more agreeable climate than in most Arizona. Flagstaff is a major gateway to nearby great destinations: the Grand Canyon, the Indian Country, Sedona, Oak Creek Canyon (Red Rock Country).
See:
Best time to travel to Flagstaff, Sedona, Oak Creek Canyon, Arizona
When not to go to Flagstaff
What to visit in Flagstaff
Accomodation in Flagstaff
See also:
Best time to visit Arizona
WHAT TO VISIT IN FLAGSTAFF AND CENTRAL ARIZONA
Flagstaff's downtown is very appealing, and the San Francisco Street area offers the liveliest nightlife in Arizona. The Museum of Northern Arizona - three miles northwest of downtown, with lots of documents about native American Indians - is a major cultural reference.
Sunset Crater, Wupatki and Walnut Canyon national monuments, in the Flagstaff's outskirts, are also major tourist references.
Some miles farther south you will find Sedona and above all the spectacular Oak Creek Canyon, in the exceptional landscape of Red Rock Country.
Further north (80 miles) stands the incomparable Grand Canyon (Flagstaff is a good base for a quick visit to the Grand Canyon: it offers wide and much cheaper accommodation options).
BEST TIME TO VISIT FLAGSTAFF, ARIZONA
Flagstaff has an agreeable climate. Summer temperatures around 80-85ºF (27-30ºC), and that explains why so many people prefer staying in Flagstaff in the summer. Summer is also the wettest period, though monthly precipitation just average the three inches in the wettest months: July and August.
Though temperatures can attain low levels in the Winter period, there isn't exactly cold snaps in the Flagstaff region. The temperatures tend to be agreeable year-round (the coldest month is January, when daytime highs average 45ºF (7ºC)).
Flagstaffs surrounding mountains offer some opportunities for skiing, though it depends a lot on the particularities of each winter: snow is too scarce in some years.
Late spring and early Fall are excellent for avoiding crowds and for local site seeing. June is a particularly pleasant and dry month, with high temperatures in the 70sºF (22ºC) and very low rainfall.
WHEN NOT TO GO TO FLAGSTAFF, ARIZONA
If you want to avoid crowds, you shouldn't visit Flagstaff and its region in the summer.
HOTELS, FLIGHTS AND TOURS - FLAGSTAFF, ARIZONA
Flagstaff offers plenty of accommodation, including some cheap hotels (mainly in the east side of the city: Butler Avenue and Lucky Lane). But if you want to enjoy the animation and the nightlife, downtown B&B and hotels are a better option.
